Tony Award Winner Jarrod Emick Headlines Inaugural Music for Autism Fundraiser Hosted by Philanthropist Deborah Diane Bailey, Raising over $26,000
Joshua Stein, Lisa Splitlog, and Robert Accordino, posted November 18, 2007.
New York, NY – Jarrod Emick, best known for his Tony Award-winning reprisal of the role of Joe Hardy in Damn Yankees, helped Music for Autism (M4A) raise more over $26,000 at its inaugural fundraiser on November 18. Emick was joined by pianist Charity Wicks, currently one of the pianists for Spring Awakening on Broadway, and singer Lauren Thomas at the M4A event hosted by Deborah Diane Bailey in Princeton, New Jersey.
“M4A’s work is extremely important: it fills a void of services for those who need them most,” said Bailey, who thanked guests for their enormous generosity.
Robert Accordino, M4A executive director added, “It is poetic: we get to experience extraordinary music in support of a charity that enables everyone – irrespective of developmental or socioeconomic status – to experience high quality music.”
Accordino thanked Bailey for her extraordinary hospitality, and noted that parents expressed their gratitude to M4A throughout the weekend, which also included several interactive concerts for those with autism and their families in New York City.
Emick’s impressive performance including an emotional ballad from Miss Saigon and two energetic and crowd-pleasing Johnny Cash songs from Ring of Fire, in which he recently starred on Broadway.
Funds raised from the event will subsidize M4A’s interactive concerts, held at the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center in New York City and at the Eden Institute in Princeton, New Jersey. Through the funds, M4A will continue to fully subsidize concerts for all individuals with autism and their families and caregivers, and begin an endowment for future grants.
