3rd Annual “Evening of Thanks” Gala

The Marty Lyons Foundation held its 3^rd Annual GALA fundraising event of the year, an “Evening of Thanks”, to help grant special wishes to children between the ages of 3 to 17 who have been diagnosed with life-threatening or terminal illnesses.

Over 100 exquisite raffle prizes were displayed as guests tried their chances, enjoyed champagne and live music during an extended cocktail hour before dinner.

The evening program began with special recognition awards given to long-time, dedicated volunteers of the Foundation.

Then, a special “WISH REVEAL” to 14-year-old wish child, King from Henryville, PA. In an effort to treat his disease, he received a bone marrow transplant. However, that did not go as hoped. King has had an extremely complex and extended course of treatment since he was initially diagnosed, which qualified him to be a recipient of the MLF “2^nd Wish Program”. In spite of all that he has had to endure, he has grown into a remarkable boy.

He loves American history and watches documentaries on WWI and WWII. He is fascinated by battleships, aircrafts and submarines.

King has made a wish to be immersed in the WWII era by visiting the Battleship USS Iowa Museum in California with his family. Unbeknownst to him, he was granted his wish, presented military style by members of the 106^th Rescue Wing Civil Air Patrol, U.S. Air Force Auxiliary at the event, for all guests to share in the surprise! Additional military surprises were also presented to him to experience!

Guests also enjoyed a moving video presentation from Wish Mom, Joanna. Her son, Jesse had his wish granted to go on a family cruise in 2002, when he was 18 years old. Though Jesse has since passed away, Joanna had just recently reached out to the foundation, wanting to express how important the impact of that wish experience was, and how it has stayed with her and the family.

The success of this event could not have been possible without the generosity of our supporters, sponsors, and volunteers, whose collaboration helped us raise over $100,000 to continue making wishes come true for our special kiddos.