10th Annual Hero Award
On a beautiful September evening, nearly 200 people attended the 10th annual AWB Hero Award at the Water Works in Philadelphia. The Hero Award is our annual gathering where we honor someone who has a physical disability as has made a significant contribution to their community.
This year we honored Katie Samson. Katie is a digital accessibility consultant, arts educator, and disability advocate. She led her own foundation that supported spinal cord injury research and people with spinal cord injuries. Katie speech was amazing.
CBS3 retired broadcast journalist Pat Ciarrocchi was the emcee for the evening and she was full of enthusiasm and energy.
The evening was serenaded by the Jazz Contenders who entertained during dinner with renditions of jazz classics and new songs. AWB actor and Apprentice Teaching Artist, Simon Bonefant, sang several classic songs. Will Thomas, one of our actors and Apprentice Teaching Artist introduced the Acting Lab at the Widener Memorial School (WMS) music video entitled “Hear My Voice” that the students created. Two students who attended the gala spoke so beautifully about what the acting lab meant to them. One of the students said “I am so honored to be invited to the gala it was the first time to go to an event like this.”
The event had a live and silent auction. The event raised close to $200,000 to help AWB provide free performing arts programming for people with physical disabilities.
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The first Sunday of every month volunteers assist our actors at workshops as they learn their lines and rehearse their parts. Our most dedicated volunteers support our actors throughout the year and are a part of the yearly performance. There are opportunities for people who want a creative outlet through set design, props and costume development. Great for early teens, adults and seniors!