Promise2Live Gala: Turning Pain into Purpose
After a personal tragedy, Brandy Vega founded Promise2Live to fight suicide through action, not just awareness. The upcoming gala will launch a powerful new campaign: Names Behind the Numbers.
People & Culture
Salt Lake City, UT - May 16, 2025
When Utah media executive and single mom Brandy Vega rushed her daughter to the hospital after a suicide attempt, everything changed. Sitting alone in that sterile room—desperate and devastated—she made a promise: “If you save my daughter, I’ll do whatever I can to save others.”
That moment sparked Promise2Live, a mental health campaign under the nonprofit Good Deed Revolution. What began with one mother’s plea has since become a global movement, reaching more than 3 million people across 117 countries through education, outreach, and digital media.
Despite record investments in suicide prevention, suicide rates remain at an all-time high. Vega believes part of the problem is how we define success. “We’ve spent years raising awareness, but awareness alone isn’t saving lives,” she says. “We need to shift to action. It’s not just about knowing the number—it’s about knowing the name.”
That belief is now at the center of Promise2Live’s bold new initiative: Names Behind the Numbers.
Launching at the Promise2Live Gala on May 31, 2025, at The Barn at Thanksgiving Point, this storytelling campaign invites families to share the names, faces, and stories of loved ones lost to suicide—transforming statistics into something deeply personal.
But the gala is more than a fundraiser. It’s a rallying cry for change.
Guests will experience an evening of gourmet dining, live music by The Free Radicals, a silent auction, and moving messages from speakers—all to support Promise2Live’s life-saving programs:
- Silicon Slopes Mental Health Town Halls, where experts and community leaders tackle real issues like anxiety and addiction. (Next Town Hall: May 22, 2025 | Register here.)
- The Pocket Hug Project, which has distributed over 70,000 engraved coins with mental health resources—tokens of comfort reminding recipients they’re not alone.
- The MTV Day of Action Mobile Parade, which brings Promise2Live to schools and colleges, encouraging students to make the promise and access support.
- A Global Livestream on World Suicide Prevention Day, broadcast from Hollywood with celebrity guests and survivor stories reaching millions worldwide.
What sets Promise2Live apart is its focus on accountability and action. At its core is one simple but powerful challenge: make the promise—to reach out when you’re struggling and to check in on others.
“People don’t hesitate to wear a seatbelt, even if they never crash,” Vega explains. “Making a Promise2Live is the same—simple, preventative, powerful. You may never need it. But if you do, it could save your life.”
The evening will also include a Wall of Remembrance, where families can submit names and photos of loved ones lost to suicide—a tribute and a powerful reminder of what we’re fighting for.
Promise2Live Gala: A Night That Matters
May 31, 2025 | 6:00–9:00 PM
The Barn at Thanksgiving Point, 2476 W Sycamore Ln, Lehi, UT
Get Tickets, Tables, or Become a Sponsor
To submit a name or photo for the Wall of Remembrance, or to donate a silent auction item, contact:
Barb Dill | barb@promise2live.org | 801-602-2902
To make the promise, get involved, or learn more, visit: www.Promise2Live.org
Whether you attend, sponsor, donate—or simply share the message—your support turns awareness into action and transforms promises into lives saved.
Join us for an unforgettable evening of hope, healing, and community.
Brandy Vega is a dynamic entrepreneur, media guru, mother, philanthropist, advocate and founder of Vega Media Studios. At age 17, Vega joined the Army as a broadcaster and public affairs specialist. During her career, she reported for Fox News, produced shows for worldwide audiences, and served in executive positions. She also does freelance work for several companies.
Vega's nonprofit, Good Deed Revolution, promotes mental health and suicide prevention. Her current campaign, Promise2Live, is a movement to empower individuals to make a promise, whether or not they are struggling, that if they EVER feel sad, depressed, hopeless or suicidal that they will reach out to a friend, family member, a trusted resources or call or text 988!
Promise2Live collaborates with many members of the Utah entrepreneur and Tech Ecosystem to increase awareness of mental health issues and suicide through a series of town halls, galas, and other events.