As opportunities to host annual outdoor and indoor activities disappear, regional nonprofits that serve Newtown residents and others are going virtual and hosting lifeline fundraisers that may provide funding to sustain critical services through the current COVID-19 health emergency.

This week, for example, the support agency Ability Beyond is morphing its “2020 and Beyond” Gala into the reinvented “No Go Gala.” The newly designed virtual fundraiser will be held on Saturday, April 25, via a livestream webcast, from 6 to 7 pm.

Annually, Ability Beyond relies on the proceeds from its elegant black-tie gala to provide a hopeful future for more than 3,000 individuals with disabilities served by the nonprofit organization. But due to social distancing restrictions, organizers needed to get creative to help the agency sustain its services.

“We are facing incomprehensible needs brought on by COVID-19 and have taken aggressive actions to prevent its spread, protect our residents and staff, and abide by mandated safety precautions,” said Jane Davis, President and CEO of Ability Beyond. “The next two months alone are expected to be a historical challenge, as the financial hardship for Ability Beyond is estimated to be over $5 million.”

Guests are invited to join the celebration and contribute from the comfort of their own homes by tuning into a live, online Giving Hour hosted by popular comedian Christine O’Leary who is once again lending her talents. On-site event workers will also be updating a huge visual thermometer to track the event’s success in real time.

By logging onto www.AbilityBeyond.GiveSmart.com, attendees can purchase a virtual ticket or a “table,” as well as contributing to numerous “Lend a Hand” levels which equate to organization benefits like obtaining medical supplies for people with specialized medical needs or enabling job training for Developmentally Disabled individuals.

The gala has always been Ability Beyond’s largest fundraising event of the year, attracting close to 500 guests each year. The money raised allows the organization to continue providing critical services to clients including those who live and work in Newtown.

For over 60 years, Ability Beyond has led the way in providing independent housing, day programs, and award-winning employment initiatives that support and honor the dignity of people with developmental, intellectual, autism spectrum and mental health disabilities.

NAMI Virtual Walks

NAMI Connecticut Annual Walk will be a virtual event, May 15-17. Anyone wishing to support this organization with numerous Newtown volunteers and participants can simply walk, run, treadmill, hoola-hoop, jump, or bike in or around their home.

Anything one person can do by themselves or that a family can do together can help fund vital NAMI programs and services that are more urgent than ever during times of crisis when Connecticut individuals and families are relying on NAMI affiliates for support and assistance. The Coronavirus outbreak is leaving many feeling anxious, angry, sad, or scared. People living with mental health conditions, their loved ones, and their caregivers face unique challenges during this public health crisis.

To reach people with mental health issues and their loved ones who need help at this unprecedented time, NAMI Connecticut is holding three statewide online support groups. Its nine affiliates and volunteers are also holding virtual support groups and education programs.

Currently there are ten family support groups, 11 NAMI Connection peer support groups, two veterans support groups, six Young Adult Connection Community support groups — including a daily YACC group, and three NAMI- CAN (Child & Adolescent Network) groups — available online.

NAMI’s Family to Family class is already online and two more classes will start in the coming weeks. For information about education programs, or to register, e-mail Iris at ialamo@namict.org — and to find a NAMI online group, visit namict.org/find-support/support-groups/.

Newtown residents can also consider joining Make-A-Wish®Connecticut’s first-ever Virtual Evening of Wishes Gala — on Facebook @MakeAWishCT and YouTube.

The virtual Evening of Wishes Gala on April 25 will feature inspiring wish kid stories, mission moments, special guest appearances and more. Go to ct.wish.org/gala to join.

Creative Virtual Options

This year, The Center for Family Justice’s 8th Annual Walk a Mile in Her Shoes will be a virtual walk to give supporters a safe way to participate in this awareness event. The Center for Family Justice (CFJ) is Connecticut’s first Family Justice Center.

Since establishing itself as a Family Justice Center, CFJ has partnered with local organizations, law enforcement agencies, attorneys, and wellness professionals to bring comprehensive services to individuals impacted by domestic violence, sexual violence, and child abuse, all under one roof. Funds raised from the walk will support Camp HOPE America-Bridgeport.

Camp Hope America-Bridgeport ranks number two in the country for participant outcomes. For this activity, all gentlemen participants of any age are asked to wear women’s shoes and walk a mile to raise awareness and end sexual violence against women and girls. Learn more at walkamile.centerforfamilyjustice.org.

The March of Dimes is promoting a new effort called March for Babies Step Up, a national virtual walk for those who normally participate in local March for Babies events and walks each Spring. By joining March for Babies Step Up! anyone can fundraise in new, exciting ways, including through a new step-counting app, and with virtual fundraising challenges.

Register at marchforbabies.org by clicking “JOIN THIS EVENT” — then, after registering, download the app, start stepping, and share your story using #MarchforBabies and #MFBStepUp. By fundraising for March for Babies, you help support moms and babies during COVID-19 and beyond.

Even New Haven’s renowned International Festival of Arts & Ideas will celebrate its 25th anniversary with a variety of online artistic experiences, virtual food experiences, cell phone-guided walking tours, and various NEA Big Read activities. The virtual Ideas programming centered on the theme “Democracy: We the People” will feature interactive events and conversations with vital thinkers, and all programming will be free.

Co-Directors Tom Griggs and Liz Fisher said this year’s Festival is going to be very different from any other.

“This isn’t the 25th Anniversary we imagined, but it’s a Festival we can all take part in — and love,” they said. “While it won’t be possible for us to continue with the live programming that we had planned, we’re excited by the new virtual and physically distanced program that we are re-imagining, to virtually embrace our audience, artists, and community, and to deliver, in a new way, all the things you know and love about the Festival.”

Virtual and physically distanced programming will begin online in the coming weeks on a rolling basis. Details will be announced weekly and will be shared on the Festival’s website, www.artidea.org.