Long-parted friends hugged and supporters toasted another year of community-building as Goddard and our strategic partner, the Isaacs Center, held our first in-person galas since the start of COVID.
Goddard’s Annual Gala at Monarch Rooftop on 35th Street featured panoramic views of the Empire State Building and city skyline. Guests watched a video featuring our Young People’s Chorus and a wrapup of this year’s challenges and landmarks by Goddard Executive Director Rod Jones.
Then host G. Angela Henry announced the winners of our social justice book prizes. Children Under Fire: An American Crisis by John Woodrow Cox [Ecco/HarperCollins] won the Goddard Riverside Stephan Russo Book Prize for Social Justice, while Pura’s Cuentos: How Pura Belpré Reshaped Libraries with Her Stories, by Annette Bay Pimentel with illustrations by Magaly Morales [Harry N. Abrams], claimed the Goddard Riverside CBC Youth Book Prize for Social Justice.
See photos and video of the Goddard Gala here and learn more about our Book Prize winners here
The Isaacs Family Homecoming was held at the Isaacs Center and honored outgoing board president Richard Nesson and longest-serving board member Gretchen Stone, who have given – and continue to give – their time, expertise, and devotion to the organization for many years.
Guests enjoyed canapés and a delicious three-course meal prepared in the onsite kitchen by Chef Cori Boudreaux and graduates of the Isaacs Center’s Culinary Arts program.
Read about the Homecoming and see photos here, and watch a video about the Culinary Arts program here.