The Tramuto Foundation’s 15th Anniversary Celebration, held on October 1, 2016, was an evening to remember. Five partner organizations benefited from a record-setting $700,000 in donations for the Foundation’s endowment trust, which included a $350,000 personal match by Founder and Chairman Donato Tramuto.

Those same organizations – Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, Boston University School of Public Health, Frannie Peabody Center, Health eVillages and Ogunquit Museum of American Art – were also designated recipients of multi-year Foundation grants.

The event, attended by more than 300 friends, family and business associates of the global healthcare executive, activist and philanthropist, also served as a celebration of Donato’s 60th birthday with a preview of his new book, Life’s Bulldozer Moments. Each guest also had the opportunity to enjoy a slice of the unique birthday cake created in the shape of the state of Maine.

A video clip from U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy of Massachusetts, which was shown at the event, conveyed a personal message of thanks to Donato for transforming the terrible acts of September 11, 2001 into doing good things for others. Donato was presented with a flag sent by the Congressman that was flown over the U.S. Capitol on July 30th, the day of Donato’s actual birthday, as a tribute to his many years of philanthropic work.

Special $50,000 grants were presented to York County Community College in support of its new Associate degree program in Gerontology, Christ the King Seminary in Buffalo, NY for its Theological Field Education Program, and the Ogunquit Playhouse to help underprivileged youth attend the Children’s Theatre Summer Program. Previous recipients of the annual Tramuto Foundation college scholarships were also recognized.

Kerry Kennedy, president of RFK Human Rights, talked about that organization’s connection to the Tramuto Foundation and Tramuto’s other non-profit, Health eVillages, which provides free mobile devices filled with up-to-date medical information to healthcare providers in some of the most remote and poorest regions of the world. “Donato’s passion in life is quite simple: to help those in need, to improve the human condition whether it’s in Maine or in East Africa,” Kennedy said. “Since I met him seven years ago, I realized that Donato will never stop thinking about others and developing ways that Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights and Health eVillages can work together to meet their needs.”

“This night was to honor all the organizations and individuals who have been assisted by the Foundation in the past 15 years, as well as to bring people together from all walks of life and from as far as away as Europe and Kenya, to ensure that by uniting together and focusing on ideas we will have the capacity to respond to others for many years to come,” Donato said. “In launching the Foundation, I quickly realized how my relationships could be leveraged in a manner that increased the level of collaborative IQ to make the world a more just and fair place”.

The evening closed on a perfect note with a rousing performance by internationally known singer/songwriter Eric Andersen.

Please check in for more details as plans for the Tramuto Foundation’s 20th Anniversary celebration on Sept. 11, 2021 take shape.

In the meantime, please enjoy the photos taken during the October 1, 2016 Anniversary celebration. They can be viewed here.