Thank you to everyone who helped make the 35th Annual Benefit & Auction another successful event for Believe In Tomorrow!

Read below to learn more about the 2017 Legacy Award and The Patrick “Scunny” McCusker Unsung Hero Award.

The Patrick “Scunny” McCusker Unsung Hero Award recognizes extraordinary efforts that reflect the legendary volunteer and philanthropic spirit of Patrick “Scunny” McCusker. The recipients of this award are living symbols of everything that is good in our community, and reflect the unique and wonderful spirit of Scunny.

Lincoln Kosmas was a longtime friend of Scunny McCusker, looking up to him and learning first-hand of the generous spirit and kind actions that made Scunny the kind of person you just wanted to be like. For example, on holidays, Lincoln joined Scunny’s family to serve meals to the families at The Children’s House at Johns Hopkins; he joined Scunny at Believe In Tomorrow’s Port to Fort 6K;and joined Scunny at the Grunwald Golf Tournament each year. Lincoln says that by just watching Scunny he was touched to see how small things make a big difference in Believe In Tomorrow families lives. When Scunny passed away, Lincoln was determined to continue to help Believe In Tomorrow.

Lincoln humbly says that he does “smaller” things for Believe In Tomorrow, but those smaller things make a big impact. Six weeks after Scunny passed away, the Elvis Open was rededicated to honor Scunny’s commitment to Believe In Tomorrow, of which Lincoln has been an enthusiastic and very colorful supporter. Last year Lincoln trained and ran the Marine Corp Marathon, raising significant funds for Believe In Tomorrow children and families. Lincoln is also a primary organizer of the Grunwald Golf Tournament, which has provided major financial support to Believe In Tomorrow for many years. And on every August 25th, the anniversary of Scunny’s death, Lincoln fundraises in his friend’s name to continue raising awareness and support for Believe In Tomorrow.

In his time off from advocating for Believe In Tomorrow and working at Mamma’s on the Half Shell, you can find Lincoln spending time with his fiancé, Dani, and his friends, Delaware Dave, and Jason Mislan.

The Believe In Tomorrow Legacy Award recognizes amazing contributions, given over a significant period of time, that help to expand our Believe In Tomorrow Respite and Hospital Housing Programs. These contributions ensure that future generations of Believe In Tomorrow families will find comfort and joy during the challenges of their child’s illness. Once they were retired, Sunny and her late husband, Larry, spent more and more time in Ocean City, Maryland and were introduced to the Believe In Tomorrow respite housing program at the beach. On Monday nights, she and Larry became regular volunteers at the “Monday Night Cookouts,” helping to prepare and serve meals to the families who were beginning their weeklong stay at the beach. Charmed by both the children and the parents that they met, Larry and Sunny began to look for additional ways to be of service to the families.

Eager to provide even more experiences for the children in the Believe In Tomorrow program, Larry and a friend decided to offer fishing opportunities to families, taking them out on the water for a few hours each week, teaching the children how to bait a hook, and cast, and allowing the parents to enjoy being on the water and to simply relax with their children under Larry’s tutelage. Larry often said that he got more out of his volunteer time with the kids, than they could have ever possibly received from him.

During this time, the Foundation was seeking to renovate The Believe In Tomorrow House on the Bay, a unique property dedicated to military pediatrics that allows for additional families to participate in the respite housing program. It was in this project, that Larry found his calling. As a master electrician who owned his own company prior to retirement, he dove right into the renovation project and oversaw the entire renovation simply to make sure that it was done correctly. Sunny was always at his side, encouraging Larry to continue in his commitment to Believe In Tomorrow and proud of the impact he made in the lives of these very special families. As a