Russ Berrie Making a Difference Awards 2019 Part 2

In this two-part special, Steve Adubato goes on-location to the 23rd annual Russ Berrie ""Making a Difference"" Awards where he talks with the honorees about the important work they are doing in their communities.

Guests Include:

Angelica Berrie, President, The Russell Berrie Foundation
Fraidy Reiss, Founder and Executive Director, Unchained at Last
Ed Monroy, Co-Founder and Volunteer, Ability 2 Work
Melina Garcia, Founder and Executive Director, Union City Music Project
Asw. Holly Schepisi (R) - NJ, 39th Legislative District, & VP of Development and President, Holy Name Medical Center Foundation

8/1/19 #2235

Excerpt:

"Hi, I'm Steve Adubato. On location at Ramapo College. You see folks behind. We've just finished an extraordinary event. The 23rd Annual Russ Berrie Making a Difference Award Ceremony. In part one, you saw, if you checked it out last night, if not, check it out online, we met a whole range of winners of this Russ Berrie Awards for Making a Difference. Unsung heroes, people who help other people every day, save lives, do amazing things. But in this particular program, you're gonna meet the top three winners, two $25,000 Russ Berrie Awardees for Making a Difference, and the one grand prize $50,000 winner. And let me tell you something. You think you've seen people who make a difference in the world every day. The folks here at Ramapo, the folks who are part of this event, the folks who were selected over 200 plus who were nominated, are really special. This program is one you can't miss. We just completed another 23 years, Angelica, of recognizing unsung heroes who make a difference. I always ask you the same question every year. It never gets old. What are you feeling right now? I think 23 years, we've actually seen so much multiplication of our efforts. You know, one simple idea, like you said, one act, one seed, and look what it's grown. You and I like to talk about this is getting others to believe in that whole...? We're building a field. And it's not just, like you said, 23 winners. It's over 3,000 nominees, and if we can even get them to connect, to get to know about each other... And some of them do? And many of them have said one helps the other. The other one starts to partner with another, and that's what we're doing. We're connecting everyone so that together we have a stronger platform for change. Steve Adubato here at the Russ Berrie Awards for Making a Difference, the 23rd annual event that we've had. And this is, in fact, you're about to see on camera, the $50,000 winner. That is the most significant prize, if you will. And she is Fraidy Reiss, who is founder and executive director of an organization called Unchained At Last. We're about to see a video, a story about that organization. But how would you describe it? Unchained At Last is the only organization that's dedicated to ending forced and child marriage in the United States through direct services and advocacy. You experienced this..."