SOUTH NEW BERLIN – When George and Kim Murray and their four-year-old son Trayson arrived at Yankee Stadium last week, they had originally hoped to meet a few of the players and catch a good seat for the game. Instead, they were whisked into a private suite filled with dozens of conspiring family members and most of the team’s starting lineup.

“We never thought anything of it until we were standing in front of these frosted glass doors. They asked, ‘Are you ready?’ and I thought ‘Ready for what?’ and then they opened the doors to our waiting family members, friends, and the Yankees greeting us. There were a lot of tears and hugs,” said Kim.

The surprise was organized by the ball club as part of Helping Others Persevere and Excel (HOPE) Week. The event was inspired by the belief that acts of kindness instill hope and courage – not just for the recognized family, but to all those witness to the event, to give to those in need.

The team chose to honor the family on the third day of HOPE Week at Yankee Stadium because George suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease, named after the famous Yankees player who died of the disease in 1941. Three years ago, George Murray was diagnosed with ALS and told he had only three to five years to live. He is 38 years old.

The couple said they have now come to terms with the illness after a tumultuous acceptance period and have even taken steps in making the proper funeral arrangements.

“I want to thank everybody who worked so hard in putting this together. The people behind the camera to the players – a lot of effort was taken on by themselves. I would like everyone to see that and know that they should always continue to dream, to continue a cycle of kindness that should never end. People should never stop dreaming because dreams can come true no matter what your circumstances, all you need is hope,” said George. He was confined to a wheelchair a year ago after progression of the disease caused him to lose the use of his arms and legs.

The surprise was originally put into motion when one day George said he had always dreamed of meeting the Yankees and expressed an interest to his wife Kim and a close family friend.

“Our friend Rob just called the Yankees to see if we could watch a game and maybe meet a couple of the players,” said Kim. The team responded and asked for a written request, which prompted Kim to send a letter.

A few weeks later, she received a phone call from the Yankees management, who were interested in setting up some kind of an arrangement; however, after collecting some background information, the agent secretly began contacting other family members about HOPE week, without Kim’s knowledge.

“I told him what we had in mind and he told me to think bigger,” she said.

Jason Zillo, the Yankees’ director of media relations, had agents working several different angles in the Murrays’ lives, which included contacting over 30 family members, friends and even Kim’s employer.

Kim is a speech therapist at Pathfinder Village in Edmeston, a school for children with Down syndrome.