| If you are new here, welcome to the Heart of Mary House Family! We were honored to have the opportunity to enlighten your mind and move your heart on Saturday night! Who can deny the way the Holy Spirit rushed through like a tsunami from start to finish? |
| If you graciously invited friends to join you, please share this thanks with all of your guests. |
| If you were not able to attend, here is a little recap with some pictures provided by KPL Photography. We opened the night with our inaugural Patron Party. During this time, patrons were able to hear from one of our caregivers, Fatima. She gave a first hand account of what it means to suffer tragedy and rise above it through service to others. After surviving the Rwandan Genocide, she has found a renewed strength to carry her cross and walk with the Lord wherever He leads. |
| We had a lovely silent auction with various items available for bidding. By the close of the auction, it had raised just under $15,000. Thank you to Sarah Dalske for always making this a special addition to the night! |
| 350 guests gathered around beautifully decorated tables from our decor leads, Lindsey McGrady and Elizabeth Hancock. One of a kind Saint polaroids provided by the talented January Jane Shop adorned each table. We had our emcee, Jennie Guinn from Catholic Moms in the Middle podcast, give our opening remarks and Bishop Spalding gave additional remarks along with the opening prayer. |
| Dinner was a buffet style catered by St. Charles Catering and included herb roasted chicken, green beans, roasted potatoes, mac and cheese with salad and rolls. As everyone took their seats, I was given the opportunity to share about the Heart of Mary House and the purpose and mission of God’s call to each one of us. |
| Following my speech, we showed a video that was put together by me, Patrick Smith, and Hugo and Jessica Novoa. It was a labor of love and gave a small glimpse into what the house means to the families who need us. |
| Next was our Keynote speaker, Father Mark Simpson. And wow! He exceeded any expectations that I had! It was honestly one of the most perfect depictions of Mary I have ever heard. |
| Directly after Fr. Mark was our first ever attempt at a paddle raise. We have two present needs: to be able to purchase the house we have been leasing the past year and to support our 2026 budget. We presented a great opportunity to the crowd to raise $45,000 which would complete a matching grant of $45,000 that we received months ago for the down payment for the house. |
| We showed a brief video that showed a lot of the before and after photos of the house and how so many volunteers made it possible to get the house to what it is today! |
| We needed 9 people to raise their program and give $5,000 each. I was completely overwhelmed with emotion as I saw the programs flying in the air! 14 PEOPLE RAISED THEIR PROGRAM! We then offered the opportunity to give $2500 and then $1000. It ended with guests knowing that whatever they could give would be greatly valued and appreciated! $92,000 was raised during the Paddle Raise! |
| It was a true testimony to love in action and all of the support we were surrounded by in this community….in this family! |
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| Following the paddle raise, Jim Bauchiero shared his testimony as a volunteer and also shared about our newly established endowment fund. Please see the link for more information. |
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| Also, new to the event was the St. Joseph the Worker Award. Before acknowledging the recipient, we recognized volunteers who serve on a weekly basis and have been with us for 3 years, 2 years, and over the last year. Our 2025 St. Joseph the Worker Award went to a person who is a strong example of the loving and gracious servant, St. Joseph. |
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The St. Joseph the Worker Award went to
HUGO NOVOA
| I can say with assurance that most of our volunteers carry the same attributes as Hugo, but honestly, I probably would have not even considered moving to the new house if Hugo had not been so heavily involved in the Heart of Mary House. I have given him many titles; Jack of all Trades, the House Husband, but my favorite title for him is, ‘my Friend.’ |
| Hugo first came into my life and the life of the Heart of Mary House when we began taking care of his brother, Abel, our fourth resident. Due to circumstances outside of their control, Hugo and his wife Jessica were not able to take care of Abel, who was only 54 years old with a brain tumor. Abel was with us for seven months and during that time, Hugo and Jessica would come at least a couple of times a week to help us take care of him. Soon they were helping us take care of the other residents as well! |
| When Abel died we hosted his celebration of life at the old Heart of Mary House. As they were packing up to leave, Hugo said, “we will see you next week.” Which I then asked, “Oh, what’s going on next week?” He said, “We will be here twice a week for the rest of our lives for what you did for our brother.” That was in April, 2023, and that June, once our 50C3 was fully formed and our finances had grown, Jessica, Hugo‘s wife, was the first person that we hired as a caregiver. |
| When we moved over to the new house, Jessica was promoted to house manager and Hugo has faithfully continued his service of volunteering twice a week. On top of his time commitment of twice a week, he will drop everything to help at the house whenever I need him. |
| Hugo is a perfectionist and this is not out of pride or anything like that. It is out of a sincere desire to do the very best that he can in everything that he does each day. He is also boldly honesty. If you want to know the truth about something… just ask Hugo! He also leaves me in stitches with laughter. |
| The Lord really knew what He was doing when He brought Abel to us to be cared for. He saw all of the things that we couldn’t. He knew Jessica would serve in an administrative role as House Manager one day and that Hugo would die to himself and pour his heart into this organization. He also knew that we would begin to really flourish because of the blood sweat and tears of the Novoas and their love for the mission! |
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| We ended the night in a closing prayer from Bishop Spalding and everyone left with a hope in their heart and a desire to know more! |
| People patiently waited as we closed out the auction items while also closing out the massive amount of paddle raises. We were honestly not prepared for the amount of people who raised their program in support of the house! Waiting in a line at the end of an exhausting night is not pleasant, but you all did it willingly and joyfully! Thank you for extending grace to our volunteers during this time. |
| The event could have never taken place without the volunteers who helped us make it such an amazing night! Meredith Hinlo led the volunteer team and did an outstanding job, going above and beyond what was asked. If your heart was touched and the evening sparked a desire to join the Heart of Mary Family as a volunteer, please see our volunteer opportunities here. For more information, email Meredith: meredith@heartofmaryhouse.net. We are also looking to hire additional caregivers, if you or someone you know has an interest. |
| It is not too late to contribute to our paddle raise either in $5,000 increments, $2,500, $1,000 or $250…. Every dollar counts and allows us to get people off of the waiting list and into our loving home. We now have 6 people on a waiting list waiting for a room. |
| You can also mail a check written to: |
| We consider your prayers the most essential gift. |
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