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.
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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
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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.
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).
Highlights from 2024’s Gala
On Friday, October 4th, 2024, Teen Lifeline held the 20th annual Connections of Hope Gala at the brand-new Caesars Republic Hotel Scottsdale. Hundreds of people gathered that night to support teen suicide prevention and the life-saving connections our programs create. Thanks to you, our gala was truly a night to remember.
In addition to celebrating the impact of our work, the Connections of Hope Gala also highlighted the important work of Darleen Santore, better known as “Coach Dar.” Darleen is living proof that one person can make a difference; she’s a best-selling author, occupational therapist, and mental edge performance coach to professional athletes and business leaders worldwide.
A team of passionate professionals led the event to success, including: Event Chair Melissa Costello, Honoree Darleen Santore, Mistress of Ceremonies Carey Peña, and our event advisors Lana Breen, Irene Clary, Jeff & Danielle Fields, Mandy Purcell, and Jen Reid.
Entertainment included teen singer/songwriter Tia Penny, live and silent auctions run by auctioneer Letitia Frye, awarding Peer of the Year to Kate, stories from peer counselors Wynter and Kaitlyn, and an after-party with DJ Alex Dahl.
Read the full event recap on LinkedIn: Creating Life-Saving Connections at Teen Lifeline’s 2024 Connections of Hope Gala.
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.