Dream Come True 2008 Gala

The annual Dream Come True gala was held on March 15, 2008 at the beautiful Waterview in Monroe, CT. The seventeenth annual fundraising event was attended by nearly 300 guests and was themed with "A Few of My Favorite Things," the song from The Sound of Music. The theme was chosen because, when dream children are first interviewed, they are asked to list a few of their favorite things as possible dreams to be granted.

Mr. & Mrs. Fred Izzo 2008 Gala Honoree

The guests enjoyed complimentary cocktails and dined on sumptuous hors d'oeuvres such as portobello steak fries, amaretto fig and petite beef Wellington, while viewing the fifty silent auction items up for bid. In addition, raffle tickets were sold for an eight-day Caribbean cruise, a Chinese auction was held featuring prizes based on the lyrics of "A Few of My Favorite Things," and entry tickets were offered for sale for the "Heads and Tails" game to be held during dinner. "Heads and Tails" involves the flip of a coin after entrants have chosen either "heads" (hands on head) or "tails" (hands on backside). If the coin-flip results in heads, all those who chose tails must sit down. The coin is flipped and results called again and again, until only one entrant is left standing — the prizewinner. This year's prize was a set of white gold-and-diamond J-hoop earrings and a Coach leather handbag

David Cappiello CT State Senator

2007 Golf Tournament a Great Success

Dream Come True held its 17th Annual golf tournament in early August at the beautiful and challenging Ridgewood Country Club in Danbury, CT. Many players commented that it was the "best ever" golf outing since it began in 1990.

This year 112 golfers, including Danbury's Mayor Mark Boughton, helped raise money for the "Dreams" that our organization grants to children who suffer from terminal, chronic, and serious illnesses.


The featured guest was a child who has received a dream, and her family.

Although "golf" was the main activity of the day, nearly 130 people attended the evening's 19th Hole and Awards Presentation Dinner, complete with cocktails, live music, a raffle, and a spirited auction.

Auction items included an authentic jersey autographed by baseball great Derek Jeter, and numerous other items that garnered lively bidding from the crowd anxious to support Dream Come True of Western Connecticut

The annual golf tournament is one of the organization's major fund raising events. A large portion of our annual budget is raised during the golf outing, ensuring the ongoing availability of funds for dreams. A very special "Thank You" is offered to all the golfers and others for all the support that made this event such a wonderful success. We look forward to seeing you again next year.

Much appreciation also goes to our committee members, Tom Pepin, Lancie McCloud, Lou Pepe, Fred Izzo, Kurt Schlemmer, Jim Lang, and Allen Mendes — they worked tirelessly to make sure everyone had a great golfing experience.

A huge thank you, too, to Toyota of Westport for its continuing financial support of the golf outing. It contributes a great deal to the success of the event.

Our goal for the 2008 tournament is to plan an even larger and more successful event. A lot of planning is required and it is never too early to sign up to help. We also encourage early registration for you and as many friends as you can gather.

See you in 2008!

Annual Picnic

Registration began at 11:00 a.m. when many of our dream children and their families arrived. They signed in and immediately entered the park for a fun-filled afternoon including a picnic lunch at the Picnic Pavilion area. A balloon animal maker and face painter at the pavilion entertained our dream children as well as their families and friends.

The picnic could not be a success without the hard work of our dedicated board members and volunteers who give so much of themselves to make all of our events a success. There are so many, that it is hard to mention them all.

We give extra special thanks to board member, Laurie DoBosh, who year after year devotes her time to reserving the park, keeping track of the RSVPs, helping with the mailings and manning the registration table. We also owe a big thank you another board member, Penny Brennan, for helping us capture pictures of our events, as again, camera in tow, she attended the picnic and took all the great pictures that you see in this newsletter.

We are looking forward to next year's picnic already scheduled for Sunday, August 17, 2008 from 11:00 am until the park closes. See you all next year at the Park!

On Sunday, August 26, 2007, the Dream Come True of Western CT annual picnic was held at Lake Compounce. It was a beautiful afternoon and was very well attended. In fact, over 50 families joined us for a fun day at the park.

Breakfast with Santa & Mrs. Claus

As has been now a tradition for many years, Dream Come True once again held its annual Breakfast with Santa and Mrs. Claus at the Fox Hill Inn in Brookfield, CT, on Sunday December 2, 2007.

Once again, this event brought out many of the previous as well as new and future dream recipients.

The attendance was well over 200 people, and one guest even commented that was his 15th time at this event.

The delicious food and banquet facilities were graciously donated by the Fox Hill Inn. The performers including Frank Labanca and his singers, Marty the Magician, and Bongo the Clown, kept attendees entertained for hours.

It was a wonderful day and a great start to the holiday season.