St. Louis Center receives $25,000 at benefactor event (with slideshow)

On a beautiful end of summer evening on Thursday,  Sept. 19, St. Louis Center hosted a special event for 70 benefactors, and received a $25,000 check from the Michigan Knights of Columbus State Council.

The event was organized by new Development Director Christina Ferris who said, “It was time to bring our many benefactors back together again to give them an update on St. Louis Guanella Village, and to thank them for everything they’ve done for us in the past.”

The reception was held in a tent outdoors where donors could see progress being made on five new buildings under construction as part of St. Louis Guanella Village. They include two resident cottages, a single-family home, a duplex for families and an administration building.

After guests feasted on a delicious buffet served by Moveable Feast from Manchester, Ferris welcomed the crowd and turned the microphone over to Fr. Enzo Addari, CEO of St. Louis Center and co-chair of the Legacy Fundraising Campaign. He expressed his gratitude to everyone for their past contributions, and welcomed fellow co-chair Norm Neuman of Chelsea for his remarks.

Neuman praised Enzo for his vision and the mission of the Servants of Charity, and the progress being made on St. Louis Guanella Village.

Next up, Evelyn Bowman shared her brother Matthew’s story concerning how St. Louis Center provided support for him and peace of mind to her family. Finally William Chassé, state deputy of the Michigan Knights of Columbus, presented a check to Fr. Enzo on behalf of the Knights in Michigan for $25,000 to assist in the replacement and repair of the 50-year old heating and ventilation system in the gym and front lobby that failed this spring.

Special thanks to the Chelsea Rotary Club that provided valet parking for the event.

St. Louis Center is a residential care facility that cares for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

For more information, visit www.stlouiscenter.org.