ORLANDO, Fla. – Every year, local nonprofits spend countless hours and resources trying to fundraise. But what if there was a way to host a major fundraising event with no expenses at all?
Well, now there is. It’s called The Goodness Gala.
The Goodness Gala is a new initiative founded by local entrepreneur Sean Hughes. It supports local charities by organizing a gala where everything — from the venue to catering, entertainment, and photography — is donated by local businesses. This way, 100% of the proceeds benefit the charity.
Several local charities were contacted and encouraged to apply for the gala, including Next Step Orlando, the winner of the 2025 Goodness Gala.
Next Step Orlando helps people with paralysis recover with specialized equipment and trainers.
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Liza Riedel started the nonprofit 15 years ago after her teenage daughter was a passenger in a car crash and became a quadriplegic.
“So my daughter became a quadriplegic and I really didn’t understand. I was like, ‘What do you mean she can’t sit up, she can’t feed herself, and all these other secondary conditions that they cannot do?,’” Riedel said. “When you leave inpatient hospital and come back to Florida, we did traditional therapy, OT and PT, but it’s just not enough for a spinal cord injury. I was like, ‘Who’s going to work her whole body?’ She was athletic. She was a dancer before this. She’s young.”
Riedel said she received an unexpected invitation to enter the contest to win the gala worth tens of thousands of dollars. After making a presentation, she waited two weeks to hear back.
“Oh my God, we were so excited. I slept thinking about it, ate thinking about it, worked thinking about it,” Riedel said. “And then you get that email that comes across again that says ‘Congratulations, Next Step is the winner of the 2025 Goodness Gala.’”
Orlando entrepreneur Sean Hughes founded The Goodness Gala.
“You know, (a car accident) could happen to anyone,” Hughes said. “We knew immediately, we’re like, ‘OK, we want to help them any way we can.’ (...) My company is Avenue Event Group and we actually own and operate The Balcony Orlando. So, The Balcony Orlando is the venue that’s going to be hosting the inaugural Goodness Gala and we’ve got a number of different vendors that are committed to helping.”
Everything from catering to entertainment and photography are all donated by local businesses so that 100% of the proceeds can benefit the charity.
“I was just a frustrated mother who wanted to help,” Riedel said. “People come from all over the country, even the world, for this facility because we care here. We want to help them get better and recover. We just need community support and better equipment because the current equipment doesn’t last.”