The Ruderman Family Foundation’s 2024 Morton E. Ruderman Award in Inclusion goes to Andrea Bocelli. Bocelli is being celebrated for his profession, as well as for his charity endeavors through the Andrea Bocelli Foundation. During his 2024 Christmas tour, which takes place in Boston later this year, Bocelli will formally accept the accolade.
A $100,000 donation will be made to the Andrea Bocelli Foundation (ABF) to aid in the reconstruction of ABF schools in Haiti.
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Bocelli remarked in a statement, “Whether it be through my journey, musical career, or philanthropic projects, I have always prioritized giving a voice to the voiceless — to give back to the world all the good things I have received, so the less fortunate or most vulnerable members of our society get a chance to achieve a life full of opportunity and beauty.”
“It is therefore a tremendous honor to receive this award from the Ruderman Family Foundation, an organization that shares my worldview in both word and deed. Together, we will continue to work to build a better world than the one we have found.”
In five of the most impoverished and isolated areas in Haiti, the ABF and its local partner Foundation St. Luc have already assisted with the reconstruction of multiple schools, providing more than 3,500 kids with access to education daily.
Since its founding in 2011, Bocelli’s organization has raised 70 million euros, sponsored ten schools in Haiti and Italy, and enhanced water access for over 400,000 people.
Jay Ruderman, the president of the Ruderman Family Foundation, stated, “Both in his musical career and his philanthropic work, Andrea Bocelli has unmistakably demonstrated that through perseverance we can achieve even the most ambitious goals and dreams.”
In honor of Morton E. Ruderman, the founder of the Ruderman Family Foundation, the award was created and is currently in its tenth year of existence. Former U.S. Senator Tom Harkin, Oscar-winning actress Marlee Matlin, and directors Peter and Bobby Farrelly are among the past winners of the prize who were recognized particularly for bringing about change on the topic of inclusion. (For co-writing and co-producing Green Book in 2019, Peter Farrelly received two Oscars.)
Olympic athlete Michael Phelps, five-time NBA All-Star Kevin Love, actress Eva Longoria, actor and recording artist Selena Gomez, Oscar-nominated actor Taraji P. Henson, and five-time NBA All-Star Kevin Love have all received recognition for their efforts to lessen the stigma associated with mental health.
Renowned soprano Andrea Bocelli has nine albums in the top 10 of the Billboard 200, including Si, which debuted at number one in November 2018. Five of his albums—Romanza (91 weeks), Sogno (72 weeks), Aria – The Opera Album (69 weeks), Amore (59 weeks), and My Christmas (52 weeks)—have spent a full year or more at the top of Billboard’s album list.
A 2010 duet with Mary J. Blige that reworked Simon & Garfunkel’s 1970 smash song “Bridge Over Troubled Water” was Bocelli’s sole hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
