Fallen officers and their families were honored at a "Blue Lives Matter" gala at the Hilton Garden Inn in Bloomfield. NY1's Natalie Duddridge filed the following report.

It was an emotional procession as the Wives and Families of ten fallen officers entered the Blue Lives Matter Gala at the Hilton Garden Inn on South Avenue Saturday night.

The first-ever event honored non-profit groups who work to strengthen the bond between police and community and look after loved ones of those killed in the line of duty.

Sergeant Paul Tuozzolo, who was shot last November while responding to a call, left behind his wife and two young sons.

“It's pretty incredible, the support I’ve received,” said Sgt. Tuozzolo’s widow, Lisa. “Originally, when the event first happened, I really felt alone. In the minutes, hours, days of my husband’s passing, I have felt tremendous support from the NYPD, Blue Lives Matter, and organizations across the country.”

To highlight those helping hands, the gala awards 4 non-profit organizations who are doing outstanding work in the police community. One of the charities honored was the Rafael Ramos Foundation. Detective Ramos and his partner Wenjian Liu were killed in 2014 as they sat in their patrol car.

“Right after Ramos and Liu we're killed we were all sitting around the table talking about everything going on in the news,” said the Ramos Foundation’s co-founder, Christopher Brinkley. “People were against the cops, there was rioting and turmoil. We said we need to do something to bring people together.”

The idea all started with Blue Lives Matter bracelets. The founders say they sold out the first 100 in five minutes and their vision for an awards gala grew from there.

“We actually came here November 4th to start a gala style event, and as we were here we were getting word two NYPD officers were getting shot,” Brinkley said.

That's why Blue Lives Matter says groups like theirs are so important; so that when something goes wrong there's support, not just in the days following, but for decades to come.

“There's no timeline on grief,” added Brinkley. “We have an officer’s family here that was killed in the 80s, and we still support their family.”

The founders plan to make the Blue Lives Matter Gala an annual ceremony, but say they hope next year, there will be no new officers’ names on the list to honor.