Through a silent auction and other donations the foundation raised more than $350,000. In the auction, a trip to the 2012 World Series sold for $40,000 while a rare, Babe Ruth-Lou Gehrig signed baseball went for $21,000.

Celebrities at the event included Dempster, former Cub Ernie Banks, Alfonso Soriano, Kerry Wood, Chris Chelios, Theo Epstein, CM Punk, and other Chicago Cubs Players.

“It’s incredible the support,” Dempster said. “It was a lot of fun tonight raising a lot of money and driving a lot of awareness.”

Also, a very special thanks to Casino Night Sponsors!

ADDITIONAL CASINO NIGHT COVERAGE:

VIDEO: Catching up with the Cubs at Casino Night (ESPN.com)
NEWS: Cubs’ Dempster: ‘The results will start coming’ (Chicago Tribune)
NEWS: Casino Night Coverage from “Go Cubs!”
PHOTOS: Event Photos from GlitterGUTS.com

- Lou Carlozo

At Casino Night Guests will step back in time for a night on the town in “Old Chicago” and mingle with Ryan, Jenny, the Chicago Cubs and other celebrity friends from the sports and entertainment industries. Enjoy a full spread of delectable dishes and open bar, along with a unique live and silent auction, fun casino games and entertainment to help raise funds to help “Strike Out 22Q” and support other children’s charities in Chicago.

The Foundation is dedicated to raising awareness of 22q11.2 deletion (DiGeorge Syndrome/VCFS) and reaching out to families with children with the disorder, and the charities that support them, to help them deal with difficult situations they face each day.

Tickets purchased will be available at will call on the night of the event.

MORE:

Dempster Family Foundation’s third annual Casino Night fundraiser is coming up on May 9th!

VIDEO: Midday Fix: Ryan Dempster Family Foundation

One week from tonight, the third annual Casino Night will be held at the Palmer House Hilton Chicago to raise money for the Ryan & Jenny Dempster Foundation. The event includes a live auction, and among the items to bid on is a baseball autographed by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, which was donated by Steve Sutherland of Naperville, Ill. Last year, Sutherland donated a ball autographed by Ruth which sold for $21,000.

“I figured we had to top that,” Sutherland said.

He had never met Dempster before donating the baseballs to the foundation.

“I can do this or [the ball] can sit in my house,” Sutherland said. “It can do much more for them.”

- Carrie Muskat

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story originally appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times . Click here for full content.

The money raised for March for Babies gives hope to the more than half a million babies born too soon each year. The money supports programs in local communities that help moms have healthy, full-term pregnancies. And it funds research to find answers to the problems that threaten our babies. The March of Dimes has been walking since 1970 and has raised an incredible $2 billion to benefit all babies.

Since the Dempster Family Foundation’s inception in January 2010, we have raised over $1.1 million for the fight against 22q and to assist other families of children in need and our goal is to continue on this pace.

Thanks in part to a grant by the Dempster Family Foundation (through the support of individuals that supported the Casino Night Fundraiser last year) and the continuous work of the High Socks for Hope Foundation, Habitat for Humanity broke ground for the Johnson family’s new home late February. The Johnsons are one of many homes that New York Yankees’ Reliever David Robertson, a Tuscaloosa native, and his wife Erin are rebuilding in Tuscaloosa—through their High Socks for Hope Foundation, but due to problems in finding affordable land and other issues they have taken extra care of the Johnson family. They have assisted with the down payment of the home and land, made court appearances and through the help of other organizations, such as The Northport Church of Christ, has collected enough to completely furnished the new home which has been a ray of light in a community where so many other families are still homeless and have nothing. The Robertsons, through their Foundation, have also arranged to have a basement added to the home equipped with a safe room.

Last year, David and Erin reached out to the Dempster Family Foundation to create a specific fund to help Anthony Johnson’s family rebuild their home. Through proceeds from their 2011 Casino Night, the Dempster Family Foundation donated $22,000 to David and Erin Robertson’s fund to help the Johnson’s rebuild their home.

Anthony and his family know that they are only one of many families in the Tuscaloosa community that need help. They continue to give back to a community that has given so generously to them by unloading trucks and delivering goods to those in the community who are still in need.

Anthony is still very excited to get a new home! Thanks to his new baseball friends David Robertson and Ryan Dempster, Anthony can’t wait to decorate his room in a baseball theme.

Families traveled from all over the states of Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee to support the cause. The day was a wonderful way for families to interact with one another, take photos and build new friendships. The Ryan and Jenny Dempster Family Foundation along with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Zoo Atlanta teamed up again to “Strike out 22q” as one of the Zoos that participated in the Worldwide Awareness Day.

The day kicked off at 10 a.m. in front of the Zoo Atlanta gates. Families were treated to an unique speaking engagement by 22q family member, Mr. Quinn Bradlee. Quinn is the author of “A Different Life: Growing Up Learning Disabled and Other Adventures.” He was born with a hole in his heart that required invasive surgery when he was only three months old. Quinn Bradlee suffered from a battery of illnesses—seizures, migraines, fevers—from an early age. But it wasn’t until he was fourteen that Bradlee was correctly diagnosed with Velo-Cardio-Facial Syndrome (VCFS). Bradlee tells his own inspirational story of growing up as an LD kid—and of doing so as the child of larger-than-life, formidably accomplished parents: long-time Washington Post executive editor Ben Bradlee and bestselling author Sally Quinn. Bradlee describes the challenges and joys of living “a different life” with disarming candor and humor. Quinn spoke to the families, answered questions and signed books to end the inspirational day of hope, fun and 22q! The Dempsters were grateful for the outpouring of support from our 22q community and Mr. Quinn Bradlee for another great event. (We will post an edited version Quinn’s presentation at a later date on dempsterfoundation.org —please check back!)

In addition, our 22q families struck up support for the Johnson Family from Tuscaloosa, AL. The Johnson’s 8 year old son Anthony was diagnosed with DiGeorge. Their house had been reduced to rubble and both cars destroyed by the Tuscaloosa tornado in 2011. The Dempster Family Foundation collected close to $200 in cash and gift cards along with kitchen items for their home that is being rebuilt right now during the 22q at the Zoo event. The Dempster Family and other athletes and organizations have been helping the Johnson’s as they get their feet back on the ground!