Classy Fun Awaits At The Hope For Gus Valentine's Ball!

Get out your favorite dress or tuxedo for a fantastic night of good times that supports a great cause.

The 2nd Annual Hope For Gus Valentine’s Ball is on for Saturday, Feb. 9 at 7:30 p.m. in the Radisson Hotel Downtown in Manchester.

This semi-formal event includes a live and silent auction on impressive items, including signed memorabilia from Taylor Swift, a Disney World Resort Family Adventure, tickets to a Red Sox game and much, much more. The night will feature music from The Nines, an electric eight-piece dance band.

Other fun extras are in store for guests, with a wine raffle, jewelry raffle, photobooth set for this classy night.

The ball is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the Hope For Gus Foundation, who are working to raise research dollars and awareness of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). This rare, fatal genetic disorder weakens the muscles in the body and affects 1 in 3,600 boys a year.

One of these boys is young Gus Dreher, who was diagnosed with the disease in 2010. His parents, Souhegan teacher Steve Dreher and his wife Tonya Dreher, formed a foundation in his honor to find a cure for their boy and the many others like him.

There are currently no life extending treatment options for the over 300,000 males worldwide living with the condition, which usually limits life expectancy to the mid 20s. Many promising treatments are on the way, according to Tonya Dreher.

“We have been really excited recently,” she said. “There are many promising things in the forefront that are not cures, but effective treatments. Some will keep him walking longer and prevent muscle scarring. We need to get money to these treatments as quickly as possible. Every day his muscles are breaking down more, and others with DMD.”

The theme of this year’s ball is “Hope For Gus in Black and White,” which will show the efforts of their foundation and the future of their work to help hundreds of thousands of boys everywhere. Tonya Dreher said that the event is open to all in the community looking for a chance to dress up, get together with friends and have an amazing time.

“This is great exposure,” she said. “It is also an event for people who have never heard of us would want to come to. It is for a great cause and our friends and family will always support it, but we want this to be a community event that people will come to each year.”

The Hope For Gus Foundation is also looking for businesses who would be interested in sponsoring the event. Visit the Valentine’s Ball website for tickets and more information.