February 28, 2007
Fourth Annual "Mission Possible" Gala & Symposium
Washington, D.C.

NARSAD’s annual Washington, D.C., “Mission Possible” gala was held on Wednesday, February 28th, at the Canadian Embassy. The event, which raised $514,000 for NARSAD’s research grants program, also honored the late Art Buchwald and Representative Patrick J. Kennedy of Rhode Island in the presentation of NARSAD’s annual Wellstone Leadership Award. .

The event was held in cooperation with the International Partnership for Mental Health Research, a consortium of American and Canadian mental health organizations, including NARSAD, dedicated to increasing mental health research, and the dissemination of its results, worldwide.

Guests at the gala viewed contemporary art in the embassy’s gallery and were invited to enter a raffle of luxury items. This year’s Wellstone Award posthumously honored Mr. Buchwald, the renowned columnist and humorist who died early this year in Washington. Mike Wallace of CBS’s “60 Minutes,” who in past years joined Mr. Buchwald and novelist William Styron in sharing with the public their personal struggles with depression, delivered a touching tribute to his late friend and presented the award to Mr. Buchwald’s son Joel. A Wellstone Award was also presented to Rep. Kennedy, who is lead Democratic House co-sponsor of the Paul Wellstone Equitable Treatment Act, which would end insurance discrimination against mental illness.

NARSAD established the Wellstone Leadership Award in memory of the late Minnesota senator Paul Wellstone, who actively supported mental-health legislation throughout his career. The award recognizes exemplary efforts on behalf of people suffering from mental illness, and previously has been presented to former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, Oregon’s Senator Gordon Smith, and New Mexico’s Senator Pete Domenici.

The evening was emceed by CNN’s Frank Sesno and co-chaired by Sheila Rabaut and Wendy Adeler Hall. NARSAD’s Washington galas have raised close to $2 million in the four years since the first one took place.

In conjunction with the gala, a free public symposium on mental health research featuring presentations by NARSAD-supported scientists was scheduled for Sunday, February 25th, at George Washington University, but a severe winter storm forced its cancellation. The symposium has been rescheduled for Sunday, September 9th, at the university’s Lisner Auditorium.