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12:00pm - 2:00pm
The Country Club of New Canaan | 95 Country Club Road, New Canaan, CT 06840

Building Bridges Luncheon

 
 
 
Building Bridges Luncheon
 
Wednesday, April 10th
 
The Country Club of New Canaan
95 Country Club Road
New Canaan, CT
 
 
 
Bob Woodruff
 
Thanks to Those Who Supported VOICES Building Bridges Luncheon!
 
Thank you to all who joined us at VOICES Inaugural Building Bridges Luncheon as we honored Emmy Award-Winning Journalist, Bob Woodruff, with the 2024 Building Bridges Award in acknowledgement of his bravery and commitment to helping returning veterans and their families.
 
Bob recounted his personal and professional journey, leading up to and after sustaining life-threatening injuries while reporting in Iraq. On January 29, 2006, Bob suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury when his armored vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb. He remained in a coma for 36 days. Bob attributes his recovery to the love and support he received from family and friends.
 
Bob Woodruff
Earlier in the program, guests heard from Mary Staples, a founding member of VOICES Parents Helping Parents Peer Support Group. Mary spoke of her unthinkable loss of a child and how she regained strength through the support of others in the group.
 
Matt McCauley and Jeannie Kelly, from the law firm of Turken, Heath & McCauley, a longstanding supporter and friend of VOICES, spoke on behalf of responders and survivors, and of their close connection to VOICES over the years.
 
The luncheon included a phenomenal Broadway medley, performed by the incomparable soprano, Ali Ewoldt, and her accompanist, musician and composer David Hancock Turner. VOICES is grateful to our generous sponsors, and to our fabulous Luncheon Committee for their tireless efforts.
 
To learn more about Bob’s journey:
 
  • In an Instant: A Family’s Journey of Love and Healing, co-authored by Bob and his wife, Lee. The ebook and audio book are available at the New Canaan Library and at www.audible.com.
  • After the Blast: The Will to Survive, a moving documentary produced in 2023 about Bob’s return to Iraq with his son, as they retrace the steps to the site of his accident. Available on Hulu.
  • Operation Arctic Cure, a National Geographic documentary produced in 2024 where Bob leads veterans across the artic wilderness to study the effects of awe on trauma and stress. Available on Hulu.
 
 
Two Ways to Support VOICES Work!
 
 
 
Bracelet
 
Bracelet
 
VOICES Bespoke charm bracelet, created exclusively for our luncheon makes a beautiful keepsake. Buy one or more!
 
 
 
Donate
 
Donate
 
Your gift supports programs and helps us provide education and training to prepare communities to respond to tragedy.
 
 
 
 
Our Thanks to Our Sponsors!
 
 
Foundation
 
Sharon and Bob Prince
Tow Foundation
Samantha and Colin Winkelman
Mary and Frank Fetchet
Supporting
 
Mary and Derek Staples /Lizzie and JT Davis
Kathy DeTour
Karl Chevrolet
Bonnie and Bob McNamara
Friends of VOICES
 
Bedford & New Canaan Magazine
Tracy and Joe Merrill
Walter Stewart’s Market
Trish and Rick Worden
 
 
Luncheon Committee
 
 
Dede and Jim Bartlett
Lizzie and JT Davis
Kathy Brown DeTour
Susan and Robert Doran
Abby and Brad Duncan
Melinda and Jeff Fager
Lisa Ferrante and Jeff Sandreuter
Mary and Frank Fetchet
Betsy Garrison
Jeanne Gnuse
Jacqueline and Sean Griffiths
Kate and Conner McGee
Bonnie and Bob McNamara
Sara and Alain Robert
Elena and Steve Schlegel
Mary and Derek Staples
Linda and Jay Twombly
Meg and John Walsh
 
 
Event and Auction Contributors
 
The Country Club of New Canaan
Robert Doran
Megan Murphy Gould
Hard Rock Hotel
Hoyt Livery
The New York Mets
Paramount/The Daily Show
Perelman Performing Arts Center
RAO’s
Scarlett Image Consulting
Springdale Florist
XYZ Jewelry
 

About Bob Woodruff

 
Bob Woodruff
Bob Woodruff
 
Emmy Award-Winning Journalist and ABC News Anchor
 
Bob Woodruff joined ABC News in 1996 and has covered major stories throughout the country and around the world for the network. He succeeded Peter Jennings as anchor of “ABC World News Tonight” in December 2005. On January 29, 2006, while reporting on U.S. and Iraqi security forces, Woodruff was seriously injured by a roadside bomb that struck his armored vehicle near Taji, Iraq.
 
In February 2007, just 13 months after being wounded, Woodruff returned to ABC News with his first on-air report, “To Iraq and Back: Bob Woodruff Reports.” The hour-long, prime-time documentary chronicled his traumatic brain injury (TBI), his painstaking recovery and the plight of thousands of service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with similar injuries.
 
Since returning to the air, Woodruff has reported from around the globe. He has traveled to North Korea eight times, investigating the growing nuclear threats in the hands of Kim Jong Il and then his son Kim Jong Un. Since 2015, Woodruff has been ABC’s primary correspondent throughout Asia, especially China, reporting on topics ranging from the controversial treatment of Muslims in the Xinjiang province to the United States’ presence in the South China Sea. In 2008, ABC News aired his critically acclaimed documentary “China Inside Out,” which examined how China’s global rise impacts what’s being called the “Chinese Century.” On the streets of Manila, he has seen the rising violence and murders following President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug policies. He traveled to Japan in the wake of the devastating natural disasters to report on the stabilization of nuclear reactors in the country.
 
Previously, Woodruff was anchor of the weekend edition of “World News Tonight” and one of ABC News’ top correspondents. Before moving to New York in 2002, Woodruff worked out of ABC News’ London bureau, covering conflicts throughout Europe and Africa; as well as adventures with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, traveling extensively with the young members of the royal family.
 
After the Sept. 11 attacks, he was among the first Western reporters into Pakistan and was one of ABC’s lead foreign correspondents during the war in Afghanistan, reporting from Kabul and Kandahar on the fall of the Taliban. His overseas reporting of the fallout from 9/11 was part of ABC News’ coverage recognized with the Alfred I. duPont Award and the George Foster Peabody Award, the two highest honors in broadcast journalism. He was also a part of the ABC News team recognized with a duPont Award for live coverage of the death of Pope John Paul II and the election of Pope Benedict XVI. For his extensive coverage of traumatic brain injuries, he was honored with another George Foster Peabody Award. He has garnered six Emmy Awards, his most recent resulting from his reports about the brutal treatment of the Rohingya ethnic group by the government of Myanmar.
 
Before becoming a journalist, Woodruff was an attorney. While teaching law in Beijing in 1989, he was hired by CBS News to work as a translator during the Tiananmen Square uprising. A short time later, he changed careers. As ABC’s Justice Department correspondent in Washington in the late 1990s, he covered the office of Attorney General Janet Reno, the FBI and ATF.
 
In February 2007, Woodruff and his wife, Lee, co-wrote a bestselling memoir, “In an Instant,” chronicling his injuries in Iraq and how their family persevered through a time of intense trauma and uncertainty. The Woodruff family established the Bob Woodruff Foundation (BWF) to raise money to assist injured service members, veterans and their families.
 
Woodruff has a law degree from the University of Michigan Law School and a Bachelor of Arts from Colgate University. He and Lee have four children.
 

About Ali Ewoldt

 
Ali Ewoldt
Ali Ewoldt
 
Renowned Broadway Actor & Singer
 
Born outside Chicago and raised 45 minutes north of New York City in the small village of Pleasantville, Ali has loved performing for as long as she can remember. She made her Broadway debut as Cosette in the 1st Broadway Revival of Les Miserables and starred as Christine in The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway for over two years, including during the show’s 30th Anniversary celebration. Ali’s mother was born and raised in The Philippines, which made Ali the first Asian-American woman to play Christine on Broadway.
 
She appeared in Lincoln Center’s recent Tony Award Winning revival of The King and I and as Luisa in The Fantasticks Off-Broadway, the world’s longest-running musical. Her other credits include: The Secret Garden (Rose) at CTG in Los Angeles, Chicago (Mary Sunshine), 1776 (Martha Jefferson) and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Philia) at The Muny in St. Louis, Guys and Dolls (Sarah Brown) at Sacramento Music Circus, Lyric Opera of Chicago’s The King and I (Tuptim), McCarter Theatre’s A Christmas Carol (Fan/Mrs. Bonds) and a one-woman adaptation of Anne of Green Gables Off-Broadway.
 
Ali performed her solo cabaret at Feinstein’s/54 Below in New York and has sung in Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall in PhilDev Celebrates Broadway: Suites by Sondheim and The Town Hall with Adam Jacobs. She made her NY Pops Carnegie Hall debut with Matt Doyle and Maestro Steven Reinecke and her other concert work includes The American Pops Orchestra under the direction of Luke Frazier, The Houston Symphony, Modesto Symphony, Kaohsiung Symphony, Danville Symphony, Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, Music in the Mountains Orchestra and the Boston Pops with Maestro Keith Lockhart. Her TV/Film credits include The Michael J. Fox Show, Yield, Drama: The Web Series, and the short film Mia.
 
Ali has a BA in psychology from Yale University, which has proved surprisingly relevant to her career.
 

About David Hancock Turner

 
David Hancock Turner
David Hancock Turner
 
Composer and Music Director
 
David Hancock Turner is a Music Director & Pianist. Recent shows in NYC include The Butcher Boy and A Child’s Christmas in Wales at the Irish Repertory Theatre; Penelope, Cheek to Cheek, Desperate Measures, and many other shows at The York Theatre. To learn more about David, visit davidhancockturner.com.
 

About VOICES

 
Voices Center for Resilience (VOICES)
 
Established in 2001, VOICES provides long-term support services for thousands of victims’ families, responders, and survivors. Using social work practices, VOICES implements a wide array of programs that provide continuity of care and address the ongoing psychological needs of the 9/11 community. Programs include individual consultation and referrals, virtual support groups, educational workshops, and an annual symposium in NYC.
 
VOICES legacy lives on through our unique commitment to leverage over two decades of expertise to assist communities in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from tragedy. Working collaboratively with our longstanding public-private partners, the organization shares lessons learned and provides innovative programs and comprehensive resources that promote healing and resilience.