Connections of Hope Gala This cocktail chic gala includes a memorable program, entertainment, dinner, auctions, and the opportunity to provide hope to Arizona youth.
October 3, 2025

An Evening to Celebrate Arizona’s Youth

Connections of Hope is the largest fundraiser supporting Teen Lifeline each year, supporting the “connections of hope” found daily by troubled teens on our peer-to-peer hotline. At $300 per ticket, you’ll enjoy a delectable dinner, exceptional youth entertainment, live and silent auctions, and an opportunity to support our life-saving work.

  1. Become a Sponsor Becoming a sponsor has benefits for both you and the youth Teen Lifeline serves. Sponsorships range from $3,500 to $100,000, with increasing levels of recognition and backing crucial youth programs. Sponsorship Packages
  2. Donate Items for Auction The gala’s auctions are an important source of our funds, only possible through supporters’ generosity. Items include getaways, home services, and unique pieces. All proceeds go towards preventing teen suicide. Donate auction items

Our 2024 Honoree

Darleen Santore
“Coach Dar,” Bestselling Author, Occupational Therapist, & Performance Coach

Darleen Santore, better known as “Coach Dar,” is an author, licensed and board-certified occupational therapist, sought-after motivational speaker, former Phoenix Suns Mental Skills Coach, plus a leadership and mental edge coach to professional athletes, CEOs and business leaders around the world. Her new best-selling book, The Art of Bouncing Back: Find Your Flow to Thrive at Work and in Life – Anytime You’re off your Game” (McGraw Hill), was released in February 2023.

The book’s inspiration was evoked after bouncing back from her own myriad of life challenges, including three strokes over the past 24 years, and is driven to help people awaken their greatness, achieve peak performance, and live out their purpose.

Coach Dar is best known for her mental conditioning work with athletes in the NBA, NFL, MLB, PGA and NHL.  Her coaching reaches far beyond the sports world to work with Fortune 100 executives and world leaders. Her passion is to help others say “no” to the status quo and raise the bar in life.

Coach Dar is the United States Ambassador for the Global Pay It Forward Day Initiative and the founding member of WISH (Women in Service and Hope) in Phoenix, which is part of St. Vincent de Paul. She has been honored by the WNBA with the Most Inspiring Women Award, was named a Trailblazer in Phoenix by Voyager Phoenix, and received the 2022 Diamond Award for Coaching Excellence in Professional Sports. She recently was honored with the 100 Women to KNOW Across America Award.

Coach Dar, who resides in Scottsdale, Arizona, has appeared on FOX Sports, TODAY, Good Morning America, SiriusXM Radio, The 700 Club, and The List, as well as on many other media outlets and international publications.

Photo of Darleen Santore.
Save a Life, Fund a Cause
$100 Hotline Text Connect one troubled teen to help and hope by funding a crisis hotline text. Donate Now
$250 Gift Hotline Call This gift will support one hotline call, connecting a teen in crisis to hope. Donate Now
$500 Gift Classroom Prevention Services This gift will fund one classroom presentation for teens to learn how to spot the warning signs of suicide in themselves and others. Donate Now
$1,000 Gift Prevention Education for Parents This gift will fund education for parents on youth suicide prevention, communicating with their teens, and building resiliency. Donate Now
$2,500 Gift Train a Peer Counselor This gift will train a new teen Peer Counselor to be a superhero providing a connection of hope to 450+ struggling teens on the hotline each year. Donate Now
$5,000 Gift Virtual Training for School Staff This gift will fund one virtual training for 30 school staff on youth suicide prevention and how to intervene with students at risk for suicide. Donate Now
$10,000 Gift Telephone Upgrade Transform our hotline by funding a vital upgrade to our phone system. Donate Now
$25,000 Gift Tucson Center Launch Support the development of our new center, covering a portion of the costs for renovations, necessary resources, and program implementation to provide Tucson teens with help and hope. Donate Now

Community Lifeline Award

The Community Lifeline Award, given to a chosen Honoree at the Connections of Hope Gala, celebrates individuals who selflessly devote their time, talent, and resources to local causes. Each award recipient serves as a community role model, inspiring others with their personal and professional integrity, leadership, and compassion. In 2004, the award was named in honor of the inaugural recipient, Alfredo J. Molina, for his service to Arizona youth and our community.

Previous award recipients include Alfredo J. Molina (2004), Peter Thomas (2005), Carole and Bob Machiz (2006), Derrick Hall (2007), Linda and Bill Pope (2008), John R. Norton III (2009), Bridget Pettis (2011), Jerry Colangelo (2012), Larry Fitzgerald Jr. (2013), Jordin Sparks (2014), Donald Tapia (2015), Tom Hatten (2016), Erik Olsson (2017), David Alexander (2018), Sissie Roberts Shank (2019), Lorry Bottrill (2021), Mandy Purcell (2022), and David Allred (2023).

Collage of photos of all the past Connections of Hope Gala Honorees.

This event has both live and silent auctions, with proceeds supporting Teen Lifeline and our life-saving work in teen suicide prevention. The items in our auctions often include one-of-a-kind experiences (such as with sports teams like the Phoenix Suns or the Diamondbacks) and luxury items with high-tier donors such as Black Starr & Frost.

 

If you would like to donate an auction item, please fill out this form: PDF or Google Forms.

 

Thank you to everyone who contributed to our auction. For a full list of last event’s auction donors, please visit teenlifeline.org/auction-items.

A Warm Thank You To
Photo of Melissa Costello
Melissa Costello, 2024 Event Chair
And Our 2024 Event Advisors Lana Breen, Irene Clary, Danielle & Jeff Fields, Mandy Purcell, and Jen Reid