Gala to Support Teen with Ties to Charlestown

Charlestown resident and photographer Nicole O'Neil asked me to help spread the word about a gala event she's organizing for her cousin Matt Brown, a young man who was paralyzed from the chest down last year during a varsity hockey game.

The gala is Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. at the floor of the TD Garden. There will be appearances by Bruins players, as well as other current and former sports heroes and celebrities. There will be a live and silent auction, entertainment and raffles. Any support is welcome, Nicole says. You can buy tickets here: http://mattbrownnumber3.org/event/2nd-annual-matt-brown-gala.

Here's more info:

Matt Brown was a 15 year old Norwood High school sophomore on January 23, 2010 when he was seriously injured in a varsity hockey game. Matt suffered fractures of the C4 and C5 vertebrae in his neck and sustained significant bruising of his spinal cord which left him paralyzed from the chest down. Prior to his injury, Matt was a typically vibrant and active teenager playing hockey, baseball, and golf. In that moment on January 23, 2010 life changed radically for Matt and his family.

Almost 18 months after his injury, Matt remains paralyzed from the chest down confined to his bed or a sip-and-puff wheelchair, and in need of 24-hour care. WIth the cutting edge therapy he receives at Journey Forward, Matt perseveres in his battle to regain feeling and function in his arms and legs. With the support he has received from family, friends, the community, and hockey players and their families, beginning with the Boston Bruins and the entire Bruins organization, Matt has managed to stay positive and focused on recovery, and people continue to be moved and inspired by the spirit and determination with which he has faced this grave injury.

In partnership with Journey Forward and the Boston Bruins Foundation, the 2nd Annual Matt Brown Gala will feature appearances by members of the Stanley Cup Champion Bruins, other current and former sports heroes and celebrities, entertainment, live and silent auctions, and raffles.

The evening will honor the network of family, friends, and community that has sustained the Browns and that sustains all spinal cord injured patients on their difficult journey of care and rehabilitation. The evening will honor this invaluable trinity of support that ultimately sustains us all.

For more information and TO PURCHASE TICKETS FOR THIS AMAZING EVENT, visit http://mattbrownnumber3.org/event/2nd-annual-matt-brown-gala.