MetroWest YMCA Celebrates Community and DREAM BIG Award Winners

Framingham, MA (Dec. 10, 2024) - The MetroWest YMCA recently held its signature fundraising event, the DREAM BIG Gala and Auction, on Tuesday, Nov. 19 at The Verve in Natick. YMCA supporters came together to celebrate the organization’s DREAM BIG Award Honorees, best-selling children’s book authors and co-founders of FableVision and the Reynolds Center for Teaching, Learning & Creativity, Paul and Peter H. Reynolds.  

CEO/Executive Director Paul Reynolds expressed the brothers’ shared gratitude for the award, “We’re truly humbled by this recognition. Everything we have accomplished we owe to creative educators and mentors who helped us “dream big,” which is why we’re such huge supporters of the MetroWest YMCA.”  

Peter concurred, “The Y’s team is helping each child in their program to believe in their future vision of success - and provide the skills and confidence to turn those dreams into reality.”

The MetroWest YMCA’s Chief Development Officer Peter Waisgerber shares, “Paul and Peter H. Reynolds are two incredible human beings who not only write children’s picture books but also lead the way to help children make their mark while inspiring creativity in classrooms and organizations around the world.”  

New York Times #1 best-selling picture book author/illustrator Peter H. Reynolds is known worldwide for his story, The Dot, which has been published in over 25 languages, as well as other books such as Ish, Sky Color and The World Collector.  

It was an inspiring evening with Tom Caron, MetroWest YMCA Leadership Cabinet co-chairperson, NESN Sports Anchor and Framingham resident, serving as emcee. David O’Leary, fellow Framingham resident and radio personality, had a special appearance as he joined Tom on stage to assist with the live auctioning of the Red Sox Experience package, which included four premium seat game tickets, a pre-game meet-and-greet with Tom Caron to view the NESN pre-game show and a chance to watch batting practice from the field.  

Dave McGillivray, the MetroWest YMCA’s 2018 Inspiration Award Winner, race director, philanthropist, motivational speaker and accomplished athlete presented the DREAM BIG Award to Paul and Peter H. Reynolds. He shared that coincidently, the Reynolds helped name McGillivray’s picture book, Dream Big, which also inspired the name of the gala event.

As the evening went on, attendees were invited to support the MetroWest YMCA’s Food Access and Nutrition Program. Before the pandemic, the Y was serving 100 meals a day to its community members. Demand has skyrocketed since then and they now serve over 1,200 meals a day, as well as offer grocery distribution days with community partners. There are also plans to open a food pantry in the Y’s Framingham facility.  

The DREAM BIG Silent Auction opened online the week leading up to the gala, featuring nearly 100 items ranging from sports games and museum tickets, baskets with your go-to beverage, accessories like jewelry and purses, handcrafted artwork, sports memorabilia and more. Exclusive items during the event’s live auction included box seats to the Celtics, a vacation rental on Martha’s Vineyard, a dinner experience with Chef Paul Wahlberg and more. The live auction also featured two signature items from the Reynolds: A one-hour creative consulting session at their family’s independent bookshop The Blue Bunny Bookstore in Dedham Square, and an original, customized watercolor and ink painting by Peter featuring one of his iconic images of a child immersed in a book within a resplendent library.  

The evening’s event raised more than $100,000 with 100% of the proceeds directly supporting children and families in need.

Guests, donors, board members and event sponsors included ADI Contracting, Inc, Fletcher Tilton PC - Attorneys at Law, R.W. Holmes Commercial Real Estate, Rodman Ride For Kids, The Hoyt Foundation, Hologic, Inc., MetroWest Medical Center, The TJX Companies, Inc., Rubicon Builders, Framingham State University, Vesta Real Estate Group, Middlesex Savings Bank, CBT Architects, Oak Realty, Fitts Insurance Agency, Inc., Scalora Consulting Group, The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company, Webster Five, AAFCPAs, Needham Bank, Decision Insight Inc., Massachusetts Bay Community College, Platinum Physical Therapy, Inc, and Senate President Karen Spilka.

Those wishing to participate as an item donor, future event sponsor or contributor to the food program are encouraged to contact MetroWest YMCA’s Director of Annual Giving, Ashley Place by emailing ashleyplace@metrowestymca.org 

For more information about the MetroWest YMCA food program as a resource, contact Lauren Hanley at laurenhanley@metrowestymca.org

About the DREAM BIG Award Honorees

Peter H. Reynolds

New York Times #1 best-selling author/illustrator Peter H. Reynolds is a globally renowned advocate for creativity, best known for his "picture books for all ages," including The Dot, Ish, Be You, All We Need is Love, Going Places and The Word Collector. His works have been translated into dozens of languages, inspiring millions of children and adults worldwide to embrace creativity, courage, compassion and confident self-expression. There are now over 34 million copies in print of the best-selling Judy Moody and Stink series, which has been published in 28 languages. Peter is founder of Boston-based educational media firm FableVision and his non-profit Reynolds Center for Teaching, Learning & Creativity. He is also co-creator of International Dot Day—based on his book The Dot, which has been celebrated by nearly 32 million participants in 190+ countries.

Paul Reynolds

Paul Reynolds is co-founder of FableVision, which develops custom, educational media, interactives, mobile games and apps, and Executive Director of the nonprofit Reynolds Center for Teaching, Learning & Creativity, which supports teacher and student creativity across the curriculum with a focus on scalable, constructionist and maker education tools and CTE pathways.    

Paul teaches digital media production at Boston College, where he has served as an adjunct faculty for three decades. He is also a children's book author who collaborates with his twin brother, Author/Illustrator Peter H. Reynolds. Their books include Going Places (Simon & Schuster), a picture book about creativity and engineering, and an early chapter book series called the STEAM-Powered Adventures of Sydney & Simon, which includes Full STEAM Ahead!, Go Green!, and To the Moon! (Charlesbridge Publishing).