Hudson Gateway Realtor Foundation to Host Fundraising Gala for Make-A-Wish Hudson Valley

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - April 21, 2016 - PRLog -- The Hudson Gateway REALTOR® Foundation, a division of the Hudson Gateway Association of REALTORS^® (HGAR), is hosting an exciting "Red Carpet Spectacular" Cocktail Party on Thursday May 5 from 6 to 10 pm at the Clubhouse at Patriot Hills in Stony Point, NY.   The event will benefit Make-A-Wish^® Hudson Valley, a non-profit group that grants the wishes of Hudson Valley children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy.

"Wish" recipient Ramiro Vargas, 15, of East Fishkill, will be the featured speaker at the event.  Now a sophomore in high school, Ramiro was diagnosed at 13 with a rare blood cancer and required a bone marrow transplant.  His sister Elena, now 13, donated her bone marrow to save his life.  "Our whole lives were changed," said their mother, Jennifer Vargas.  "Everything was happening so quickly and during this time, a social worker at the hospital reached out to Make-A-Wish."

Vargas said Ramiro always wanted to surf, from the time he was a little child watching surfers at his grandparents' home in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  "He loved boogie-boarding and talked constantly about visiting Surfer's Paradise in Australia.  He always said that place had the best waves in the world," she said.

When they met with the "wish granters," Vargas saw almost an immediate change in Ramiro's attitude. "They lifted his spirits and helped him focus on something positive," she said. When the family received the news that Ramiro's wish to visit Surfer's Paradise was going to come true, he actually started practice surfing on his skateboard!

Last March, the family went to Australia, and not only did Ramiro take surfing lessons, but he also had the opportunity to visit Dreamworld, Australia's largest theme park, and hold a koala bear at the Australia Zoo.  "This could have never happened without Make-A-Wish and their donors," said Vargas.  "It was magical and care-free.  For the first time, we all felt relaxed and didn't have to worry about doctor's appointments.  It was 10 days of just being a normal family again."

This year's special event will feature a real red carpet entryway, keepsake photos of attendees in front of a special "Make-A-Wish" backdrop, exciting raffle items, door prizes, and more.

"Our Association has been involved with this wonderful organization for many years and we are delighted to be able to help make a difference in the lives of children like Ramiro who are living in our area," said Richard Haggerty, HGAR CEO. "This is just one of the many ways that we like to give back to our local communities."

Tickets are $75 per person and include a two-hour open bar, appetizers, passed hors d'oeuvres, buffet dining, coffee and dessert, plus a DJ and dancing.

For more information about the event, or to purchase tickets, please visit www.HGAR.com.

Make-A-Wish® grants wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. Since its inception in 1986, the chapter has granted wishes to over 2,400 children in the communities it serves. The wish experience is a combined community effort involving volunteers, staff, donors and medical professionals to make each wish come true. The Chapter is a proud participant of the Better Business Bureau Charity Seal Program, which indicates that the organization has met the 20 Standards for Charity Accountability. The Chapter serves Delaware, Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester counties. The organization is currently working on 150 wishes with the average cost of a wish ranging from $7,500 to $10,000. For more information about the Hudson Valley Chapter visit www.hudson.wish.org.

The Hudson Gateway Association of REALTORS^® (HGAR) is a not-for-profit trade association consisting of almost 10,000 real estate professionals doing business in the Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, and Orange counties.   It is the second largest REALTOR^® Association in New York, and one of the largest in the country. The Hudson Gateway Multiple Listing Service (HGMLS), owned by HGAR, offers some 20,000 properties in the Bronx, Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Rockland, Orange, Sullivan and Ulster counties. It is among the top 50 largest MLSs in the country.