The Coalition Presents
The 2025 PEACE MVP AWARDS
The Peace MVP Awards is a one-night event that celebrates community leaders, activists, public health experts, and policy makers who have been instrumental in promoting peace and preventing gun violence throughout Massachusetts. Previous honorees include Dr. Thea James and the Violence Intervention Advocacy Program at Boston Medical Center, activist and filmmaker Coach Dennis G. Wilson, Peace Boston founder Cindy Diggs, Chaplain Clementina Chéry, former MA House Speaker Robert DeLeo, and then-Attorney General Maura Healey.
This year's honoree is former New England Patriots player and youth advocate Matthew Slater. A 3-time Super Bowl champion and former Patriots team captain, Matthew Slater's commitment to investing in young people and strengthening communities exemplifies what it means to be an MVP both on and off the field. He continues to impact the lives of countless young people and their families through the work of the Slater Family Foundation, which he founded with his wife, Dr. Shahrzad Ehdaivand Slater, in 2020.
In the spirit of this year's theme, "Investing in youth is investing in peace," delicious food will be provided by New England Culinary Arts Training, a Boston-based program that provides tuition-free culinary skills to young people, formerly incarcerated people, and others facing barriers to employment. We hope you can join us!
Time: Monday, April 7th, at 7PM
Location: Temple Israel Boston
477 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA
Tickets: $100 (If the cost is price-prohibitive, please contact CEO Ruth Zakarin about available community tickets.)
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Interested in sponsoring this year's event? The Peace MVP Awards is the Coalition’s biggest fundraiser of the year, and this year, your financial support would make more of an impact than ever.
Why your organization should consider sponsoring:
The Coalition is the only state-based organization in Massachusetts that combines legislative advocacy, public education, and community organizing to prevent gun violence in all its forms. In the current climate, our work at the state and local level matters more than ever before. Last year, we led the way in convening state and national partners to advocate in a unified voice for the most comprehensive gun safety legislation in 10 years. This year, we need to make sure that this law is fully implemented. We are expanding our public education and civic engagement programming to ensure that MA residents can access the data and tools they need to advocate for safer communities. And our community organizing initiatives build collective power and unity to fight for community-based solutions to gun violence. Help the Coalition continue this vital work in 2025 and beyond.
A tremendous thank you to our 2025 sponsors who have sponsored at the Friend Level or above!
Champion Level
Dr. Lesley and Ben Inker
Bruce and Kathy Baron
Ally Level
Stan Griffith and Ann E. Schauffler
Janet and Richard Goldenberg
Edward and Jean Notis-McConarty
Supporter Level
Rabbi Suzanne and Andy Offit
Molly and Chris Malloy
Alex Merlis and Cathie Klapperich
Friend Level
Town Fair Tire Foundation
Madison Park Development Corporation
Newton Wellesley Hospital
Jane and Chad Farrington
Lisa Howe
Phil Henry