By Dick Milenese
Beads were a plenty on Sunday, February 27th at St. Elizabeth Seton’s celebration hall. The space was bedecked in purple, gold, and green; filled with all the colors of Mardi Gras as the St. Vincent de Paul Society (SVdP) held their first triple treat fundraiser. All the receipts from the event went to meals and financial support for needy people who are served by our parishes SVdP organization.
Do you like pies, cakes, cookies? They had them. Do you like Chili: mild, hot, red, white, extra spicy? Got that too. How about a silent auction with 40 different baskets of treats, from liquor to tools, or from lotions & potions to jewelry? It was all there and more. Even a 50/50 raffle. And the kids had fun at their own table to create Mardi Gras masks.
Coming in you were caught by a whiff of many scrumptious seasoned delicacies. It grabbed your nostrils and sort of opened your sinuses a little. More than 15 pots of piping hot chili were waiting to be judged by our selected panel whose pallets were ready for the test. The judges selected the chili by number as no names were by the pots. The winners of the Chili cook-off were; First place and winner of $100 gift certificate, Betse Malkowski; second place and winner of $50 certificate, Lucinda Herrick; and third place and the winner of $25 certificate, Karen Boeck. When the judging had ended, it was time for the real judges, namely the parishioners that were in attendance, to judge the chili for themselves. Each received a 2 oz cup of any chili, and as many that they wanted to sample, as well as condiments to enhance or temper their selections.
While all were sampling the chili and washing it down with refreshments, the second & third parts of the triple treat event were going on. First was the auction of the pies, cakes, & cookies, while at the same time the silent basket auction was also taking place. Father Kilian, with the help of Gordon from the Knights of Columbus (who was an auctioneer in his former days), conducted the pie and dessert auction. Bakery items went from $35 to as high as $220 for Fr. Kilian’s pie. His pie was purchased by Janna Consolino. Her being the highest bidder for Fr. Kilian’s pie received his acceptance to get his pie in-the-face; which Janna eagerly obliged him with. Father’s skill at running the auction, as well as his contribution of a pie and willingness to take the pie in-the-face, was enjoyed by all.
The event was a terrific fund raiser, netting a total of $5,551. The event was also a great fun raiser, as it allowed people to come together as community in a social event. The event was such a success that SVdP has decided to make the Chili cook-off, dessert and silent auction triple treat an annual event.
The SVdP Society aids in rent/mortgage payments, utility bills, transportation, medical and dental expenses, as well as vouchers to our SVdP thrift store. In addition, it has a pantry on site filled with fresh meats and dry goods, and provides a food basket with every home visit. It serves those in need regardless of religious affiliation; the only restriction being that the needy live within the parish boundaries. In the last nine months, their program has helped 685 families.
“The Event was a huge success,” remarked SVdP President Tina Prosenick. “The attendance from our Parishioners was overwhelming. Our hearts are so full with the love and support we received from our community. Thank you to all who made this event so successful for our ‘Neighbors in Need!’ God Bless!”
Interested in volunteering to work with our SVdP society? Contact: Tina Prosenick, at 406-598-1052 for more information.
We do not provide food with every visit. Barbara Scott, Vincentian home visitor.
Neighbors in need of food can receive groceries once per month. We bring groceries only when the neighbor has requested it.
Dick, great job on the summary of our event. We greatly appreciate all the support we received from our Parishioners to the Staff. We are so blessed with such a generous Parish.