Ridgefield Residents Raffaele Gallo and Glori Norwitt to be Recognized at Women’s Center Annual Dinner on April 3

Join us for An Evening Together on Friday, April 3, at the Amber Room in Danbury. At this year’s Annual Dinner the Women’s Center will be honoring Raffaele Gallo for his philanthropic support of the community, and celebrating Glori Norwitt for her eight years of service as the Center’s Board Chair. The evening will also include a video, “A Journey of Hope,” which highlights a Women’s Center client who went from #survivortothriver.

Raffaele Gallo has owned and operated Toscana, Gallo and now The Lantern in Ridgefield, as well as other various restaurants in NYC and Boston. Not an ordinary restaurant owner, Gallo takes pride in not only working in the kitchen, but also knowing ALL of his customers and visiting tables to say hello.  

While Gallo is a wonderful and generous friend to the Women’s Center, his philanthropy reaches far and wide in the community, including Sphere, RVNAHealth, the Ridgefield Library, ACT, and Ridgefield Playhouse, just to name a few. In fact, don’t miss out on attending our event and having the opportunity to bid on his catered in-home dinner party for 10 during our live auction!

If you ask Raffaele why he thinks it’s important to give back, he will tell you “I love Ridgefield. It’s a community made up of people who no matter what nonprofit they work or volunteer for, they support each other. They have given so much to me and my family, it’s only right we give back.”  

Glori Norwitt is the past board chair of the Women’s Center and currently holds the role of secretary. She first joined the Women’s Center in 2008 as a hotline volunteer certified to perform domestic violence and sexual assault crisis intervention. In 2019 alone, Women’s Center volunteers dedicated over 22,000 hours of service.

Norwitt explained, “From counseling clients on the 24-hour hotlines to overseeing governance and strategic decisions on the Board, I have always fully believed in the Women’s Center mission to support our communities in dealing with domestic violence, sexual assault, and many other related issues, including bullying, conflict resolution, self-esteem, divorce, etc. I am proud to stand with the staff and countless volunteers who work tirelessly to assist all those in our surrounding towns (including Ridgefield) who need help, whether at our headquarters, our residential facility, Danbury & New Milford Hospitals, area police departments, in Danbury Superior Court, in our schools, at Western Connecticut State University, or anywhere necessary.”

Glori has been an integral part of the Women’s Center and we look forward to celebrating all she has and continues to do for the organization.

The Annual Dinner begins at 6:00 p.m., and all proceeds benefit the Center’s many free, confidential domestic and sexual violence survivor programs and services, including 24-hour hotlines.

Martini Glass A Cappella Group will entertain with inspirational music, and comedienne Christine O’Leary will also appear.

An auction is planned, with items including front row seats to a Billy Joel concert, a private oyster shucking event on Hummock Island, a week’s vacation to Marco Island, Raffaele’s popular catered dinner by Gallo Restaurant, and more.

To purchase a sponsorship and tickets, donate an auction item, or for more information about the event, contact Linda Cummins, Special Events Manager, at 203-731-5200, x232 linda.c@wcogd.org.

Photo caption: Pictured left to right: Raffaele Gallo and Glori Norwitt of Ridgefield.