VANITY FAIR NOMINATES PEGI AND NEIL YOUNG

HALL OF FAME

ECAUSE in 1978, Pegi and Neil Young's son, Ben, was bom with cerebral palsy—later unable to converse and confined to a wheelchair—and after years of working with various programs to help him, Pegi co-founded the Bridge School, in Hillsborough, California, BECAUSE the Bridge School is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping children with severe impairments reach their potential through alternative means of communication and educational technologies, BECAUSE Neil, an intensely private musician, was so inspired by his son's struggle and his wife's work that he co-hosts—with Pegi—the annual Bridge School benefit concert (now in its 17th year), which raises millions of dollars to pay most of the tuition for the 13 yearly students, BECAUSE musicians consider it an honor to play this concert; past performers have included Bruce Springsteen, R.E.M., Don Henley, Bonnie Raitt, Tom Petty, and many more, BECAUSE the Youngs turned their initial heartbreak into an innovative educational achievement.

LISA ROBINSON