Helping Hands: Monkey Helpers for the Disabled 2011 Festivale

Join Helping Hands trainers, staff, recipients, and fellow supporters for a night of music, food, and fun all in support of the Monkey Helper placement program.

For over 31 years, Helping Hands has trained and placed service monkeys free of charge to assist individuals living with physical mobility limitations. Monkeys assist recipients in the home environment, retrieving dropped items, pushing buttons, opening bottles, and repositioning an arm or leg in a wheelchair after muscle spasm. Helping Hands provides each monkey-recipient pair 24/7 staff support for the lifetime of the placement. All funding comes from foundations grants, private donations, and fundraising events like Festivale.  Ninety-three cents of every dollar raised directly supports Helping Hands program services.

This year,  Festivale attendees will enjoy food from Boston’s finest restaurants including Mistral, Sorellina, Teatro, L’Andana, Mooo, Eastern Standard, Basho, Cafeteria, Masa, Konditor Meister, Davio’s, The Beehive, Gaslight, Woodward, Rialto and Zocalo. Cocktails will be provided from beverage sponsors Grey Goose and Harpoon, and beautiful flower arrangements have been provided by Winston’s Flowers. In addition, there will be a musical entertainment from blues band Blues Brothers the Next Generation, a silent auction, and the premiere screening of a new short film about Helping Hands monkeys and recipients.

Tickets are still available by visiting the Helping Hands Festivale website or by calling 617-787-4419.