ABERDEEN — Collier Youth Services will host its annual gala, “Champions of Children,” from 6:30-10:30 p.m. June 9 at Addison Park, 150 Route 35, Aberdeen. Honorees include Thomas Schember, Ginger Mulligan, Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini and Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande.
Proceeds will benefit the programs of Collier, a nonprofit agency in Wickatunk that supports at-risk youth through special education, residential and summer programs.
Schember, president of the Collier Youth Services Board of Directors, has experience in finance and hospital management. After retiring from Franciscan Health Systems, he continued to provide consulting services to several nonprofit care-management organizations throughout New Jersey.
Mulligan, a Collier board member, was the executive director of the Mental Health Association (MHA) of Monmouth County and created the Monmouth Housing Alliance as a nonprofit subsidiary of MHA. She has been a leader in statewide advocacy efforts to improve the mental health system. She was also a founding member of Monmouth Cares, where she is still an active board member.
Angelini has served as a New Jersey General Assemblywoman since 2008. She has sponsored legislation to improve the conditions at state psychiatric hospitals and address underage drinking and drug abuse. She is the current CEO of Preferred Behavioral Health Group.
Casagrande has served as a New Jersey General Assemblywoman since 2008. Prior to being elected, she was a partner with the law firm Menna, Supko & Casagrande in Shrewsbury. She is the founder and director of the Young Women’s Leadership Institute, which nurtures leadership skills of select high school juniors.
The gala will feature live entertainment by Grammy Award winners Lori McKenna and Barry Dean, who will also share the stories behind their country music hits.
For more information, reservations or sponsorship opportunities, call 732-946-4771, ext. 213 or visit www.collieryouthservices.org.