August 29, 2024
Carry the Torch Knoxville: A Benefit Luncheon for VMC Featuring Tracy Kidder, Pulitzer Prize Winner, and Best-Selling Author of Rough Sleepers
And
Dr. Jim O’Connell, President of Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program and Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
The Volunteer Ministry Center’s Carry the Torch Knoxville event on October 24, 2024 at the Knoxville Convention Center will feature Tracy Kidder and Dr. Jim O’Connell. Long time VMC supporters, Dr. Robert and Carney Ivy are serving as Honorary Chairs for this extraordinary event.
Tracy Kidder is an outstanding author whose best-selling works include House, Among Schoolchildren, Old Friends, Home Town, Mountains Beyond Mountains, Strength in What Remains, and The Soul of a New Machine, which earned him a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award. His most recent book, Rough Sleepers, is the powerful story of an inspiring doctor, Dr. Jim O’Connell.
Dr. Jim O’Connell helped create a program to care for Boston’s homeless community. He is the founding physician of the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, which now serves over 10,000 homeless individuals and families each year in two hospital-based clinics and in 30 shelters and outreach sites and on the streets of Boston. He assisted in establishing the nation’s first medical respite program for homeless persons and designed and implemented the nation’s first computerized medical record for the homeless program. He has been featured on ABC’s Nightline, CBS Evening News, and in several feature-length documentaries.
Carry the Torch will begin with a Mission Fair at 10:00 am. Agencies which provide housing, general assistance, medical, and behavioral health services throughout our community, along with VMC will present booths and interact with visitors who are looking for volunteer opportunities. The Carry the Torch luncheon will begin promptly at 11:45 am in the Ballroom of the Knoxville Convention Center.
Carry the Torch is a sponsored table event, but limited reserve seating is available to the public for $125 per seat. Seats may be purchased through the VMC website at www.vmcinc.org or by contacting Mary Beth Ramey at 865-524-3926, x 229.
The mission of the Volunteer Ministry Center is to end and prevent homelessness through compassion, accountability and results. To help VMC fulfill this mission, donations can be made online at https://www.vmcinc.org/donate.
And
Dr. Jim O’Connell, President of Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program and Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
The Volunteer Ministry Center’s Carry the Torch Knoxville event on October 24, 2024 at the Knoxville Convention Center will feature Tracy Kidder and Dr. Jim O’Connell. Long time VMC supporters, Dr. Robert and Carney Ivy are serving as Honorary Chairs for this extraordinary event.
Tracy Kidder is an outstanding author whose best-selling works include House, Among Schoolchildren, Old Friends, Home Town, Mountains Beyond Mountains, Strength in What Remains, and The Soul of a New Machine, which earned him a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award. His most recent book, Rough Sleepers, is the powerful story of an inspiring doctor, Dr. Jim O’Connell.
Dr. Jim O’Connell helped create a program to care for Boston’s homeless community. He is the founding physician of the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, which now serves over 10,000 homeless individuals and families each year in two hospital-based clinics and in 30 shelters and outreach sites and on the streets of Boston. He assisted in establishing the nation’s first medical respite program for homeless persons and designed and implemented the nation’s first computerized medical record for the homeless program. He has been featured on ABC’s Nightline, CBS Evening News, and in several feature-length documentaries.
Carry the Torch will begin with a Mission Fair at 10:00 am. Agencies which provide housing, general assistance, medical, and behavioral health services throughout our community, along with VMC will present booths and interact with visitors who are looking for volunteer opportunities. The Carry the Torch luncheon will begin promptly at 11:45 am in the Ballroom of the Knoxville Convention Center.
Carry the Torch is a sponsored table event, but limited reserve seating is available to the public for $125 per seat. Seats may be purchased through the VMC website at www.vmcinc.org or by contacting Mary Beth Ramey at 865-524-3926, x 229.
The mission of the Volunteer Ministry Center is to end and prevent homelessness through compassion, accountability and results. To help VMC fulfill this mission, donations can be made online at https://www.vmcinc.org/donate.
Contact:
Zan Schriver, Development & Digital Media Manager
ZSchriver@vmcinc.org, (865) 524-3926
