A Midwinter Night’s Dream is an annual charity fundraiser held by the Northport High School Chapter of the National Honor Society. The event supports Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease) research and is unique in that it is run entirely by high school students, ranging in age from 15 to 17. Each year the students produce a full-scale charity dinner at the beautiful Oheka Castle, complete with live and silentauctions and celebrity guests.
Celebrity guests in the past have included athletes such as Curt Schilling, Nick Swisher, Sarah Hughes and David Cone, and actors such as Edie Falco, Caroline Rhea and Richard Kind.
The students became proactive in fighting ALS after two teachers in their district were diagnosed with the disease. In the seven years since the event was founded, the group has raised more than $1.5 million for ALS research and related causes. In addition to their highly successful fundraising campaign, AMND has also created and funded a variety of ALS related initiatives. These include a research center at Stony Brook University, a patient services program for those diagnosed with ALS, a student research program, which sends high school students to work in ALS research labs across the country, and a Philanthropy Center, which teaches grade school kids about the importance of philanthropic work.
This year’s show takes place on January 6 at Oheka Castle, 135 West Gate Drive, Huntington, New York. Confirmed guests include Billy Baldwin, Zuzanna Szadowski (Gossip Girl), Vincent Piazza (Boardwalk Empire), Sarah Hughes (Olympic Gold Medalist) and Jackie Martling (Comedian).
