This weekend, a lot of people are coming together to help a special nonprofit in a very special way.
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The charity is New Hope for Kids, a Maitland group that helps children who’ve lost their parents, siblings and other loved ones to accidents, murder, suicide and disease.
The group’s mission is rooted in tragedy, yet focused on transformation. It provides counseling and grief-support services to both the kids and the parents, letting them know that they aren’t alone and helping them find ways to cope, live and even thrive in their new, unwelcome normal.
And on Saturday night, I’ll help host a fundraising gala for the group. That part’s not unusual. Hundreds of worthy nonprofits stage fundraisers every year.
What makes this event unique is that every single facet of this fancy fundraiser has been donated by a coalition of event-planning companies. These are companies that usually get paid for their services. But last year, they decided to start something new — uniting to give one lucky nonprofit everything free of charge, allowing the charity to earn far more from its fundraiser because all the upfront costs had been paid in advance.
They call it the Goodness Gala. And when I say they donate everything, I mean it. Dinner and appetizers. An open bar. The venue itself — a rooftop banquet room and patio overlooking downtown Orlando. And it doesn’t stop there. There’s also a donated DJ, photography services, printed programs, sound and lighting systems — everything down to the tables and the floral arrangements that will top them.
All told, it’s a package worth $100,000 that 36 local charities applied to receive. This year, New Hope was the winner.
New Hope CEO Brian Clark said being selected was a big deal for a group that has done this work for 30 years and yet is still unknown by many families who need the services. “We just want to bring some joy and hope to children and families when they need it most,” he said. “This gives us an opportunity to share who we are and what we do with people who may not know.”
New Hope is just what grieving kids need
The Goodness Gala is the brainchild of Sean Hughes, CEO of aVenue Event Group, an event-planning agency that also owns The Balcony where the gala is held.
Hughes said companies in the event-planning business like the work they do. But they also sympathize with charities that have to spend big bucks — and sometimes as much as a year planning — to pull them off. “So we thought it would be really cool to not just discount things here or there,” he said, “but put together a full donated event.”
Hughes said it was inspiring and surprisingly easy to find so many local companies eager to join.
They’re companies like TableTop Catering, whose owner James Marino said he was moved by New Kids’ mission. “It’s something you don’t even think of — kids losing their parents,” Marino said. “I mean, you see it on TV and the movies. But this is happening here. And to learn that there’s a group helping them, well it was an enlightenment.”
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Like many companies, Marino’s says his company has made philanthropy part of its core mission — “to do right by our community,” as he puts it. But it’s sometimes tough to find the right recipient. So Hughes helped set up a formal application process, working with the Central Florida Foundation, which provides guidance to local philanthropists and charitable foundations.
Last year, about two dozen nonprofits applied to be the beneficiary of the first annual Goodness Gala, which supported NextStep Orlando, an organization that specializes in providing “hope and recovery for people living with paralysis.”
Most of the groups that apply are worthy. In fact, Hughes said many of his fellow donors get so moved, “We have to put tissue boxes out when we do this.”
But New Hope’s mission particularly resonated with the donor partners — Orlando Marquee & Decor, Go To Event Rentals, iRock Your Party, Bellamore Studio, Faux Real Flowers, On Top Printing and Printed for Light.
It’s easy to understand why. I first connected with New Hope 16 years ago when I sat in a circle with a bunch of grade-school-aged children, most of whom had lost a parent.
Their stories were heartbreaking. About Mom waking them up in the middle of the night to tell them that Daddy was gone. About how much they miss everyday things like playing board games. One little boy talked about how much it hurt when other kids asked him why he no longer had a mommy.
I found myself choking up. But the other children in the circle looked at him with knowing eyes. They understood and became his support system, even if they didn’t realize it.
“It is magical to witness the lift that happens when dark becomes light,” said Gloria Capozzi, New Hope’s director of community outreach.
So on Saturday night, when supporters file into The Balcony’s rooftop venue, they will know that every dollar they donate will go directly toward that mission.
Then, on Oct. 1, all the donor companies that made this year’s Goodness Gala happen will start the process all over again, accepting applications for 2027 with Hughes saying: “We want to make a serious impact.”
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For more information on the Goodness Gala, visit goodnessgala.org
And for more info on New Hope, check out newhopeforkids.org