News
January 26, 2016Unity House to Honor Three at Annual Gala
Unity House will celebrate three honorees — its founder, Mary Jane Smith; Frank Pitts and his firm architecture+ and the Howard & Bush Foundation — for their longstanding commitment to community service and to making the Capital Region a better place to live. The honorees have been long-time supporters of the Troy-based human services organization and will be recognized at the “I Love Unity House Gala” on Friday, Feb. 12 at Pat’s Barn in Troy’s Rensselaer Technology Park.
As co-founder of Unity House and then as its executive director for 20 years, Smith developed programs for people living in poverty, adults living with mental illness, victims of domestic violence, and children with developmental delays. Her passion for people in need led her to serve on many boards and she continues to serve her community today.
“Mary Jane embodies compassion, humility, and unselfish dedication in everything she does,” said Unity House CEO Chris Burke. “We can all learn a great deal from Mary Jane and her compassion for the less fortunate.”
Led by Frank Pitts, architecture+ was Unity House’s partner in designing The Front Door Community Center. The firm continues to support Unity House with regular donations to its programs and special events.
“Architecture+ values the interests and needs of those we serve at Unity House and places service to our community at the core of its mission’” said Burke. “Frank and his team have been true partners and we are happy to be recognizing their contributions to Unity House and to our community.
The Howard & Bush Foundation, a Troy-based charitable organization that provides grants to assist organizations working to improve the quality of life in Troy and Rensselaer County, has provided a great deal of financial support to Unity House. During the capital campaign that supported the construction of The Front Door, the foundation match new campaign donations dollar for dollar up to $250,000.
“The Howard & Bush challenge grant certainly helped push us closer to our campaign goal,” said Burke, “and helped us get this community center built. The foundation’s support of our campaign played a big part in our success in serving the hundreds of members of our community who receive services in this building every day.”
For information about reservations for the I Love Unity House Gala, call 518.274.2607, ext. 4139.
