(Chelsea Update would like to thank Joe Yekulis for the information and Kelly Flaherty for the photos in this story.)
St. Louis Center is celebrating its long history with a 60th Anniversary Virtual Event on Thursday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. on Facebook Live (www.facebook.com/stlouiscenter/).
Former University of Michigan Basketball Head Coach John Beilein will serve as celebrity host. Participants can virtually join Coach Beilein as he tours the St. Louis Center campus, and they can listen in on a conversation with former players Tim Hardaway, Jr. and Zack Novak; reminiscing about their 2012 visit.
The event will serve as a fundraising opportunity to support the growing needs during the pandemic of St. Louis Center, a residential facility for children, adults and seniors with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Items autographed by Coach Beilein, including photographs, Michigan ball caps, and basketballs, will be available for donations. A dinner for six with Coach Beilein and his wife, Kathleen, will also be auctioned off. Advanced bids are being accepted at https://bit.ly/slc60th-Beilein.
There is no cost to view the event online.
Hardaway has been in the NBA for the past six years and plays for the Dallas Mavericks, while Novak helped lead Michigan to the Big Ten Championship during the 2011-12 season and was a team captain. They both visited St. Louis Center on June 21, 2012 with Coach Beilein, when they and their teammates held basketball demonstrations and worked with the center’s residents and staff.
At that time, Coach Beilein said, “If we can put a smile on the faces of these kids who face so many challenges in their everyday lives, then it’s worth the effort on our part to bring them a little bit of happiness.”
St. Louis Center provides residential care for 70 children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and must raise $267 per adult resident per day to provide for their care; up from $230.50 prior to the pandemic. Funds raised will help to offset these increased costs.
In addition, a pre-event Mass of Thanksgiving will be said by the Servants of Charity, a Catholic order of priests who serve as administrators at St. Louis Center, at 6:30 p.m. The 60th Anniversary Celebration begins at 7 p.m.
This fun, fast paced event will also include friends, family members and celebrity supporters popping in to say hello. Coach Beilein will preview the fundraiser and reminisce with Sam Webb on WTKA radio, “The Ticket” at 1050 AM on Tuesday morning Oct. 20 at 8:05 a.m.
For more information about St. Louis Center, visit www.stlouiscenter.org.
