The Inn Celebrates An Evening for Hope
On Saturday, May 2, The Children’s Inn at NIH hosted its 12th annual An Evening for Hope gala at the J.W. Marriott in Washington, D.C. The gala raised over $1.7 million for The Inn and its families. Tony Perkins, current anchor of NBC’s News4 Today and longtime Washington D.C. media figure, returned to emcee the event for a fifth time. Eric Cole, Managing Director at Deloitte, led the organizing committee.
One of the highlights of the evening came when Jennie Lucca, CEO of The Inn, presented the inaugural Tower of Hope Award to Dr. Lori Wiener. Dr. Wiener, a Trustee of The Inn and supporter dating back to its founding in 1990, is a leading advocate for children, teens, and young adults facing serious illness. In her role as Senior Associate Scientist and Co-Director of the Behavioral Health Core, she has developed several tools that have been adopted by healthcare professionals around the world to help such young patients feel seen, heard, and supported both physically and emotionally. Dr. Wiener is also a driving force behind Sibling Day, a beloved annual celebration at The Inn that recognizes the brothers and sisters of seriously ill children, whose strength and support often go unseen.
The evening shone a spotlight on Lincoln, a six-year-old from Arizona. Lincoln was diagnosed with Loeys Dietz Syndrome, a connective tissue disorder that leaves him susceptible to aneurysms and the rupturing of his blood vessels. Lincoln’s mother Julie and his doctor, Dr. Pamela Guerrerio, spoke at the gala about the importance of engaging with groundbreaking medical research and their commitment to continued advocacy on behalf of Lincoln and others like him.
Later in the evening, the audience heard from Ana, a four-time leukemia survivor whose plans to become a vascular surgeon took a turn when a battle against acute myeloid leukemia robbed her of her vision in 2020. Since then, she has dedicated herself to continuing her medical career and advocating for research into the cures for leukemia and blindness. She is set to graduate from Johns Hopkins University later this month with a master’s degree in public health as part of the Sommers Scholars Program. Meanwhile, she poignantly told the crowd at An Evening for Hope that she has recently begun her fight against a fifth round of leukemia, and encouraged everyone to follow her journey at her website, BlindCourage.net.
Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, the 18th Director of the NIH, served as the keynote speaker, emphasizing the importance of the decades of collaboration between The Inn at NIH. Jennie Lucca, The Inn’s CEO, also focused on that partnership, as well as providing updates on The Inn of Tomorrow as it nears the official completion of Phase One of the ongoing expansion and renovation project.
At the end of the evening, auctioneer Billy Harris hosted a live auction and fund-the-mission appeal, which engaged the crowd and rewarded the highest bidders with items such as one-of-a-kind artwork created by Inn families, VIP experiences at Washington Nationals, Washington Spirit, and Philadelphia Eagles games, trips to Portugal and Tuscany, an in-home dinner with celebrity chefs, a barbeque put on by celebrity chefs at The Inn, and a VIP tasting at chef Nancy Silverton’s Osteria Mozza in Georgetown.
Details for next year’s An Evening for Hope gala will be finalized in the coming weeks and shared on www.childrensinn.org when available.
