About 400 auction bidders and attendees congregated beneath a white tent for Martha’s Vineyard Community Services’ (MVCS) 48th annual Possible Dreams auction on Saturday evening at Allen Farm in Chilmark.
Hosted by comedian and late-night talk show host Seth Meyers, Possible Dreams is MVCS’ largest annual fundraiser. The event raised more than $550,000 this year for MVCS, which provides Islanders with access to services like childcare, mental healthcare, veteran assistance, and help for survivors of domestic and sexual violence, according to Ann Taylor, development department manager for MVCS.
Along with an ongoing silent auction, which is available until noon on August 12, the live auction featured prizes ranging from quality time with celebrities like “Seinfeld” creator Larry David to VIP hockey packages, to the chance to be an extra on the TV series “Dexter.”
The auction also featured several other surprise items, including a private mahjong session with comedian Kristen Wiig. The session yielded two matching bids that totaled $36,000, which was the largest donation for an item of the evening.
In his introductory speech, MVCS CEO Scott Turton emphasized the humanity of the individuals that MVCS supports. “The people we serve are not statistics. They are our neighbors. They are the child you see at school, the coworker you greet in your town, the family member who needs support, the friend going through a difficult time,” he said. “They are the people who deserve dignity, opportunity, and the reassurance that they do not have to face life’s challenges alone.”
Turton also applauded the construction of MVCS’ Morby Family Building, a two-story center at the MVCS campus partially funded by a record-breaking $3 million naming donation from the late Jacqui Morby and her children, Michelle and Andrew Morby.
“If you’ve driven past 111 Edgartown Road in Oak Bluffs, you will notice the most amazing manifestation of that giving spirit in our soon-to-be-opened building,” Turton said.
Turton also presented the Art Buchwald Award for Outstanding Community Service to Nevin Sayre, a professional windsurfing champion and inductee of the Windsurfing Hall of Fame, who has raised more than $100,000 for MVCS with his “’Round the Vineyard” and previous Martha’s Vineyard Windsurfing challenges. Sayre, whose mother was a former MVCS board member, underscored the necessity of efforts like fundraising to benefit community nonprofits. “It’s a lot of miles, but in this time of stormy seas for our country, we all have to put in the miles,” Sayre said.
Jessica Garcia-Widra, organizer of the inaugural MVCS mahjong fundraiser Tiles and Tea for Community last month, emphasized how surviving domestic violence drove her to support MVCS.
“I learned firsthand how deeply humbling it is to ask for help when you’re at your lowest point, and that very few people will extend a hand,” Widra said. “Today, I’m extraordinarily fortunate … but with that privilege comes profound motivation to lift up others. I never want anyone to feel the loneliness and the hopelessness that I felt.”
In his standup routine, Meyers, who has hosted the auction for seven years, made joking references to current issues on the Island, like ticks and alpha-gal syndrome, and discussed his participation in this year’s inaugural Swim Across America, which raised more than $300,000 for the Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital.
“Is the Island trying to kill me? Yes. Is it my ‘Widow’s Bay’? Yes,” Meyers said, referring to the Apple TV 2026 comedy horror television series. “I am willing to risk life and limb to come to this Island. I wouldn’t fly Cape Air to go anywhere else.”
After the auction, Meyers told The Times that his appreciation for the Island community drives him to support MVCS. “I love this Island so much, and I have so much respect for people who work year-round for this Island and the people who live here,” Meyers said. “You just want the people who spend time on this Island to enjoy it as much as you do, and find the same happiness here that I and my family do.”
Meg Fitzgerald, a professor of health policy and management at Columbia University, is a frequent attendee at Possible Dreams. Dubbed “Meg from Aquinnah” by Meyers, and the winning bidder for the “Dexter” prize, she expressed her admiration for MVCS.
“We’ve met friends and people who use Martha’s Vineyard Community Services, and it’s been just such an amazing resource for the Island,” Fitzgerald said. “So we back up the truck, and we donate and do all that we can. We admire everyone involved in the organization, and it’s a great win for everybody to be part of this.”
