The Catholic Charities fourth Annual Celebrate God’s Gifts Gala is being held April 26, 2014, at the downtown Raleigh Marriott. New to this year’s event is a silent auction that is currently live and open for online bidding.
The Celebrate God’s Gifts Gala Committee has, through the generous contribution of many local vendors, gathered over 125 auction items. Many of these items are now available for preview and bidding online, with exciting auction packages being added daily. To preview items and begin bidding, visit bidpal.net/catholiccharities.
In addition to the silent auction, the evening will also feature David Cutcliffe, Duke University football coach and 2013 National Coach of the Year as the special guest.
Coach Cutcliffe grew up Catholic in Birmingham, Ala. As the quarterback coach and then offensive coordinator at the University of Tennessee, he won a national championship and helped groom future NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning. After a successful head coaching run at Ole Miss, where he recruited and coached Eli Manning, Coach Cutcliffe was named the Duke head coach in December 2007.
Inheriting a team that had lost 45 of its last 51 games, Coach Cutcliffe has built a winning program and in 2013 led Duke to a 10-4 record overall and the ACC Coastal Division Championship. Cutcliffe and the Blue Devils narrowly missed upsetting Texas A&M in the Chik-fil-A Bowl. Coach Cutcliffe won numerous National Coach of the Year awards in 2013 for his team’s success. The father of four children, he and his wife, Karen, are very involved at the Duke Catholic Center.
The Celebrate God’s Gifts Gala and silent auction benefit the social ministry of Catholic Charities across Eastern North Carolina. In 2013, Catholic Charities provided over 63,500 individuals with emergency assistance or various forms of counseling. While the Diocese of Raleigh’s Bishop’s Annual Appeal provides over 30 percent of the Catholic Charities budget, additional funding is required to not simply sustain their outreach to those in need of assistance but to grow their outreach to additional families throughout the Diocese.
If you are interested in attending the Celebrate God’s Gifts Gala, there are still a limited number of seats available. Contact Katey Fithian at 919-821-8142 or kathryn.fithian@raldioc.org for more information or log on to catholiccharitiesraleigh.org/ to register.