Where can you go to have a great night out with family or friends, visit a beautiful, local attraction, eat delicious food, socialize with others and all the while, do good for others?  Join us for Catholic Charities, Diocese of Norwich Centennial Celebration.

Catholic Charities, Diocese of Norwich is holding its Centennial Celebration on May 14th at the Mystic Aquarium at 6 p.m. Tickets are $100 per person and children 12 and under are admitted free. We are looking forward to celebrating this momentous occasion for many reasons.

First, it marks a milestone worth celebrating. Due to COVID restrictions, we have not been able to hold an event like this in two years. The pandemic took away many of the things we enjoyed. We can finally get out and attend venues like this one, once again. Our celebration is a great place to start. It will be a fun event for the whole family for a great cause.

Additionally, this is one of the largest fundraising events that Catholic Charities holds all year. Fortunately, through the generosity of our donors and grant foundations, we have been able to continue our work of helping individuals and families, despite the pandemic.

In the past, we would hold a more formal gala for our fundraising event. However, given the work that Catholic Charities does, especially for families, we felt that a family event would be much more appropriate to reflect what our work represents. We have some fun activities planned for children so they can have a great experience in addition to enjoying all the amenities that the aquarium has to offer and adults can have fun too, bidding on some great silent auction items, mingling with others and sampling different food stations located throughout the aquarium.

Finally, when we help others in some way, it creates amazing joy in ourselves. The most prevalent reason for holding this event is to help others. Catholic Charities mission is to help individuals and families of all faiths get through difficult times, especially those who are underserved or disadvantaged. 

Our case workers work with clients to not only satisfy their immediate basic needs of food, clothing, rent and utility assistance, prescription assistance, transportation and infant and toddler needs but also offer programs such as parenting classes, pregnancy groups, budgeting, job readiness and SNAP assistance in order to support, strengthen and empower our clients for the highest level of self-sufficiency and long-term success. 

Catholic Charities provides these services with care and respect to every client who walks through our doors, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion or circumstances. Quotes like, “Asked for help without feeling judgment,” “Helps us to move forward as a family” and “Sets out to improve our lives,” are just a few of the hundreds of notes and feedback that Catholic Charities has received from our clients.

So, we look forward to seeing you on May 14th and together we can all feel good about helping others in need in our communities. For more information about the event, sponsorship opportunities or our mission at Catholic Charities, please visit our website at www.ccfsn.org. "For it is in giving that we receive."  ~Saint Francis of Assisi

By Sally Velcofsky