Families, Friends, Future Gala

Friday, April 5, 2024 | JFK Library, Columbia Point, Dorchester

Honoring the founding partners of Comfort Kitchen:
Kwasi Kwaa, Rita Ferreira, Nyacko Pearl Perry, and Biplaw Rai

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Many thanks to all who joined Family Nurturing Center of Massachusetts to celebrate the nurturing warmth of community. Through your sponsorship and support, FNC raised critical funds for our four areas of focus: parenting education; early childhood development programs; coalition and community building; and training and capacity building across the Commonwealth.

We were proud and thrilled to honor the founding partners of Comfort Kitchen Boston. Named one of the New York Times’ 50 Best Restaurants in America and Boston Magazine’s Best New Restaurant in 2023, Comfort Kitchen’s visionary “global comfort food” celebrates the African diaspora connected from Asia to the Americas, while building community in our central neighborhood of Dorchester. 

We were also delighted to present the Phyllis Menken Family Nurturing Award to longtime FNC supporters Guli, Sara, and Shergul Arshad. Once again, WCVB Anchor Antoinette Antonio was a welcoming and wonderful emcee for our event.

Host Committee

Lindsay & Blake Allison
Kathy Baynes | President, Boston Alumnae Chapter, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.; Head of Diversity Recruiting, Fidelity Investments; FNC Board Member
Mary Kate Bluestein | FNC Board Member
Zoltan Csimma | Nonprofit Board Member/Executive Advisor
Michael Douvadjian | Boston Collective Group, Morgan Stanley
Taran Grigsby | Global Lead, Transactions and Leasing, Fidelity Investments; FNC Board President
Bill Haynsworth & Anne Hyde | FNC Board Member & Supporters
Ekua Holmes | Mixed-media artist; Community Arts Advocate; FNC Gala Honoree, 2023; Founder, Roxbury Sunflower Project
Irene Li, Annie Campbell, & Alyssa Lee | Mei Mei Dumplings
Phyllis Menken | FNC Board Member
Catherine T. Morris | Director of Arts and Creativity, The Boston Foundation; Founder and Artistic Director, Boston Art & Music Soul Festival
J. Keith Motley, Ph.D. | Chancellor Emeritus/Professor, University of Massachusetts Boston
Ken & Céline Oringer | UNI, Toro, La Coppa, Little Donkey, Faccia a Faccia
Carmin Reiss & Eric Green | Principals, Resolutions, LLC
Amy Rossman | Executive Director, Rodman for Kids
Linda Sallop | CEO, Atlantic Charter Insurance Company
Anne-Marie & Ben Ullian | Eliot Hotel
Dora Ullian | Proprietor, Eliot Hotel

About Our Honorees

Nyacko Pearl Perry, Biplaw Rai, Rita Ferreira, and Kwasi Kwaa are the founding partners of Comfort Kitchen—a Black-owned, woman-owned, immigrant-owned restaurant with an inspirational vision.

Comfort Kitchen celebrates diasporic cuisine, while creating good jobs for Bostonians and nurturing the community through food.

The founders’ collaborative approach to fostering social change embodies Family Nurturing Center’s own ethos. In its first year, the restaurant was named one of the Top 50 Restaurants in America by the New York Times, as well as Boston Magazine’s Best New Restaurant of 2023.

Guli, Sara, and Shergul Arshad have all supported Family Nurturing Center’s work from its earliest days. With a deep commitment to families raising children in challenging circumstances, these three members of the Arshad family have advised on strategies, hosted countless meetings and events, raised funds, and served on FNC’s board of directors. Together, they bring a wealth of wisdom and resources to FNC, and it is our pleasure to present them with the Phyllis Menken Family Nurturing Award.

Sponsors

We are so grateful to the following individuals and organizations for their support!

Lead Sponsor | $75,000

  • The Eliot Hotel, Dora and Arthur Ullian

Sustainers | $25,000

  • Cummings Foundation
  • Mark and Becky Levin
  • New Balance Foundation
  • New England Patriots Foundation
  • Carmin Reiss and Eric Green

Nurturers | $15,000

  • Anne Hyde and Bill Haynsworth
  • Phyllis Menken
  • Anna Whitcomb and Samuel Knight

Patrons | $10,000

  • Boger Family Foundation
  • Ellen Shapiro Brown and Barry Brown
  • Cristina and Zoltan Csimma
  • Michael Douvadjian
  • Ken & Céline Oringer
  • Rodman for Kids
  • Toby Yarmolinksy’s SOM Fan Club
  • Virginia Wellington Cabot Foundation

Benefactors | $5,000

  • Anonymous
  • Lindsay and Blake Allison
  • Jen Bluestein
  • Mary Kate and Richard Bluestein
  • Kara Boon and Michael Herald
  • Brown Rudnick
  • Laura Conway
  • Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation
  • Skadi Gidionsen and Taran Grigsby
  • Howland Capital
  • Loomis, Sayles and Company
  • The Red Sox Foundation
  • Linda Sallop
  • Anne Marie and Ben Ullian
  • Connie and Jeff Walsh
  • Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP

Supporters | $1,500

  • Anonymous
  • Berkshire Bank
  • Julie and Robert Blake
  • Janet Boguslaw and Howard Kaufman
  • The Boston Foundation
  • Charles and Martha Clapp
  • CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen LLP)
  • Monty Curtis
  • Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston
  • Molly and Jeff Goodman
  • Toby Gordon and Lad Tobin
  • Tuan and Thuy Ha-Ngoc
  • Susan and Tony Howland
  • Sharon and Anthony Jones
  • The Menemsha Family Fund
  • Katharine and Daniel Nakamoto
  • Orthopedics New England
  • Maureen Phillips and Doug Horst
  • Susan Phillips and Harry Margolis
  • Reality Church Boston
  • Reisen Design Associates
  • Gitte and Rick Shea
  • Smith, Sullivan & Brown, P.C.
  • Gretchen and Jay Stein
  • Emma Tobin
  • Michael Thornton
  • United Way of Massachusetts Bay
  • Kathy Upchurch, MD and Tak Takvorian, MD
  • Gayle and Bob Wexler
  • WinnCompanies

About Family Nurturing Center

Through parenting education, early child development programs, coalition and community building, and training and capacity building, Family Nurturing Center of Massachusetts (FNC) partners with families and organizations to create nurturing environments where children can thrive.

Our work is rooted in a deep understanding that parenting is learned and can radically shape a child’s future. Our team engages over 5,000 children and caregivers in Boston and trains more than 1,000 providers across the Commonwealth each year.

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Image Credits: Stefanie Belnavis (Comfort Kitchen founder images); Rita Ferreira (Comfort Kitchen images & branding); Randi Freundlich Photography (past Gala images); Jocelyn Finlay (Arshad family)