(November
18, 2009 –
New York, NY)
– More than 200 members of New York City’s
philanthropic, business, civic and theater
communities recently gathered together to honor
David Rothenberg,
founder of the Fortune Society, and
BET Networks
at the Fortune Society’s Annual Awards and Benefit
Gala held at the Laura Pels Theater. Legendary Tony
Award Winning actress Christine Ebersole and
Publisher and CEO of
El Diario
Rossana Rosado served as the evening’s honorary
Co-Chairs.
Mr. Rothenberg was presented with Fortune’s
Lifetime Achieve
Award.
BET Networks received the
Corporate
Leaders for Change Award.
Proceeds will support Fortune’s wide range of
services that help formerly incarcerated individuals
successfully re-enter their communities. Programs
include supportive housing, career development, job
retention, substance abuse treatment, alternatives
to incarceration, HIV/AIDS services, education,
family services, and drop-in services as well as
ongoing access to aftercare.
“There would be no Fortune Society without
David Rothenberg,” said JoAnne
Page, President and CEO of the Fortune Society. “His
courage and his vision, more than four decades ago,
created a place of hope and opportunity – a place
where more than 100,000 formerly incarcerated men
and women have found a true second chance. He
remains a tireless advocate. A compassionate
friend. And a strong voice for those who have none.
Tonight, it is with great pride that we present
David with the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award.’”
In
1966, Mr. Rothenberg, a theatrical press agent at
the time, received a script of a true-life prison
drama, Fortune and Men’s Eyes, depicting the gritty
reality of life in a boy’s reformatory. He offered
the script to many of his colleagues, all of whom
passed on the opportunity to produce it – they
believed the play’s brutal themes made it too much
of a financial risk. Undeterred and inspired by the
author’s social message, Mr. Rothenberg used his
$12,000 in life savings to produce the play himself.
Fortune and Men’s Eyes opened at the Actors’
Playhouse in
New York City’s Sheridan Square on February 23, 1967. The
play angered and electrified audiences. Many people
simply could not believe that prisons could breed
the degree of cruelty and inhumanity portrayed by
the actors. At the end of one fateful Tuesday
performance, a member of the audience openly
questioned the play’s accuracy. In response, Pat
McGarry, a formerly incarcerated man who had also
come to see the show, stood up and held the theater
spellbound with his tale of life in “the joint.”
Post-show discussions between the cast and the
audience soon became a Tuesday night tradition. It
wasn’t long before Mr. Rothenberg was overwhelmed by
requests for help from people who had served time.
In his mind, the only solution was to create a forum
that would not only give them a voice, but would
also provide them with the tools they needed to help
rebuild their lives. He called his organization The
Fortune Society, taking the name from the play’s
title, which originated from Shakespeare’s Sonnet 29
which begins, “When in disgrace with fortune and
men’s eyes/ I all alone, beweep my outcast state...”
In
presenting the award to BET,
Glenn Martin, Vice President of
Development and Public Affairs said, “It is only
fitting that we present BET Networks with the
‘Corporate Leaders for Change Award. Through such
projects as “Locked Out: Ex-Cons & The Vote,” BET’s
programming has steadily aimed to reduce the stigma
attached to those with criminal justice histories.
BET’s pioneering approach to programming is proof
that a company can indeed change communities and
build lives. We are delighted to recognize BET as
an outstanding leader in helping to promote the
successful reentry of men and women from behind the
walls into society.”
The event also featured
a special performance of
“The Castle,” a moving and dramatic play about four
formerly incarcerated individuals’ courageous paths
to rebuilding their lives. The play was co-authored
by Mr. Rothenberg and the actors, who portray
themselves. It recently concluded a
14-month production Off-Broadway.
# # #
ABOUT THE FORTUNE SOCIETY:
For more than forty years, The Fortune Society has
been developing model programs that help formerly
incarcerated men and women successfully re-enter
their communities. The Fortune Society offers a
holistic and integrated “one-stop-shopping” model of
service provision. Among the services offered are
supportive housing, career development, job
retention, substance abuse treatment, alternatives
to incarceration, HIV/AIDS services, education,
family services, and drop in services as well as
ongoing access to aftercare.