The Child Mind Institute 2023 Child Advocacy Award Dinner Raises Over $8 Million in Record Breaking Funds to Help Families Overcome Mental Health Challenges

Andy Saperstein Honored for His Contributions to Advancing the Child Mind Institute’s Mission to Transform the Lives of Children Struggling with Mental Health and Learning Disorders 

New York, NY – The Child Mind Institute, the leading independent nonprofit in children’s mental health, hosted its annual Child Advocacy Award dinner last night at Cipriani 42nd Street. The event raised record breaking funds of over $8 million, the highest in the organization’s history in support of the Child Mind Institute’s mission to improve the mental health of children and families through clinical care, scientific research and public education across the country and around the world. Actress, comedian, and advocate Ali Wentworth served as the evening’s host.

Andy Saperstein, Co-President and Head of Wealth Management at Morgan Stanley, and Child Mind Institute Board Member, was presented with the 2023 Child Advocacy Award by Ben Huneke, Managing Director and Head of the Investment Solutions Group at Morgan Stanley. In his acceptance speech Saperstein said, “The Child Mind Institute is helping children and their families realize they aren’t alone in how they feel, that there are safe places to turn…they help children to know that it’s OK to speak about how they’re feeling…and just as importantly, let them know there are ways to diagnose these illnesses, that there are treatments, and you can get better.”

Comedian Jim Gaffigan performed a special surprise set to open the night. The event was a gathering and celebration of individuals committed to helping children and families overcome mental health challenges and learning disorders. Attendees included Chelsea Clinton, Arianna Huffington, Stephanie Ruhle, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Molly Jong-Fast, Lydia Fenet, Olivier Bron, Jeannie Gaffigan and more. Photos from the evening are available here.

“The COVID pandemic may have receded, but there is more conflict in our nation, and more conflict in the world. Childhood anxiety and depression are rising, and trauma stalks our children relentlessly,” said Harold S. Koplewicz, MD, the founding President and Medical Director of the Child Mind Institute. “Years ago, we experimented with a vision statement for the Child Mind Institute: ‘A future where no child suffers.’ This is a beautiful vision. What we realized, as every parent here knows, is that we can’t remove suffering. What we can do is make sure no child suffers alone — and that suffering is met with the best we can offer in cutting-edge care, open science, workforce development, and compassionate support across barriers of geography, race, and class. That is what the Child Mind Institute stands for, and I commend all of you for standing with us tonight.”

Ben Huneke and Guy Metcalfe served as honorary co-chairs of the event alongside benefit chairs: Devon and Pete Briger, Lisa Domenico Brooke, Andreas C. Dracopoulos, Elizabeth and Michael Fascitelli, Christine and Richard Mack, Julie and Edward J. Minskoff, Morgan Stanley, Brooke Garber Neidich and Daniel Neidich, Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF), Zibby and Kyle Owens, Linnea and George Roberts, Abigail Pogrebin and David Shapiro, Preethi Krishna and Ram Sundaram.

To learn more about the Child Mind Institute please visit childmind.org.

About the Child Mind Institute
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The Child Mind Institute is dedicated to transforming the lives of children and families struggling with mental health and learning disorders by giving them the help they need. We’ve become the leading independent nonprofit in children’s mental health by providing gold-standard evidence-based care, delivering educational resources to millions of families each year, training educators in underserved communities, and developing tomorrow’s breakthrough treatments. Learn more at childmind.org.

For press questions, contact our press team at childmindinstitute@ssmandl.com or our media officer at mediaoffice@childmind.org.