2023 Gala Recap

The first annual Pierce the Darkness Green & Gilded Gala took place on February 4, 2023 at Forgotten Star Brewery in Fridley, MN.

With nearly 140 attendees, a full slate of silent auction items, a lively and educational program all capped off with an incredible live band we were able to accomplish our first year goal of raising $25,000 to fund research in our fight against childhood blindness.

Proceeds raised at the conclusion of this event directly funded our mission of accelerating optic neuropathy research conducted by Stanford Medicine.

Meet Our Speakers

Joe Beckman

Joe shared his infectious energy, humor and passion with our guests and brought so much heart to our program in 2023. We are so thankful for the human connections Joe helped us make by being our Master of Ceremonies.

Dr. Mark Gormley, Jr

As one of Pierce's treating physicians, we are so honored to have Dr. Gormley as the Keynote speaker at our first annual gala. Dr. Gormley works in pediatric rehabilitation at Gillette Childrens Hospital and was such a bright light in our medical journey with Pierce.

Photo of Dr. Heather Moss, guest speaker at the 2023 gala

Dr. Heather E Moss

Our guest speaker is working directly in clinical research to advance the development of diagnostic approaches to neurological and neuro-ophthalmic diseases. We are grateful to have Dr. Moss giving us the inside information about where our fundraising dollars are working to bring about treatments ad early diagnosis for optic nerve diseases.

Photo of the silent auction table at the 2023 gala

Silent Auction

From sports memorabilia and unique outdoor gear to handmade quilts, travel packages and more; our Silent Auction attracted bids from our guests and added to the overall fundraising total for our evening. You can see examples below of a few of the items on auction.

We are so thankful for each of the generous donors and bidders that helped us not only meet but exceed our fundraising goal.

We know our auction winners have one-of-a-kind items they will cherish and look back with pride at the difference they have made.