The 2010 St. Patrick’s Day Gala broke all previous records:  more sponsors , more attendees, and more auction items than ever before!  This resulted in Catholic Charities raising more than $150,000, a new record, for our programs.  This would not have been possible without the generosity of all who attended and supported the event.  We want to thank all of our sponsors, especially our title sponsor – Freedom Financial – who have supported this event year after year; our dedicated gala committee – many of whom have been on the committee since it’s inception; and our loyal attendees, who opened their hearts and gave generously.

There were other firsts for this event:  A new location – the Antlers Hilton – was able to accommodate more people in their ballroom;  and the change from a buffet to a seated dinner,  where attendees were able to chose between corned beef, bangers or both.

One of the highlights of the evening was the Marian House paddle auction, which raised $50,000 for Marian House programs.  Thank you to all who participated, and to the donors who thought the starting bid of $1,500 was too low and upped the starting bid to $5,000!  The auction followed a video of Freda, a client of Marian House, who has worked extremely hard to move forward in life.  Freda was in the audience and was given a standing ovation and presented flowers by Jason Christensen, CEO of Catholic Charities.  One attendee said, “I just love the video because it gives a unique perspective of what Catholic Charities does, and puts a face on the many people they help.”

The event was comprised of a silent auction, big board auction, live auction, paddle auction, and a Pot O’Gold was raffled off.  The winners, Marvin and Shirley Strait (pictured),  immediately donated back the $1,000 cash prize to Catholic Charities!  “I love our donors,” said Jason Christensen.  “Their dedication to this event and to Catholic Charities is unmatched!  I am amazed everyday by our dedicated staff, our clients, our generous donors, and our dedicated volunteers.  We simply could not meet our mission without them.”

Very soon, we will have an auction on our website with unsold items from the auction.  Click the St. Pats logo on the right side of this page for more information.