‘Taking The Reins’ fundraiser for homeless at The Park Theatre

By Rob Duguay
Posted 5/3/23

Homelessness is a sad aspect of our society that often gets overlooked. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 2018 Annual Homeless Assessment Report, it was …

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‘Taking The Reins’ fundraiser for homeless at The Park Theatre

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Homelessness is a sad aspect of our society that often gets overlooked. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 2018 Annual Homeless Assessment Report, it was estimated that over 500,000 people were experiencing homelessness in the United States. With the COVID-19 pandemic, increased cost of living and the current housing crisis, chances are that this number has increased. Fortunately there are numerous organizations offering services for those who don’t have a roof over their head, which includes the MAE Organization For The Homeless who are located on 1221 Reservoir Avenue in Cranston. On May 6 at The Rolfe within the Park Theatre on 848 Park Avenue in the same city, there will be an event taking place titled “Taking The Reins On Homelessness” with all the proceeds going to benefit the organization.

The name of the event comes from the theme revolving around the Kentucky Derby, the famous horse race that takes place yearly on the first Saturday of May at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The inspiration for this particular theme comes from one of the services MAE provides for their clients.

“We provide equine therapy for our clients, which is working with a horse,” MAE founder Martinha Javid describes. “Nobody actually rides a horse, just to make that clear, but we do work with horses because they’re a very intuitive animal and a very healing animal. Equine therapy is used for children with autism and several disabilities, it’s incredible for working with individuals suffering from mental illness and even addiction. Our clients love it, it’s their favorite program.”

“We thought that since the Kentucky Derby is a famous event, we’d have an event themed around horses,” she adds. “Everybody loves to dress up for it and go out while doing it for a good cause.”

While this is the second annual edition of  “Taking The Reins On Homelessness”, this is the first time the event will be happening within the confines of the Park Theatre. There won’t be any changes this time around, but people can expect a unique chance to take some photos along with possibly getting a prize.

“Basically people can expect the same thing,” Javid says about this year’s event versus last year’s event. “The only place that has changed is the location, we’re glad to be having it in our home base in Cranston and we love supporting the historic Park Theatre. They give us great support as well and we’re going to be having a live horse outside for photo opportunities. We’re going to have a fashion show for best hat, best couple and best tie as well.”

While the event itself is running from 5-8pm, whoever purchases a VIP ticket will get the opportunity to check out some of the finest soul and R&B music of all-time live in person afterwards. The actual Kentucky Derby will also be shown a giant screen during the event for everyone to enjoy.

“The main attraction to coming to our event is that we’re going to be running the actual Kentucky Derby live on a big screen,” Javid mentions. “Also, our VIP guests will get a special derby cocktail along with getting to stay afterwards to see both The Magic of Motown and Can’t Get Next To You live on stage, so it’s like two events in one. We got so lucky that it worked out that way where our VIPs can watch the show from the mezzanine. I would be still attending the show if I wasn’t hosting it myself.”

For all the details pertaining to ticket prices and other aspects of “Taking The Reins On Homelessness”, log on to the Park Theatre’s website at theparkri.com. To get more information on what MAE does for folks in need and to make a direct monetary donation, log on to maeorg.org.

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