The Doe Fund Raises $1.4 Million at Gala, With More Gifts Coming In
Nearly 500 guests joined A Bridge to Opportunity, recognizing how The Doe Fund has been — and will continue to be — indispensable to a thriving New York City.
New York, NY— The Doe Fund, a renowned nonprofit that has provided paid work, housing, and supportive services to nearly 30,000 homeless and formerly incarcerated individuals, celebrated more than 30 years of impact on Thursday night at A Bridge to Opportunity.
The event raised over $1.4 million to provide proven solutions to the biggest crises NYC faces: dirty streets, rising homelessness, and an eroding sense of public safety. More gifts continue to come in.
Honorees included The Doe Fund Board Chairman Steven C. Koppel and “Ambassador of Naloxone” Joy Fishman, who championed widespread adoption of the life-saving drug as a harm reduction tool. Manhattan Institute Social Policy Expert Stephen Eide received the inaugural George T. McDonald Award, named for The Doe Fund’s late Founder and President.
Additional speakers included Frank Carone, Chief of Staff to Mayor Eric Adams; John Stossel, TV Presenter and Commentator; John McDonald, The Doe Fund’s Executive Vice President of Housing; and Carlos Jones, a graduate of The Doe Fund’s Ready, Willing & Able reentry program. The event drew nearly 500 attendees, including State Assemblyman Eddie Gibbs, Department of Homeless Services Commissioner Gary Jenkins, entrepreneur Steve Madden, actors Ethan Hawke and Dan Grimaldi, and other leaders in business, real estate, politics, media, entertainment, academia, and philanthropy.
“Today, New York needs The Doe Fund and The Doe Fund needs New Yorkers. This room, filled to capacity, tells us that New Yorkers are showing up,” said Dean Meminger, NY1 Anchor and Criminal Justice Reporter, who hosted the event.
“Naloxone has saved 27,000 people. The Doe Fund has done the same for nearly 30,000,” said Joy Fishman, who donated hundreds of doses of the overdose reversal drug to the organization. “After my husband Jack developed Naloxone and after I lost Jonathan to addiction, I made it my mission to ensure Naloxone gets into the hands of as many lay people in as many different places as possible. That includes The Doe Fund’s facilities.”
“It took me a lifetime to understand that there is nothing wrong with failure,” said Ready, Willing & Able Graduate Carlos Jones. “Life is about getting up… What separates us from the rest of the world is that Doe Fund men know how to get up and stay up. The floor to us will never be comfortable again. We can never look onto others and not mentor, teach, preach, shoulder pain, comfort tears, or just hold out a hand. We are Doe Fund men and we live with purpose.”
