A Fundraiser to Make a Wish

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Lisa DiNito and Lou Mongello in The Box

[UPDATE] Lou’s response to this endeavor can be found at the bottom of this article.

If you’re involved with the Disney community I’m sure you know Lou Mongello. He is the host of WDW Radio, author of multiple books and audio tours about the Disney Parks and founder of the Dream Team Project. 10 years ago the Dream Team Project announced its sponsorship of the Make-A-Wish Foundation® to help make Disney wishes come true.

Lou’s mother passed away last week and many people were in search of a meaningful way to help his family and honor her memory. Lou and his wife, Deanna, founded the Dream Team project when Lou was losing his father. True to form, they used that time to found something beautiful and since then the Dream Team has raised more than $350,000 for The Make-A-Wish Foundation of America. And so what better way to honor Lou’s mother than to serve this cause? 

A couple days ago, Lisa DiNoto (https://www.thecastlerun.com) reached out to me to see if we wanted to participate in a fundraiser to help raise $10,000 so we can adopt a family and fully sponsor their Walt Disney World trip in Marianne Mongello’s name, furthering the work that Lou and Deanna have done for Make-A-Wish via the Dream Team Project.

The $10,000 goal was met in only two day. Two. Days. The Disney community is seriously one of the best.

This is what Lisa said regarding the fundraiser:

It is a bold thing to say that I knew it would work when I first reached out to Make-A-Wish to launch a fundraiser to fully adopt a family and grant the wish of a critically ill child in Lou’s mother’s name. But I knew. I knew that the extended family that Lou has gifted us all would show up in arms for him.⁣

Lisa DiNoto

This is her Instagram post. This photo is Lisa popping into Lou’s live show the night of September 23rd to deliver the news that at that time the fundraiser reached $14,000.

View this post on Instagram

***If you want to be a part of this unstoppable movement, please visit the Make-A-Wish link in my bio.***⁣ ⁣ When my dear friend Lou lost his mom last week, I started to get these messages. Countless numbers of them. From people asking me what they could do. How they could help.⁣ ⁣ What none of us knew in those moments was that it wouldn’t be me helping you to feel less helpless to do for the Mongellos, but you helping me.⁣ ⁣ It is a bold thing to say that I knew it would work when I first reached out to Make-A-Wish to launch a fundraiser to fully adopt a family and grant the wish of a critically ill child in Lou’s mother’s name. But I knew. I knew that the extended family that Lou has gifted us all would show up in arms for him.⁣ ⁣ And you did. And in two short days we raised the $10,000 we needed.⁣ ⁣ Two. Days.⁣ ⁣ In the days that followed, the amount continued to grow.⁣ ⁣ When I walked into Lou’s live show unannounced last night to reveal what we’d done, the total stood at just over $14,000.⁣ ⁣ Right now we are over $30,000. Thirty. thousand. dollars.⁣ ⁣ Say what you will about the world, and social media, and 2020. When you turn your back on that attitude and make a proactive decision to #CHOOSETHEGOOD, the world is good. When you build your tribe, and love your tribe, and care for your tribe like your own family, your tribe will show up for you when you need them most.⁣ ⁣ If you want to watch the reveal happen, head to the 55 minute mark of Lou’s live show from last night, which I will share separately. And if you are moved to become a part of something beautiful, you can give at the Make-A-Wish link in my bio. ⁣ ⁣ The amount raised already is a testament to the fact that even the smallest contributions amount to something huge when they come together.⁣ ⁣ I love you all. Thank you for being the proof that we all needed that even the worst tragedies can be translated into something beautiful.

A post shared by Lisa 🏃🏻‍♀️🏰 The Castle Run (@thecastlerunner) on

As of now over $30,000 has been raised!

What is happening here is a testament to the power of kindness, the family we choose, and the resolve to choose the good. We currently have enough to grant 3 full wishes for critically ill children – and who knows how much more we’ll be able to do as a community before this is through.

Lisa DiNoto

You can be a part of this amazing fundraiser by clicking here. If you choose to contribute, we truly cannot thank you enough for helping to turn this difficult time into something beautiful.

In the video below you can see Lisa breaking the news to Lou live on his show (:55 minutes).

Lou’s Response

https://www.facebook.com/groups/boxpeople/permalink/1523229057861481/

By steve
Steve is the founder and administrator of D-COT. If anything breaks on the site, @TheSwedishChef is the founder and administrator.

5 Comments

  1. Disney people are the best people! :sorcerer: :heart: :mickey-rainbow:

  2. Thank you for sharing this article Steve, and for Lou my sincere condolences to your Mother were all here for you. Let’s contribute one day to help someone’s dream come true. :heart:

  3. Thank you for posting this Steve. And our condolences to Lou and his family. Like Chloe said, Disney people are the best people!

  4. Following this has been such a joy! Think we all needed this reminder of what happens when Love wins !
    :heart:

  5. Oh goodness here I go crying at work. This is so wonderful. The joy and love of our collective Disney family. :heart: Condolences to Lou and his family.

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