Madison County Catholic Charities announces its 20th annual fundraiser, Help On The Move, to be held on Saturday, March 21st at the Bluff City Grill in Alton. Festivities begin at 6 p.m. and include, a cocktail hour/games, dinner, live music by the Owlz Band, a limited auction and a $10,000 raffle drawing at the end of the evening. Proceeds from the fundraiser are used to support the services of Madison County Catholic Charities including the Mobile Food Pantry, Professional Counseling Solutions, Homeless Prevention & Crisis Assistance, MedAssist, Guardian Angel Food Pantry and the Catholic Charities Legal Services programs. Catholic Charites has been providing services in Madison County since 1941 and operates two local offices located in Alton and Granite City.
Denise Brown, Area Director for Madison County Catholic Charities said, “Our annual fundraiser provides us with critical funding to help meet the needs of our clients. The people of Madison County have been very supportive of our efforts for almost 70 years now!” Every year, Madison Catholic Charities serves hundreds of children and families including bringing the Mobile Food Pantry to communities in Calhoun, Jersey and Bond counties. “It is important that we seek out people living in rural communities who are suffering from hunger in isolation. These folks deserve mercy and assistance just as much as anyone else, but they are most oftentimes forgotten”, said Brown.
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During the course of the evening, Madison County Catholic Charities will honor two special individuals with community service awards. Al Womack, Jr., Executive Director of the Boys & Girls Club of Alton will receive the Father Jack Quilligan Award for the tremendous impact he has had on the lives of thousands of children in the Greater Alton area over his 22-year career with the local nonprofit. “Al epitomizes what this award is all about. His dedication to the youth of this community is unmatched,” stated Steven Roach, Executive Director for Catholic Charities in the Springfield Diocese. “He is a hero in real time”, Roach said.
The Mary Alyce Beardslee Award will be presented posthumously in honor of the late, David Harrison. As the coordinator of the Madison County Community Development Homeless Prevention program, David dedicated 20 years of his life to helping people find stable housing and services to get them off of the streets and to help restore their dignity. He was recognized as a leading homeless advocate throughout the entire St. Louis metropolitan region. David’s wife, Tori, will be accepting the award on his behalf.
Tickets for this year’s Help On The Move event are $40 each and include dinner, beer, wine, soda and dancing and are available online at cc.dio.org or by calling 462-0634. Raffle tickets can also be purchased for $25 each or 3 for $50 for chances to win $10,000 or a 55” flat screen TV. You don’t need to be present to win and raffle tickets will be sold during the event.
