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Giving Back — Makara ADU | Marlins for Mason

Giving Back

We build homes. We also build for something bigger.

A company is more than the work it does. The people we build for — and the people we stand beside — matter just as much as the structures we deliver. This is the cause closest to us, and a remarkable little boy named Mason.

Meet Mason

Meet Mighty Mason

A seven-year-old with a community behind him.

Mason Prather smiling in a hospital bed during an EEG monitoring session

Mason Prather is a beloved seven-year-old and a fixture of the Ocean City, Maryland fishing community. He is also living with Dravet Syndrome — a rare, catastrophic, and lifelong form of epilepsy that touches every part of his days.

In his short life, Mason has already endured hundreds of seizures, countless emergency room visits, and frequent hospitalizations. The treatments available today are limited and often ineffective, and nearly one in four children with Dravet Syndrome does not live to adulthood. There is, as yet, no cure.

Mason is the reason this page exists — and the reason a fishing tournament has quietly become one of the most powerful forces in Dravet research anywhere in the country.

Because Dravet Syndrome is rare, very little money is spent on research. That is exactly what Marlins for Mason set out to change.

Understanding the condition

What is Dravet Syndrome?

Dravet Syndrome is a rare genetic epilepsy that begins in the first year of life in otherwise healthy children. The families who live it describe it in three words: rare, catastrophic, and lifelong.

  • Relentless seizuresFrequent, severe, and often prolonged — frequently requiring emergency care.
  • Lifelong impactDevelopmental delays alongside feeding and mobility challenges that affect the whole family.
  • Devastating oddsNearly a quarter of children with Dravet Syndrome die before reaching adulthood.
  • UnderfundedBecause the condition is rare, research has historically been starved of the money it needs.

The Dravet Syndrome Foundation is dedicated to better treatments and, one day, a cure.

The Marlins for Mason Tournament

Catching a cure, one release at a time.

Marlins for Mason is a 501(c)(3) non-profit marlin release tournament benefiting the Dravet Syndrome Foundation in honor of Mason. It is run entirely by people who love this boy — and the results have been extraordinary.

The Prather family presenting the 2025 Marlins for Mason donation check of $682,550 to the Dravet Syndrome Foundation
$682,550
Raised in 2025 — the largest single gift the Foundation has ever received
$1.5M+
Donated to Dravet research over the past three years
5
Major research projects independently funded, including a gene-therapy study
100%
Of every entry fee donated directly to the Dravet Syndrome Foundation
What
The 4th Annual Marlins for Mason — a marlin release tournament. Fish one of three days.
When
July 30, July 31 & August 1, 2026 · Registration July 29, 6–8 pm
Where
Ocean City Marlin Club & Sunset Marina · Ocean City, Maryland
Who it helps
100% of entry fees go to the Dravet Syndrome Foundation

Why this matters to us

This isn’t a campaign. It’s a family we care about.

Our work is about creating spaces where families can live well — where a parent can age in place near the people they love, where a home can grow with the people inside it. That mission only means something if we carry it beyond the job site.

Mason’s family are close friends of ours. Watching what they have built out of something so hard — turning a community of anglers into a research engine measured in millions — is humbling. Supporting Marlins for Mason isn’t marketing for us. It is simply the right thing to do, for people we care about and for every family facing Dravet.

We share their story here because awareness is the first thing every rare-disease family asks for. If this page introduces even a few more people to Mason and the Foundation working to help him, it has done its job.

How you can help

Three ways to make a difference.

01

Learn & share his story

The simplest, most powerful thing you can do costs nothing. Visit the site, follow along, and tell someone who hasn’t heard of Dravet Syndrome.

Visit marlinsformason.com
02

Donate to the cause

Every dollar goes to Dravet research through the Foundation. Give securely through the official Marlins for Mason donation page.

Donate now
03

Fish or sponsor 2026

Anglers and businesses can take part directly — register a boat or explore tournament and sponsorship details.

Register or sponsor

Together, we can catch a cure for Dravet.

Thank you for taking a moment to meet Mason. Whether you donate, share his story, or simply keep his family in your thoughts — it matters.

Support Marlins for Mason
Makara ADU proudly supports Marlins for Mason and the Dravet Syndrome Foundation. We collect no donations and handle no funds — all giving is made directly through marlinsformason.com and the Dravet Syndrome Foundation.