DANVERS – Carmela Dalton, president of the Think of Michael Foundation, and her husband, Dick Dalton, hosted the Third Annual Think of Michael Trivia Night Thursday at Breakaway.
Since Thursday’s trivia night came after a brief hiatus in 2021, and was delayed from Jan. to May, and Dick said he was originally apprehensive about holding the event the week before Memorial Day.
“‘21 was the peak of COVID, so we didn’t do anything that year, and then this year, we got to January 2022 when COVID was still prevalent, so we put it off until last night, and having done it two years in January, we were a little bit apprehensive about changing the time of year, and with everyone’s busy schedule there’s so much going on. From graduations and various things,” Dick said. “We didn’t know if it was going to be a plus or minus having it on a Thursday evening before a long weekend, but we had a sellout, probably close to 500 people, and it was a huge success.”
The Daltons, along with their children, Stacy Cook and Jamie Dalton, established the foundation in June of 2019 after their 39-year-old son Michael passed away from an accidental drug overdose. The foundation provides sober house living to addicts following their treatment, a facet of recovery that insurance companies do not cover.
The event featured Emmy Award winning radio personality and former Lynnfield resident Billy Costa, along with live and silent auctions. The Daltons also provided the Michael Dalton Making a Difference Award to a handful of volunteers who went above and beyond in their mission to combat drug abuse and addiction.
One of the night’s highlights, Carmela said, was the feedback she heard from a mother and son who had been through the program.
“We had one woman, where her son was struggling with drug issues, and she got in touch with us, so we got him to a sober home, and after he completed his 30 days, he asked for an extension to see if we could extend it, so we gave him another 30 days. This year, at the Night of Hope, they both came, and they came up to us, and they thanked us so much and they said that he’s doing so great, and the mom, with tears in her eyes told me ‘you gave me my son back’ and the boy said ‘you saved my life,’” Carmela said.
Dick said he hoped that bringing light to the issue of drug abuse will inspire others to seek help.
“The support, and quite frankly, the love we get, it’s very humbling at times. It’s really great to see people pitch in and help out, and it’s something that touches more families here in Lynnfield than most people like to talk about, and what we’ve learned over these last four years is that there are a lot of people that have either relatives or friends who have been touched by this dreaded disease,” Dick said. “We’re here to help, and we’d like to think that hopefully we can make a difference, and if we can continue to support the community, we will.”
Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at [email protected].