The Doe Fund Raises Over $1M at Gala
New York, NY— Leaders of finance, real estate, and politics came together at Cipriani on October 21st to acknowledge the achievements of the Men in Blue at Sweeping Recovery, The Doe Fund’s Gala.
The Men in Blue have courageously provided enhanced sanitation services to over 115 miles of NYC streets, in all five boroughs, throughout the pandemic. Through its new partnership with the Mayor’s City Cleanup Corps initiative, Ready, Willing & Able is revitalizing even more communities in need, while expanding the economic opportunity it provides to more participants. Ready, Willing & Able crews have also delivered emergency meals to hospital workers and vulnerable individuals facing food insecurity.
At the event, supporters also acknowledged The Doe Fund’s program staff—from case managers to career developers to kitchen workers—who became frontline heroes themselves as they supported the Men in Blue. The organization’s first hybrid gala raised over $1 million, with donations still coming in.
The Doe Fund highlighted the traditional return on investment its programs yield by empowering people experiencing homelessness and returning from incarceration to become self-sufficient. The organization also celebrated an additional “ROI”—Resilience, Opportunity, and Innovation—as the organization pivoted in the face of the pandemic and became a vital resource to New York City.
Executive Vice President Isabel McDevitt shared her vision for the future of the organization, declaring, “The Doe Fund is not deterred by the challenges born during the last year and a half. It is just the opposite. We are resilient, we recognize opportunity and adversity is our fuel to innovate.”
“There are real challenges around creating permanent affordable housing,” said John McDonald, who has made the organization one of the top developers of affordable and supportive housing in NYC. “But modernized SROs, micro-housing, and vacant hotels are all options for the future… The Doe Fund will lead the way in reshaping the affordable housing landscape in New York City.”
Keynote speaker City Council Member Robert Cornegy addressed the pandemic’s disproportionate impact on his Bedford-Stuyvesant district, home to The Doe Fund’s first transitional residence: “The Doe Fund and the people it serves have been my partners; together, we have been able to advance economic justice, and in doing so, move the needle on racial equity.”
Cornegy continued, “On the ground in Bed-Stuy, Ready, Willing & Able means clean streets, but it also means safer streets. The presence of the Men in Blue throughout the neighborhood has a transformative effect on the larger community and improves public safety.”
Elliot Williams, CNN Legal Analyst and Principal at The Raben Group, said, “In my work on television and radio and in print, I often comment on the intersection of law and racial injustice. I share with The Doe Fund a fundamental view about the world: that racial justice and economic opportunity are intertwined… The Doe Fund makes the American Dream accessible to those who have been excluded from it.”
Sweeping Recovery is The Doe Fund’s first Gala since the passing of its Founder and President, George T. McDonald, earlier this year. A tribute commemorating George’s life and work featured two-time Academy Award-nominated actor Ethan Hawke; former NYC Comptroller Bill Thompson; Robert Hayes, Founder of the National Coalition for the Homeless; Kathy Wylde, President and CEO of Partnership for New York City; and Reverend Dr. Alfonso Wyatt.
Ready, Willing & Able graduate Tony Bennett, who spent nearly 28 years incarcerated and now works as a case manager for The Doe Fund, said, “I like to say that I went to prison for a reason, and I came out for a cause. In a world that denies opportunities to people who have been incarcerated, The Doe Fund allowed me to dedicate myself to that cause.”
