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Ossining's Open Door Hosts Rob Thomas Benefit Concert

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. -- Rob Thomas will bring his street corner symphony to Purchase Performing Arts Center for a worthy cause.

Rob Thomas will be performing for Open Door Medical Center.

Rob Thomas will be performing for Open Door Medical Center.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Marcia Clark

The singer, frontman for Matchbox Twenty and a Bedford resident, will perform an intimate concert to raise money for the Ossining-based Open Door Foundation on Thursday, Oct. 9. The Open Door Foundation runs the Open Door Medical Centers, located throughout Westchester and in Brewster.

The event will honor Girish Navani, CEO and co-founder of eClinicalWorks, and Isabel Beshar, a Rye resident who is a community volunteer and Rhodes Scholar.

"We do this event every other year," said Sue Fuirst, a member of Open Door's board of directors. "We're very excited to have Rob. He's a local guy who lives a lot back to the community."

Fuirst said aside from raising money for Open Door, they also hope to raise awareness for Open Door and what it provides for the community. 

"We handle the under served population of Westchester," Fuirst said. "While everyone has access to health care and health insurance now, there are still a number of fees not covered or there are high deductibles."

Open Door offers sliding-scale payments and no one is turned away.

"We saw 40,000 patients last year in Westchester and Putnam," Fuirst said. "This year, we expect to see 45,000. That's 850 patients a week."

Fuirst said they were thrilled to get someone of Thomas' caliber. 

"He is such a big name," Fuirst said. "He's probably the biggest name we've had. We've had great ticket sales, it's going to be a night."

Thomas is known for his involvement with Blythedale Children's Hospital in Valhalla. Fuirst said they have introduced him to Open Door's mission.

"We're really excited to have him," Fuirst said. "He couldn't be a nicer guy."

Fuirst, whose favorite Rob Thomas song is "Smooth," said she likes getting someone like Thomas, who has become a part of the Bedford community and is regularly spotted at Le Jardin du Roi in Chappaqua. 

"This will help us get our name out there and show people there are economically disadvantaged people who require care and access," Fuirst said. "They need Open Door."

For more information, visit http://www.opendoormedical.org/robthomas/

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