The Dimock Center’s Steppin’ Out Gala at 30: Changing Boston’s Health Care Landscape One Act at a Time

BOSTON │ On October 21 at 6 p.m. at the Sheraton Boston Hotel, The Dimock Center’s Steppin’ Out Gala will celebrate its 30th anniversary amid great fanfare. Sponsored by The TJX Companies, the evening will include 1,000 friends in the audience, Mary Wilson of The Supremes, Kool and the Gang and DJ Biz Markie on stage, and serious money on the table to celebrate Steppin’ Out’s milestone and Dimock’s future.

The names are impressive — Gladys Knight, The O’Jays, George Benson, Nancy Wilson, Roberta Flack, The Isley Brothers, and dozens more have graced the stages of Steppin’ Out over the decades. However, it’s the numbers that tell the story of how Dimock’s annual soiree changed Boston’s health care landscape forever.

• $26M in funds raised since 1987
• More than 300,000 adults and children served by Dimock’s various programs and services
• Over 40,000 Steppin’ Out attendees
• Over 350 musical groups performing on nearly 250 stages

“There is no place within Dimock’s spectrum of services that hasn’t been significantly impacted by funds raised from Steppin’ Out,” said Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan, Dimock’s president and CEO. “From creating residential recovery homes in the 1990s, to integrating mental health services with primary care in the early 2000s, to next year’s opening of our state-of-the-art inpatient detox center, the Dr. Lucy Sewall Center for Acute Treatment Services, Steppin’ Out has certainly earned its title as the ultimate party with a purpose.”

Renowned throughout the region as one of the hottest tickets in town, at one time the event would feature up to 15 different musical groups on a dozen stages performing a wide ranging repertoire of Latin jazz, contemporary and straight ahead jazz, a cappella, pop, blues and funk. In recent years, Steppin’ Out has continued to be a must-attend event and has steadily increased its impact on the community.

The behind-the-scenes driver of every Steppin’ Out Gala is Dimock’s mission: to redefine the model of a healthy community by creating equitable access to comprehensive, integrated health care and education. As a national leader in providing vital community health services to thousands of families in greater Boston, Dimock relies heavily on the funds raised from Steppin’ Out to advance its mission, and that is always front and center in the gala planning process.

About The Dimock Center

Founded in 1862 as the New England Hospital for Women and Children, The Dimock Center provides comprehensive, integrated health care, mental health support and education to children and adults from Roxbury and surrounding neighborhoods. Dimock is unique among community health centers in its provision of the full continuum of substance use treatment, including inpatient detox, residential recovery and outpatient support, serving men and women from more than 212 zip codes across the state, in response to the demand for care. Nationally recognized as a model for the delivery of comprehensive, integrated health and human services in an urban community; Dimock serves more than 18,000 people annually. For more information about programs and services, visit www.dimock.org.

The Dimock Center

30th Anniversary Steppin’ Out Gala

October 21, 2017 — 6 p.m.
Sheraton Boston Hotel
39 Dalton Street, Boston, MA 02199
www.Dimock.org/steppin-out