Big Wish Gala

Tonight, I got to volunteer at the event of all events.

Okay, so I might be exaggerating a little bit. But it IS a pretty spectacular event.

Tonight was the Make-A-Wish Big Wish Gala! Granted, I've never volunteers at anything of MAW's that isn't pretty awesome. But somehow, I've missed this opportunity in past years. not sure how, but this will become a regular thing for me now!

So, what is it?

Well, this is one of our local chapters big, BIG fundraising events. It's quite a dressy affair (without being too formal), where it's pretty much 100% donation driven. And people who come have no problem with that, as a majority are some of the City's high rollers, so to speak. To start, it was a few hundred dollars just to get in the door. So it wasn't just JimBob coming to rub shoulders with important people because he could. And that donation to get in was just the tip of the iceberg!

Once guests arrived, they got to stroll through the silent auction area, where there were items ranging from pampered doggy daycare, to trips to Hawaii. The also got to buy raffle tickets for a $43k diamond necklace! Also on display were the items that would be up for live auction later, such as an adorable Golden Retriever puppy (and yes, they were walking him around the room)!

Once the doors opened for dinner, guests went in to enjoy a nice dinner with Host, Dallas Clark, beginning the program. Much of the program tugged on heartstrings, which a lot of MAW events often do. It's hard not to when you're talking about kids and the feats they accomplish while going through treatments for some horrible health issue. They even had a 'fairy godmother' come in and grant the wish of one little girl who was in attendance - it was so heartwarming! Of course, shortly after this point was when they mentioned the donation cards on the table, where guests could openly donate as much as they'd like.

After some more stories and dessert, the live auction began! It was done true, authentic, auction style, with the fast talking auctioneer and everything. You could hear it all happening - wish I could've been in the room. I know these 20 items along probably raised over $100k alone! Which is so awesome. If I had to guess, the overall even probably raised close to $500k. But that's completely a guess. I know I had some people checking out with some pretty high totals. Granted, for every person who checked out with something, there was someone who didn't do anything but buy the initial ticket to get in. But there were around 700 people in attendance, so it had to be a pretty decent night of donations.

I have to share one of the most touching moments, though... it happened outside of the ballroom and out of the spotlight. One of the live auctions was a quilt made by a wish child, whose wish was to have a sewing machine. Well, she got a top of the line, do everything sewing machine (think $10k) and made this quilt as a way to say 'thank you' and help raise money. The winner of this quilt was the grandfather of another wish child - he bought if for his grandson. The quilt, itself, was very MAW oriented, with quotes and 'wish stars' on it, so it was very appropriate that it went to a wish child. His grandson was already snuggling with the quilt at the checkout - it was so touching. I wish I had a picture to share of the moment... at least I have the memory to share.

Tonight just reaffirmed why Make-A-Wish is my main philanthropy - the one I decided I wanted to do, on my own, because it was something I felt strongly about. I support other charities, and while they are important to me, this will always be the one that first made a big enough impact on me to make me want to donate more than money - my time can actually do so much more sometimes.