The Think of Michael Foundation hosted its fifth annual Trivia Night fundraiser on Friday at the Four Points by Sheraton.
Four-hundred attendees bought raffle tickets, bid on silent auction items, and participated in the live auction, which helped fundraise $120,000 — the highest amount in the fundraiser’s history, according to the foundation’s co-founder Dick Dalton.
The Think of Michael foundation was founded by Lynnfield residents Dick and Carmela Dalton shortly after their son Michael died from his battle with substance-use disorder in January 2018. The foundation is committed to using its funds to help individuals and families fighting SUD.
“It’s even hard to put into words,” Dick Dalton said about what the event means to him. “Each year we’ve raised more money than the previous year, which means we can do more good things in the addiction community than we did the prior year and it’s very rewarding.”
He said the foundation’s recent $10,000 donation to Northshore Recovery High School was for afterschool and summer programs, as the foundation strongly feels that adolescents in recovery need a “sense of community.”
Dick Dalton said this event helps the foundation work toward its goal of building a supportive community and expanding its reach.
“We are making a difference in today’s world,” Carmela Dalton said. “The real motivation is all the success stories and how good it makes us feel… There’s no greater hurt than losing a loved one. And I don’t ever want anyone else to go through this pain.
“We are so very grateful to our sponsors and donors who were responsible for us far exceeding our fundraising goal, and the foundation is so fortunate to have a board of directors and volunteers that completely commit themselves to us having a successful event,” she added.
Patricia Hazelton, a Lynnfield native who grew up with the Dalton family, has served on the foundation’s board since it began.
While volunteering at the event, Hazelton said the Trivia Night is the foundation’s “key” fundraiser.
“The support that we get from the community and the businesses — and anyone you ask — has been great in stepping up and donating and showing up and, like I said, year after year,” Hazelton said. “I think that’s a true tribute to the hard work that Mr. and Mrs. Dalton put into this… They stepped up and I think it’s made a huge difference for a lot of people. And it makes me proud to be a part of that.”
NRHS Founder and Principal Michelle Muffett-Lipinski received the 2024 Michael V. Dalton Award.
Muffett-Lipinski said those who work with adolescents in recovery do not often get recognition, so it was an honor to receive this award for her work.
She added that the $10,000 donation NRHS received from the Think of Michael Foundation has supported students with activities “beyond the school day to keep them safe and sober.” She said these activities include volunteering and other community services.
“It makes them feel like they’re doing something, gives them purpose. And being able to have that, to connect to one another and the community, is essential to their recovery,” Muffett-Lipinski said.
State Rep. Brad Jones, a former recipient of the Michael V. Dalton Award, described the event as a “fun way to raise money for an important cause.”
“I think it’s also a testament to people who went through a personal tragedy in their life… and instead of turning inward, they turned outward and tried to take his story and his experience and everything they learned in channeling into positive energy to help people. I think that needs to be supported and celebrated,” he added.
One of the 11 live auction items of the event was a special appearance from Lynnfield local and Boston national anthem singer Todd Angilly, which sold for $600.
Angilly, who worked for many years in the criminal-justice field, said he recognizes society’s need to address SUD as an “epidemic.”
He said the Daltons turned a tragedy into a way to help an “insurmountable” number of people.
“We’re all a community. We all need to be a part of that and we need to help. They need our support and I’m always here to support,” Angilly said. “It’s important because it (SUD) can happen to anybody. It doesn’t discriminate.”
Stacey Cook, Michael’s older sister and the oldest of Dick and Carmela’s three children, said this event is a way to keep her brother’s legacy alive.
“It’s a huge showing five years later and I think it says a lot about what we’re doing, that all these people are still coming out,” Cook said.
