Wave Gala

Wave Gala



Thank you to all of our friends & supporters, and to all of the viewers who joined us for the 2021 Virtual Wave Gala as we honored Bill Belichick and Josh Lilley, and raising nearly $200,000 (so far! Help reach the goal with your gift today).  Hundreds of guests joined us live to see special moments from our past 25 years, watch presentations to Bill and Josh, listen as special guests dropped by to offer congratulations and to ask questions of Bill, and participated in our virtual mixology lesson. 

Bill answered close to 20 questions showing a side that confirmed why his friends are so devoted.

Longtime friends and AccesSport partners including Josh Kraft and Doug Flutie sent congratulations.  Doug’s question to Bill was if he truly had Tico Torres’s (of Bon Jovi) drum set.  Bill replied yes and that he loved to play before his family shut him down.

Congrats also came from donors and athletes from the AccesSport School program like Fenway High’s Fusion class

Tributes came from NFL Hall of Famer Harry Carson who credited Belichick with helping him to get to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and asked what it was like to have buckets of Gatorade poured on one’s head in a championship.

White Sox coach Tony LaRussa also delivered a message to Bill, calling him the greatest coach of all time of any sport.

Lifelong friends including painter Stephen Hannock and Bill Yates checked in with congratulations, as did Mark, Paul, and Donnie Wahlberg.  Donnie included a congratulations from the cast of Blue Bloods and a special request from Tom Se
lleck.


More highlights from the evening:

Video tribute for Josh Lilley, AccesSport Athlete of the Year.   

25 Years of AccesSportAmerica: A video timeline of where we came from and where we're going! 

Watch author and cocktail historian Brian Hoefling teach how to make his creation "The Outrigger", our 2021 Wave Gala signature cocktail commemorating our 25th Anniversary!  Mixology Cocktail Hour   
 Download the recipe for "The Outrigger":  

The Outrigger The Outrigger (163 KB)

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A recording of the 2020 event A Special Evening with AccesSportAmerica is below.  Thanks for helping us raise more than $160,000 for ASA and our programs!  #EveningWithASAS

Support ASA, purchase your table or tickets, make your donation and bid on silent auction items on our virtual gala website. #EveningWithASA



What is the Wave Gala?  The Wave Gala is our single largest fundraiser, enabling us to provide our programs to more than 2,000 kids and adults living with disabilities. 
We can't be together in person this year, so we're celebrating virtually with special guests like Lenny Clarke, Zack Gottsagen, Dr. Timothy Johnson, & Patrick Chung who will share memories and stories with ASA Executive Director Ross Lilley and Master of Ceremonies Mariellen Burns!  

Thanks sharing how you were celebrating with us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook!  #EveningWithASA  Whether you popped the champagne & dressed up, hung-out in your pj's with some takeout, set the table and gathered the family, or put your ASA gear on your pets, we loved seeing see how you watched and celebrated at home! 

 

In 2020 AccesSport is celebrating 25 years of adapting land and water sports for disabled kids and adults of all ages, helping all of our athletes challenge themselves physically while creating a positive change in attitude  and function, and becoming part of a community of relationships that last a lifetime.