Catholic Charities’ annual celebration raises $147K
Goshen. The funds will be redistributed to provide food, shelter and other basic needs for vulnerable members of the community.
Goshen /
| 07 May 2024 | 09:31
Catholic Charities of Orange, Sullivan & Ulster CEO Shannon Kelly, Vice President of Operations for ShopRite Supermarkets Michael Schoendorf, Port Jervis Police Chief William Worden, Ulster Savings Bank CEO William Calderara, Fr. Bob Porpora of St. Peter’s in Monticello, Fr. Joseph Tokarcyzk of Sacred Heart in Highland Falls, and Catholic Charities Board Chair Thomas Strahle. (
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More than 300 guests gathered at The Kartrite Resort in Monticello last month for Catholic Charities of Orange, Sullivan & Ulster’s 18th annual Celebration of Charity and Caritas Awards Dinner. The not-for-profit agency’s largest fundraising event of the year raised more than $147,000 that will be redistributed locally to provide food, shelter and other basic needs for the vulnerable members of the community, regardless of their religion or ability to pay.
The evening’s main event was the presentation of the 2024 Caritas Awards to five individuals and organizations. This year’s Caritas Award recipients were Fr. Bob Porpora (Church of St. Peter, Monticello), ShopRite Supermarkets, Ulster Savings Bank, Chief William Worden (Port Jervis Police Department), and Sacred Heart Catholic Church (Highland Falls).
John S. Burke Catholic High School students Sage Ferraro and Cassidy Maglio provided musical accompaniment during the social hour, which included silent auction bidding on an array of items donated by local artisans, shops, restaurants, and others. The evening’s program began with the invocation provided by Sr. Mary Catherine Redmond, of the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and a song of celebration performed by Kingston Catholic schooler Emma Catenacci.
Catholic Charities of Orange, Sullivan & Ulster CEO Shannon Kelly said, “These are not easy times. I’m very proud of the work we are accomplishing and the steadfast dedication of our Catholic Charities employees who are touching lives each and every day.”
Mediacom Communications and Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York were the evening’s premier Platinum sponsors. Other sponsors included Armistead Mechanical, Community Manufacturing Solutions, Schweppes, Ulster Savings Bank, Legal Shred, Pepsi of the Hudson Valley, Resorts World, Skip and Susan Tetz, Advance Building Solutions/Corporate Building Solutions, John and Susan Boyle, Most Rev. Dominick Lagonegro, and Westchester Medical Center Health Network.