Event details

Join us at the 2026 Global Rescue Dinner.

At a time when conflict and division are prevalent, the 300 million people in humanitarian need have the most to lose. That’s why the IRC is calling for a vigorous return to the values, like compassion, dignity and solidarity, that underpin our shared humanity. 

Critically, we believe that our shared humanity isn’t something we feel–it’s something we do. We hope to see you in New York on November 5.

 

 

Table levels

$1,000,000 Honorary Chair

Includes up to two premier tables with seating for 20 guests; special Honorary Chair acknowledgment at the reception and dinner; prominent acknowledgment in all event materials and on the IRC event website; IRC program staff available to join your table; invitations to private briefings on IRC programming.

$500,000 Rescue Ambassador

Includes a premier table with seating for 10 guests; special acknowledgment at the reception and dinner; prominent acknowledgment in all event materials and on the IRC event website; IRC program staff available to join your table; invitations to private briefings on IRC programming.

$250,000 Rescue Leader

Includes a prime table with seating for 10 guests; acknowledgment at the dinner, in all event materials, and on the IRC event website; IRC program staff available to join your table; invitations to private briefings on IRC programming.

$100,000 Rescue Patron

Includes preferred table with seating for 10 guests; acknowledgment in all event materials and on the IRC event website; invitations to private briefings on IRC programming.

$50,000 Rescue Sponsor

Includes table with seating for 10 guests; acknowledgment in all event materials and on the IRC event website.

Honorees

Each year the Freedom Award and John C. Whitehead Humanitarian Award are given to extraordinary individuals who make significant contributions to saving and improving lives around the world. This year’s Freedom Award honoree is Dr. Atul Gawande and the John C. Whitehead Humanitarian Award is bestowed to the LEGO Foundation.

  • ×
    Headshot of Freedom Award winner Dr. Atul Gawande.

    Dr. Atul Gawande

    Atul Gawande, MD, MPH, is a renowned surgeon, author, and public health innovator. He holds the John and Cyndy Fish Chair in Surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and is the Samuel O. Thier Professor of the Practice of Surgery at Harvard Medical School. He was Assistant Administrator for Global Health at USAID from January 2022 to January 2025. Prior to that, he co-founded and chaired Ariadne Labs, a joint center for health systems innovation where he is now Distinguished Professor in Residence, and Lifebox, a nonprofit organization making surgery safer globally.

    Dr. Gawande is also a longtime writer for The New Yorker magazine and has written four New York Times best-selling books: Complications, Better, The Checklist Manifesto, and Being Mortal. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and has won two National Magazine Awards,. And he is executive producer for three documentary films, most recently, Oscar-shortlisted film Rovina’s Choice (2025).

  • ×
    Photo of an IRC teacher demonstrating a lesson to students with LEGO blocks.

    LEGO Foundation

    The LEGO Foundation is a Danish corporate foundation working with partners around the world to support children's needs and champion the dignity of childhood. The foundation exists to build the conditions—and create the space—for every child, everywhere, to thrive and grow.

Previous events

Two people stand together on the stage of the IRC's Global Rescue Dinner.
1 of 12
 Two people perform onstage at the IRC's Global Rescue Dinner.
2 of 12
IRC staff stand together onstage at the IRC's Global Rescue Dinner.
3 of 12
A group of musicians perform onstage at the IRC's Global Rescue Dinner.
4 of 12
Sam Smith performs at the IRC's Global Rescue Dinner.
5 of 12
Giannis Antetokounmpo speaks at the IRC's Global Rescue Dinner.
6 of 12
An IRC Muppet from the Ahlan Simsim program talks onstage at the IRC's Global Rescue Dinner.
7 of 12
Performers dance at the IRC's Global Rescue Dinner.
8 of 12
Artist, Sting, performs at the IRC's Global Rescue Dinner.
9 of 12
Two people speak onstage at the IRC's Global Rescue Dinner.
10 of 12
Attendees gather at the IRC's Global Rescue Dinner.
11 of 12
A speaker addresses attendees at the IRC's Global Rescue Dinner.
12 of 12