Inside the 4th Annual Hope Rising Benefit 

FTD is not a well-known acronym. It stands for Frontotemporal Degeneration, which is also a less-known disorder that causes a degeneration of the frontal and/or temporal lobes of the brain.

To put it less scientifically, FTD can drastically alter the moods, social behavior, decision-making skills, and general disposition of a person. On average, symptoms manifest at the age of 45 at a rapid pace and there’s no cure. It’s a cruel and somewhat mysterious disorder as those people (and their loved ones) who suffer from FTD are often blindly unaware.

It’s a condition that Donald Newhouse is all too familiar with as, tragically, it took his brother Si and his wife Susan. His own experiences inspired him to start the annual fundraising gala, Hope Rising, to support the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration, which was founded by Helen-Ann Comstock in 2002. This year’s gala—the event’s fourth—raised over $2 million. And due to the generosity of the event’s sponsors, all money raised will go directly to AFTD.

Attended by Anna Wintour, Joshua Henry, and Paula Zahn and hosted at the Pierre Hotel, there was not a soul in the room that wasn’t deeply moved by the night. Mr. Newhouse shared his own experience with AFTD as did several other speakers. The emotional evening ended on an optimistic note, with Brian Moynihan announcing that, as CEO of Bank of America, he preferred to deal with an even, clean number—rounding up the money raised from $1.9 to $2 million—after which a noticeably moved and gleeful Mr. Newhouse rushed to the stage. Presenting the most genuine of smiles, he thanked everyone and Mr. Moynihan, for their generosity. “I’ve always wanted to reach $2 million,” he exclaimed. “What a way to get there!”

Following that, Broadway star Joshua Henry (of Carousel and Hamilton) took to the stage with his guitar for a quick performance. He started off with “On Broadway” and ended with Carousel’s “If I Loved You.” It was a delightful way to end the poignant evening.