Brunswick School was named one of 11 Light a Fire Award winners at the 14th annual Greenwich Magazine Light a Fire Celebration of Giving, held virtually Dec. 2.
“Light a Fire is simply a celebration of the heart,” said Jonathan Moffly, president of Moffly Media, as he opened the celebration. “Our honorees are dedicated, they are selfless, they are all in. They are making good things happen. They change lives.”
Brunswick was cited for its support of Horizons at Brunswick, and also for the way it has stepped up to volunteer space to Greenwich Hospital throughout the pandemic — including lending Dann Gymnasium for a clinic that saw 40,000 people get vaccinated.
“For enriching our community with the leaders of tomorrow, and for helping keep our community stay healthy and safe, we present Brunswick with the 2021 Light a Fire Good Community Good Neighbor award,” said the Master of Ceremonies, actor and philanthropist James Naughton.
Head of School Tom Philip accepted the award on behalf of the entire Brunswick community, including all of the faculty, students, parents, alumni, and friends who “live and work behind the scenes to raise our community up, to light a fire.”
Philip said a special debt of gratitude is owed to all the award winners, each of whom “inspire and encourage us to place the needs of others before self, all of whom have made such a tremendous and lasting difference in our efforts to build and sustain a stronger, more thoughtful, more compassionate community.”
“We are fortunate indeed,” Philip said. “No question, the fires you all light continue to burn bright, especially in these very challenging times.
Here’s the full list of award winners:
Rob Fried/Band Central, Redding
Supporter of Nonprofits
Wilner Joseph, Stamford
Best Friend to Children
Brunswick School, Greenwich
Community Good Neighbor
Grace Lockhart Djuranovic, Greenwich
Committee Member
Matthew Jordan, Westport
Teen Volunteer
Alan Miller, Darien
Community Advocate
Melissa Shapiro
Empathy Advocate
Sherry Jonas and Andy Berman
Impactful Duo
Julie Schlafman
Grassroots Leader
Christine Lai, Greenwich
Best Friend to Families