Couple donates virtual annual banquet video

Clients entering Lifeline have often just experienced some of life’s darkest days, so getting them to share their painful stories in front of a camera requires a special talent and heart.

Enter Josh and Samantha Marberry, of A & SG Film and Sound Makers.

Josh and Samantha Marberry

“We are two best friends who love what we do very much,” Josh said.

And they love Lifeline.

Josh and Samantha interviewed many clients in the first phase of treatment “…just weeks off of tragedy, withdrawal and the freshness of this new commitment to sobriety.” They got to know them, as well as the volunteers whose love for the clients is “warm and full of light,” he said.

They spent days on both campuses, compiling 22 hours of video, and then many more days editing it into the 20-minute Lifeline virtual annual banquet. It was their gift to Lifeline.

Josh explains why they donated this massive labor of love:

“Lifeline runs on donations. Without money, it simply could not operate. When facing a year like this one, their leadership made the call to adapt with a virtual banquet. We support the work they do there wholeheartedly. We knew that, for every person going through that program, it came down to this.”

Ashley Miller, executive director, said the video perfectly captured the organization’s mission and generated recordbreaking donations, as well as plenty of tears.

“We faced a real dilemma during the pandemic,” Ashley

said, “when we could not host our traditional banquet. Josh and Samantha turned what we feared would be a terrible fundraising year into a major success with their generous spirit and amazing talent. We are forever grateful.”

Josh said they were moved by the bravery of their new friends at Lifeline. “It’s not easy to face down the giant they are facing,” Josh said, “but, on top of that, to already be professing their story to help others like themselves is victorious.”

SEE THE VIDEO AT LifelineRecoveryCenter.org/virtual-banquet

Josh and Samantha Marberry