Order your tickets by April 17 for the Charles River Center's 20th Annual Building a Dream Gala on May 1, 2015

The Charles River Center will host its 20th annual Building a Dream benefit gala at 6:30 pm on Friday, May 1, 2015 at The Westin Waltham. Emceed by award-winning sportscaster Bob Lobel, the evening will include an awards program and dinner along with live and silent auctions, featuring vacations, golf packages, weekend getaways, electronics, jewelry, sporting event tickets, and more.

This year, the Charles River Center is honored to present the Maria McTernan Civic Leadership Award to the Needham Exchange Club. The Charles River Center and the Needham Exchange Club formed a partnership in 1956 that continues to this day. Through volunteerism, fundraising efforts, and representation on the Charles River Board of Directors, members of the Exchange Club have helped shape, guide, and ensure the success of all Charles River programs and services.

“We are so appreciative of the support the Needham Exchange Club has extended to the Charles River Center over the years. Members have selflessly given their time, energy and expertise to Charles River through volunteerism and fundraising, and we are just one of the many organizations they support in the community. The Club’s compassion and dedication to helping those in need is truly admirable,” said John Grugan, President of the Charles River Center.

Charles River is also honored to present the Community Achievement Award to the Residence of North Main Street. The award will be shared by the five residents, their families, and the Charles River staff of our group home located in Sharon. These five young men and women have made a remarkable transition from school to adult community, and with the support of Charles River staff and their families, embody the values of Charles River as they further their independence and community involvement.

The Charles River Center offers programs and services to children and adults with developmental disabilities. It currently operates 24 group homes, provides day programs for those with significant needs, offers vocational training and job placement for adults, and holds vacation and after school programs for children. Located in Needham, Charles River serves people in Needham, Newton, Wellesley, Dedham, Westwood, Wayland, Millis, Natick, Sharon and beyond.

The Needham Exchange Club has been serving Needham since 1947. It is a member of The National Exchange Club, which as a chapter of “America’s Service Organization,” is the only major service organization based solely in the United States. The 100+ women and men who comprise Needham Exchange Club’s membership are actively engaged in providing service to the community through programs that recognize youth and support senior citizens, and which give back to the community in many other ways--including providing Needham with its 4th of July Parade and Fireworks, along with many other services and projects throughout Needham. The Club is particularly proud of its long and close association with the Charles River Center--both through official Club sponsorship and participation in the Center’s events and programs, as well as the roles many individual Exchange members continue to play in the Center and its Board.

Tickets are $150 each. To purchase tickets or for more information, please visit www.charlesrivercenter.org or contact Hilary Ryan at 781-972-1030 or hryan@charlesrivercenter.org

Sponsors for 2015 Building a Dream Gala

Event

Roche Bros./Sudbury Farms

Platinum

360 Corporate Benefit Advisors

Crowe & Mulvey, LLP

Louise Condon Realty, Inc.

Manion Gaynor & Manning LLP

Peter Dedon & Tess Schmalbach

US Trust & Bank of America Private Wealth Management

Gold

AAFCPAs

Dedham Institution for Savings

Needham Bank

Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP

Prosper-IT

The Needham Exchange Club

Silver

Countryside Estates, LLC

The Norfolk & Dedham Group

Jessica Tsung & Jason Hung

USI Insurance Services, LLC

Weaver & Associates Architects

Bronze

Avalon Bay Communities

Coldwell Banker

Eastern Bank

Economised Time Services, Inc.

ePay Business Solutions, Inc.

Governo Law Firm LLC

Harvard Pilgrim

MacFarlane Energy

Rodman Ford

The Donovan Family

The Fadule Family

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