From December 14th to December 21st, we celebrated Garden of Dreams Week 2022!
While the Garden of Dreams Foundation works year-round to bring life-changing opportunities to young people in need, our Garden of Dreams Week is a very special time for us to raise awareness of our work, while bringing joy to our young people and their families as part of our Season of Giving. Here are some highlights:
We kicked off Garden of Dreams Week on Wednesday, December 14th, when members of the Garden of Dreams team headed up to our partner organization WHEDco’s site to help sort the gifts donated to families through our Adopt-A-Family program. From November 7th to December 9th, employees of MSG Entertainment and MSG Sports, along with their families and friends, sent gift items to local youth and families in our various MSG communities that came straight from their holiday wish lists. In total, over 1,800 gifts made it to the doorsteps of those most in need of joy in New York, Chicago, Las Vegas, and Burbank.
On Thursday, December 15th, we hosted our annual Garden of Dreams Night in partnership with the New York Rangers at the Rangers vs. Maple Leafs game! Over 50 of our young people were on-site to participate in various in-arena elements, including the ceremonial puck drop, the honorary PA announcer, and a show-stopping performance of both the Canadian and American National Anthems. It was a night to remember!
From December 16th to December 20th, we hosted two sweepstakes in partnership with the New York Knicks and the New York Rangers, respectively. Knicks and Rangers fans tuning into MSG Networks to watch games on those dates entered the fundraisers for a chance to win great prizes, and combined, we raised over $120,000 for Garden of Dreams!
On Saturday, December 17th, 5-year-old Nuala from Make-A-Wish New Jersey had her wish fulfilled when she attended the Christmas Spectacular show with her family. Nuala, who previously received a private dance lesson from Rockettes Danelle Morgan and Katelyn Gaffney this summer as part of the same wish, was reunited with Danelle and surprise guest Santa before the show! Both Danelle and Santa presented Nuala with a gift basket full of her holiday wish list items, as well as a signed card from the Rockettes.
On Wednesday, December 21st, Garden of Dreams brought over 100 young people and families to the arena for Garden of Dreams Night at the Knicks game, hosted in partnership with the New York Knicks! These young people performed the ceremonial game ball delivery, heard their name in the starting line-up as an “honorary Knick,” performed at halftime and sang the National Anthem, and more! It was an evening full of fun, family, and memories that will last a lifetime.
Throughout the months of November and December, Garden of Dreams hosted several initiatives as part of our larger “Season of Giving” campaign to spread holiday joy to our most deserving young people and families. Check out the rest of our blog for more details!