For generations, children with illnesses and disabilities have received care at Shriners Children’s, a nationwide group of non-profit healthcare centers. Locally, Shriner’s Children’s New England in Springfield provides care for children with cleft palates and cleft lips, orthopedic conditions, spine and spinal cord disorders and injuries, urological ailments and issues associated with sports medicine.

Brenda Cuoco, broker and owner of Brenda Cuoco & Associates Real Estate Brokerage, met Jackson Connors and his parents, Jill and Nick Connors, when selling their home. As Jill Connors explained in a social media post ahead of the benefit, Jackson was born seven weeks early, with a cleft eyebrow, a cleft eyelid, a deeper cranial “soft spot than most children,” a hypospadias and a severe right club foot. Jackson has undergone several surgeries through Shriner’s Children’s of New England, and the brokerage decided to host a fundraiser to benefit the organization.