MOMMAS House Annual Gala
YOU ARE INVITED!
Thursday, November 16, 2023
6:30 to 10:30 pm
at Westbury Manor
1100 Jericho Turnpike, Westbury, NY 11590
This event has ended - THANK YOU to all who joined us and supported this effort!
As we celebrate 37 YEARS of MOMMAS - Enjoy delicious cocktails, dinner, music, dancing, amazing raffles and more - all in support of the programs of MOMMAS House Mother-Child Residences. This year we will be having an extra fun event with a 1920s themed Murder Mystery event.
Lucky you! You’ve been invited to the Dunn Speakeasy for the wedding of the year! In this “married to the mob” event, you’ll never know who to trust. With the two families merging together, someone is bound to lose power, which means someone else will lose their life! Get on the trolley and solve this case with your fellow detectives.
Dress like the cat’s meow for this mafia wedding! Flapper dresses, zoot suits, feather boas and headbands, pinstriped suits and fedoras are all appropriate. Traditional wedding attire is nifty too!
Can’t attend? There are many different opportunities to support this event.
We can't wait to see you! To learn more about this event or request a formal invitation, please email info@mommashouse.org.
About the Honorees
Rita and John Ballner
Rita and John Ballner live in Massapequa and are "Newlyweds" just celebrating their second wedding anniversary in September. Part of what makes them a special couple is their commitment to service and community.
During the pandemic Rita and John would make 30+ home cooked meals weekly to be hand delivered to the homeless in lower Manhattan. Each holiday season they write and collect almost 3,000 holiday cards to send to deployed military members as part of the Military Mammas Network (their son Adam serves in the Army Reserves). Every Superbowl Sunday they participate in the Long Beach Polar Bear Plunge to benefit the Make a Wish Foundation (John has been doing it for 13 years and now it's become a family event with their kids and friends participating!). From serving on the Hauppauge Soccer Board Executive, chairing charity events such as Kicks for Cancer, Rita cooking for families at Ronald McDonald House and John cumulatively donating over 100 pints of blood to the NY Blood Center they always look for ways to give back.
John grew up in Flushing and worked in the Financial Services industry for over 30 years until he retired in 2021. He is now on his second career as an Account Manager at Acrisure New York. Rita grew up in New Jersey and has been in the Insurance industry for over 30 years, currently in the role of Vice President of Operations and Claims Leader also for Acrisure New York. In their spare time they love to go to the beach, travel and spend time with their family-which includes 4 children -Jack 31, Nadia 27, Will 25 and Adam 25.
Having learned about the work that Mommas House does from a business colleague, John reached out to learn more. After meeting with Pat Shea (whose passion and enthusiasm was infectious) they knew they wanted to be part of the organization. They were excited to be able to help prepare the office and rooms at the Levittown facility and to help "break the cycle" for the young women and their children who would come to live there.