Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities, recently announced that tickets are on sale for its annual benefit gala, “Minds in Bloom: Cultivating Growth for Kids with Learning Differences.”
The event will start at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, April 10, at Woodway Country Club, 540 Hoyt St. The organization will be celebrating 25 years of helping children with learning differences.
— an announcement from Smart Kids With Learning Disabilities Inc.
“Minds in Bloom” will feature a cocktail reception with music from Norwalk guitarist Glenn Roth, dinner, and silent and live auctions. Christopher Bogart, Ph.D., executive director of Sasco River Center (and former Smart Kids with LD board president), will be the master of ceremonies and Sherry Truhlar of Red Apple Auctions will serve as auctioneer.
Items in the auction include: club seat tickets to a Yankees game (playing the Red Sox or White Sox), two floor seat tickets to Billy Joel & Stevie Nicks at Met Life Stadium, two orchestra tickets to The Picture of Dorian Gray with Succession star, Sarah Snook, plus lunch Din Tai Fung, and a fishing trip with Cap’n Steve Ehrens out of Fairfield Harbor, among other sought after items and experiences.
A variety of gift cards to Fairfield and Westchester County restaurants will also be in play during the ever-popular, Live Auction Feeding Frenzy.
Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities is a Norwalk-based nonprofit dedicated to educating and empowering parents of children with learning and attention differences.
Honorees
At the gala, Smart Kids will honor Ross with the Community Service Award, and Jake Sussman, Founder and President, Superpower Mentors, with the Be The Difference Award.
In addition, six local and long-distance students with learning differences will be recognized and awarded for their success and notable accomplishments. These recipients of the 2025 Fred J. Epstein Youth Achievement Awards will be announced at the gala.
Honoree Jane Ross
As founder and executive director of Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities, Jane Ross has worked with distinguished experts and parents of children with learning disabilities since the organization’s launch in 2000. Smart Kids’ mission is to help children with learning and attention differences reach their full potential, by educating and empowering parents to help them succeed.
Contributed photo
Honoree Jane Ross, founder and executive director of Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities
“Over the past 25 years, Jane has grown this organization into a beacon of hope for families navigating dyslexia, ADHD, and other learning differences,” said Laura Heneghan, Smart Kids with LD board member.
“Because of her vision, thousands of children have found a voice, parents have found guidance, and educators have found the tools to better support the students who need them most. Jane’s impact is immeasurable — she has changed the landscape for children who learn differently.”
In her earlier career in publishing, Jane developed books for major publishers, established book-publishing program at Better Homes & Gardens (Meredith Corporation), co-founded a small independent book publishing company, and served as a consultant in direct-marketing publishing.
Her academic background includes an undergraduate degree from Harvard University, and a Master’s Degree in Business Policy from Columbia Business School.
“As always, our youth winners demonstrate the wonderful gifts and talents and the very promising future of young people with learning differences,” Ross said.
About Honoree Jake Sussman
Contributed photo
Honoree Jake Sussman, founder of Superpower Mentors
Jake Sussman, founder of Superpower Mentors, developed one of the world’s most effective online mentoring programs designed to empower youth and young adults with learning differences to confidently succeed in any environment.
Jake has perfected his craft on how to best reach the “unreachable” through thousands of hours of personally mentoring neurodiverse youth around the world. His own experiences with learning differences have been his greatest advantage, as Jake utilizes his stories to bridge the gap between those who think differently and those who do not understand.
“As someone who once struggled to see my own potential, I know firsthand that the right mentorship can change everything,” Sussman said. “The world’s biggest problems will be solved by those who think differently, and I am committed to making sure every young person sees their differences as their greatest superpower,” Sussman said.
If You’re Going …
The event will start at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, April 10, at Woodway Country Club, 540 Hoyt St.
Gala tickets are available at different levels:
• Advocate: $250 per person/$500 per couple;
• Benefactor: $500/$1000 per couple.
• Patron: $2,500 per table/10 guests.
Tickets are available online here: https://smartkidswld.schoolauction.net/2025gala. Customized sponsorships are offered at varied levels, ranging from $1,500 to $15,000 — for details, contact founder Jane Ross at (203) 216-3196. Dress is festive attire; all are welcome.
More About Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities
Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities, Inc. is a Norwalk-based nonprofit organization dedicated to fulfilling the potential of children with learning and attention challenges by educating, inspiring, and empowering their parents via its educational programs, award-winning website and blog and free e-newsletter.
The organization also educates the public about these children’s gift and talents. Henry Winkler, Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning actor, director and author, serves as the organization’s Honorary Chairman.
For more information regarding the April 10 “Minds in Bloom” gala or Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities at large, visit smartkidswithld.org.