I’m incredibly proud of what NCLD accomplished through our Annual Benefit celebration last week. There was so much energy and excitement in the room at the Mandarin Oriental in New York City as we celebrated 36 years dedicated to improving the lives of people with learning and attention issues.

The choir of the Churchill School, a local independent school for students with learning disabilities (LD) opened the evening with a moving performance of O, My Love’s Like a Red, Red Rose and Home. We welcomed back award-winning journalist Paula Zahn as our Emcee.

Each year, our annual benefit gives us the chance to honor individuals and businesses who are making significant contributions to the LD community.

Sigourney Weaver joined us to present the Anne Ford Scholarships to Ross Chapman and Holly Schallert. She also presented the Allegra Ford Thomas Scholarship to Kcory Woltz. The scholars, who are high school seniors, spoke eloquently about facing the challenges of LD and the vital importance of the resources and support that NCLD provides. Learn more about these talented young adults and read their winning essays.

Our Chairman Emerita, Anne Ford, and John S. Weinberg of Goldman Sachs presented Bill Ford and Ford Motor Company with our Distinguished Leadership Award. Ford Motor Company’s FEDA Program (Ford Employees Dealing with disAbilities) values and supports workers with disabilities.

Barbara Walters also joined as a special guest to present our Young Leader Award to Quinn Bradlee, founder and CEO of FriendsofQuinn.com. Quinn spoke about his LD journey and his commitment to the LD community. And I was then delighted to share the news with our audience that Quinn is joining the NCLD team, and FriendsofQuinn.com is joining our family of websites.

The evening was made possible by the help of our supporters and the steadfast leadership of Fred and Nancy Poses. The stories that were told reveal the passion and commitment behind NCLD’s work with parents, school leaders, young adults and policymakers across the country.

Please visit ld.org/benefit36 for more photos of the event.

To learn more about NCLD, watch the video below that we produced to share at the benefit. To keep up with the latest NCLD projects and find out what you can do to help, join our mailing lists.