Hope Blossoms 2024 Event Recap

"Left to right: Amber Andrews, who spoke about how St. Ann’s helped her when she was a young mother with a baby son; Sister Nancy Downing of the Congregation of Notre Dame who began serving as the new CEO of St. Ann’s in January; Sister Mary Bader, a Daughter of Charity who led St. Ann’s from 2005 to 2023 and who received the Mary McGrory Advocacy Award at the event; and Mary Lou Goehrung, the president of St. Ann’s Board of Directors." - Catholic Standard

St. Ann's Center In The News!
"St. Ann’s Hope Blossoms event celebrates hope that outreach brings to mothers and children" - Catholic Standard (5/14/24)

Read at the Catholic Standard

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Note from Sister Nancy Downing, CEO

Hello from St. Ann's Center! I wanted to share with you this uplifting article about Hope Blossoms 2024, published today by the Catholic Standard.

Thank you so much to the Catholic Standard team for being with us on May 8 and for helping capture the magic in the air that evening! 

Hope Blossoms was an incredible gathering for St. Ann's Center and the community of supporters like you who "spark" our fire and our passion for serving. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for your support!

Sincerely,

Sister Nancy Downing, CND
CEO, St. Ann's Center for Children, Youth and Families

PS - For even more uplifting news, check out this article on the awesome Mother's Day event hosted at St. Ann's Center by Suited for Change!

"Celebrating Resilient Mothers" - Blog from Suited for Change: https://www.suitedforchange.org/post/celebrating-resilient-mothers

Hope Blossoms 2024: Acknowledgements

Sponsors make Hope Blossoms possible! St. Ann's Center wishes to acknowledge the following sponsors:

Benefactors
Cory and Joe Rogers

Partners
Kammie and Scott Bell
Pam and Dennis Lucey
Kathy and Ed Quinn

Advocates
Judy and John Ritz
Archdiocese of Washington

Special Thanks

• Pam and Dennis Lucey for serving as energetic Co-Chairs for Hope Blossoms 2024
• Wilton Cardinal Gregory, Archbishop of Washington, for providing our Invocation and Welcome
• Michael Steele for being our fabulous Master of Ceremonies (once again!)
• Monsignor John Enzler for his creative and endearing fundraising help
• The Daughters of Charity, who founded and continue to influence St. Ann's Center
• Our Board of Directors and Staff for their dedication to St. Ann’s Center
• Our Hope Blossoms Event Committee for their care, creativity, and enthusiasm
• Our Honorary Host Committee for their promotion, support and dedication to this event's success
• Our Volunteers for providing their support and assistance this evening
• Tommy McFly for the memorable video celebrating Sister Mary Bader's impact
• Sarah von Pollaro and Urban Petals for creating a vision of nature and beauty at our fingertips
• Michael Colella, PictureLock Films for his time to capture photographs that will be cherished for many years and for such an unbelievable slide presentation
• Mary Lou Goehrung and Signs By Tomorrow for crafting and donating our signs and placards
• First Hand Productions for their help with the sound and projection making our evening sparkle

About St. Ann's Center

St. Ann’s Center helps mothers and children overcome crisis and achieve lasting independence and stability by providing a safe and supportive home, child care, education and employment assistance, and clinical social work services within a Catholic community that welcomes all.
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