Ablechild Announces Fundraising Red Carpet Gala to Promote Consumer Drug Safety

Ablechild is a non-profit national parent's rights organization dedicated to protecting full informed consent and educating the public on the MEDWATCH program. Ablechild is holding a fundraising gala on December 2, 2009 at Venture Portrait Studio, 48 West Putnam Avenue in Greenwich, Connecticut at 7 pm.

A wide variety of unique and fun items have been donated for the auction from many local retailers, like Mill Street Homes of Greenwich and Fitness Together of New Canaan. In addition, Judith Ripka will create an Exclusive Jewelry Bar for the Ablechild 2009 Gala. This Exclusive Jewelry Bar will feature designs from both her 18k Couture Collection and Sterling Silver & 18k Gold Collection. Whether passion for her jewelry or passion for her family, Judith Ripka and her husband, Ronald J. Berk, are committed to making a difference. Judith has been honored by many prestigious organizations, including the Albert Einstein School of Medicine and the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation. She also sits on many Boards and Steering Committees, such as the Rita Hayworth Gala in support of the Alzheimer's Association.

Ablechild will use the proceeds of the auction to help educate the public on how to report adverse side effects from prescription medications, increase parental awareness of the risks associated with psychotropic drugs, and to insure that parents are aware of alternate approaches. "Many consumers experience a bad reaction to a drug and never report it. Through our efforts, all drug packaging and advertisements must now have a 1-800 number in order to report adverse side effects. This has resulted in better drug safety and enables the Food and Drug Administration to better protect the public," said Patricia Weathers, Ablechild Co-Founder. "We also focus on providing information to parents so that they can pursue other approaches including nutrition, allergen analysis, reading with phonics, and many other tried and true approaches, which have often been replaced with dangerous mind altering drugs," she added.

Ablechild has been involved in several Connecticut health improvement initiatives including participating in the CT Mental Health Transformation Grant, and was on the frontlines of getting the black box warning on antidepressants.

Ablechild is a member of the New Canaan, CT Chamber of Commerce, The Dutchess County, NY Chamber of Commerce, and just has recently joined the Greenwich, CT Chamber of Commerce.

So come step onto the red carpet and party for a really good cause!

For more information on Ablechild and to purchase tickets, please go to: http://www.ablechild.org

Contact:
Sheila Matthews
Ablechild Cofounder
(203)594-1700