Lighting Up Chicago: Third Annual Lux Gala an Overwhelming Success

November 21, 2025

Mercy Home’s third annual signature fundraising event, the Lux Gala, saw a sold-out crowd at Chicago’s Old Post Office last Saturday, November 8.

CBS2 News Chicago Anchor Joe Donlon returned as master of ceremonies, and CBS2 News Chicago reporter Marissa Perlman provided dinner guests with highlights of must-see attractions from throughout the venue.

The use of a variety of spaces spread throughout two floors of the historic building allowed guests to enjoy an immersive experience that was filled with both spectacle and inspiration. The evening offered surprises, whimsy, and delight with both staged and free-roaming entertainment like magicians, mentalists, acrobats, musicians, and other performers, fine dining, dancing, a charitable gaming casino sponsored by Rivers Casino, luxury silent auctions, and an exclusive live auction.

The auctions included exclusive travel packages to destinations like the Pantanal in Brazil, Ireland, Florida, the U.S. Virgin Islands and more, hard-to-get event tickets and sports memorabilia, stunning jewelry from James & Sons Fine Jewelers, and more. Raffle drawings at the end of the night also sent three lucky guests home with incredible cash prizes, with the grand prize winner taking home $25,000.

The gathering’s true meaning, however, was highlighted during the dinner program, which featured a moving new video story about Mercy Home alum Brandon Mosley. The video, produced by CBS2 Chicago’s Jim Williams, described how the then 12-year old Mosley came to live at Mercy Home following the death his mother at just 39. With the guidance he received during his time at the home, Mosley grew to become a successful adult and a devoted father to his twin teenage sons.

“[Mercy Home] showed me compassion, like they really truly cared about me,” Mosley said in the video. … “I couldn’t even tell you the kind of father I would be if it wasn’t for Mercy Home.”

Fr. Scott thanked our donors in the video for supporting Mercy Home and many young people just like Mosley.

“There’s no better mission I can think of, and this only happens because the folks who support this Home believe in that as much as I do,” he said.

Pointing to his sons, who are straight-A high school students, Mosley then told the audience that the future starts with the youth. Guests responded to that appeal to the future with record support.

We are thrilled that this year’s Lux Gala exceeded its fundraising goals and will play a crucial role in making Mercy Home’s mission possible to provide a safe home, healing, education, career development, and more for young people in Chicago. 

Lux, defined as a unit of luminance, celebrates the light that Mercy Home and its supporters spread throughout our city by caring for young people who have experienced traumas like abuse and neglect.

Mercy Home provides kids with the tools they need to heal from their pasts and build brighter futures for themselves, their families, and their communities. All of it is possible only because of generous donors like those who supported the event, as Fr. Scott acknowledged in his remarks before dinner.

“This mission of Mercy Home would not exist without you,” Fr. Scott said. “The world needs us. Mercy Home needs you.” He then shared a prayer from the late Brazilian Archbishop Helder Camera, which asked God for the strength and fortitude to give fully of one’s self in order to enhance the lives of others and spread light into a dark world. “We are the light,” Fr. Scott concluded. “We are the hope. We are the generosity. We are the compassion that the world needs.”

Fr. Scott was introduced by his good friend and Event Chair Richard Price, current Executive Chairman of Mesirow. Price told the crowd that Mercy Home had become a cause deeply personal to him.

Setting the table for a night of successful fundraising, Price concluded “tonight, we all have the opportunity to show up as people who care deeply about the future of our city’s young people.

We thank everyone who took full advantage of that opportunity, making a profound statement of support through the resources they generated for our mission at the gala.

We are deeply grateful to our guests and generous sponsors, including our pledge match sponsors, the Bobby Rahal Foundation, Joe & Janet Nolan, The Duchossois Foundation, Gavin & Terry Hattersley, and The Perreault Family Charitable Fund.

Congratulations and thank you to so many people and companies who helped make this event such a success—far too many to list in this space. And a special congratulations to our Special Events team for another successful year of Lux!