3rd Annual Gala | Marty Lyons Foundation

42 Years of Making Children’s Dreams Come True

Client: Marty Lyons Foundation
Industry: Non-Profit
Video Type: Fundraising, Recap
Messaging Type: Unscripted, Doc Style

About This Video Project

We were honored to film the 3rd Annual Marty Lyons Foundation Gala as they celebrate over 42 years to fulfilling wishes for children with life-threatening illnesses. With over $43 million raised and operations in 14 states, the foundation has supported over 8,500 families. Before the gala there was food, drinks, live music and raffles. The event began with a presentation of our nation’s colors by the 9th Suffolk Cadet Squadron Civil Air Patrol of West Hampton Beach. It also featured the granting of a wish by King, a young boy with a wish to visit the Battleship USS Iowa Museum in California. The gala concludes with a wish auction to raise funds for future wishes, encouraging attendees to play a role in positively impacting the lives of children like King.

Transcription

Welcome, and thank you all so very much for joining us tonight for the third annual Evening of Thanks gala. Our goal is to help all the terminally ill children or children with a chronic life-threatening illness take their greatest wish in life and make it become a reality. And in the past 42 years, through the effort of people like yourself, we’ve helped over 8,500 families. We’ve raised over $43 million, and I’m very proud to say that we are now in 14 states. Please stand for the presentation of our nation’s colors by the 9th Suffolk Cadet Squadron Civil Air Patrol of West Hampton Beach. The money we’re raising is not ours. The money we’re raising is for these kids. And whether we do a first wish or a second wish, we’ve had to try to create hope when hope didn’t exist. We had to work with families that taught us more than we gave them. None of this is possible without everyone here, our donors, our volunteers and our families. We also had a family drive all the way from Pennsylvania to be here with us tonight. So King, I know you just helped with the raffles. Maybe if you guys wouldn’t mind coming up just to share a little bit of information about your wish. It is his wish to visit the Battleship USS Iowa Museum in California. On behalf of the Marty Lyons Foundation, we are honored to announce that in the company of his parents, his siblings, King’s wish is to be granted in June of 2025. The Museum of American Armor of Old Bethpage, New York has invited King as their honored guest to be immersed in the armor’s experience. Now, therefore, we, military personnel, staff, supporters and volunteers of the Marty Lyons Foundation hereby proclaim the wish of our honoree, King, has been officially granted. We’re going to start the wish auction. When you want to make a donation, light your candle, please. We are going to start the auction at the $100 level. We’ve got one, two, three, four, five. Come on, keep the applause going here. Six. $500 level. Everybody, right there in the back. We’re now at the $1,000 level. One, two. Thank you very much. Right there. We got $7,500 right there. Another wish granted. Thank you. We’ve got a $10,000 donation right there again. One, two, three. Come on. Four, five. Thank you. Come on. Let’s light up the room. We’re at the $25,000 level. I’m going to ask, is there anyone in the room that is comfortable at the $25,000 level? That’s a $50,000 donation. Thank you. I’ve always had a saying, you can always make more money, you can’t make more time. So tonight, I thank you for your generosity, for your time, and for your effort, and for your commitment to the foundation. And I ask you, when you go home tonight, take time. Hug your loved ones. Let them know how much you appreciate them. Because you never know what tomorrow is going to bring. Thank you. Know that your generosity is not just generosity. It’s a gift of love, and I never, never will forget it. And thank you all. There’s so many children out there. Please remember them all. And I’ll leave you with one final quote tonight. A quote from Martin Luther King. He said in Memphis one year, he said, you know what, if you can’t fly, run. If you can’t run, walk. If you can’t walk, crawl. But whatever we have to do, we have to keep moving forward. As we get ready to start our 43rd year of helping kids, it’s all of you that I thank tonight. And if we can create that hope, we can create a better tomorrow. Thank you.

To learn more: https://martylyonsfoundation.org/