The Valerie Fund Blog

The 25^th Annual Thanksgiving Ball Gala is just a week away!

The Thanksgiving Ball Gala will be held at the Hilton Short Hills and has historically been an unforgettable and very successful fundraising event. This year, the live and silent auction items will include tickets to the smash Broadway musical Hamilton, a week’s stay at the Ritz-Carlton in St. Thomas, exciting autographed memorabilia and much more. Advance bidding on the silent auction items will begin Monday, November 14^th and you will be able to follow your favorites live from the Thanksgiving Ball Gala the evening of Friday, November 18^th .

The Gala has a new addition this year with four Learning Depots hosted by members of the Valerie Fund multidisciplinary team and a Valerie Fund Patient Ambassador. These Learning Depots give guests the opportunity to understand the core services and programs patients and their families receive at the Valerie Fund Children’s Centers. The team includes social workers and psychologists, Child Life specialists, Educational Liaisons, specialists in Palliative Care and Integrative Medicine and Camp Happy Times staff. Bringing The Valerie Fund Center to our guests is a unique way to recognize the 40^th Anniversary of the founding of The Valerie Fund and 40 years of caring for critically ill children and their families from our area.

Below are the profiles of our final four Ambassadors for this year’s 25^th Annual Thanksgiving Ball Gala.  

Last week, we introduced five of our Valerie Fund Ambassadors for this year's Thanksgiving Ball Gala. These Ambassadors represent the thousands of patients throughout the tri-state area that receive multidisciplinary care at our seven Valerie Fund Children's Centers. In honor of the 25^th Anniversary, here are four more of our Ambassadors participating in this year’s Annual Thanksgiving Ball Gala.

Each year The Valerie Fund chooses a group of patients to represent the organization at the annual Thanksgiving Ball Gala and their presence provides an opportunity for personal interaction with the more than 300 guests attending this premier fundraising event. These Valerie Fund patients vary in age, come from different backgrounds, have been diagnosed with different diseases and are treated at one of our seven Valerie Fund Children’s Centers located throughout the tri-state area.

The Ambassadors are united by the support and love they receive from their family, friends and a multidisciplinary team of doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals so they never feel alone during this challenging time. Five of our ambassadors for this year’s 25^th Annual Thanksgiving Ball Gala are featured below.