A beach party-themed fundraising event at St. Cyprian Catholic Church on Saturday brought out many supporters ready to donate and have fun.
The event took place Jan. 16 in the River Grove church’s pavilion and raised $1,800, officials said. The money raised is designated for the church’s religious education program.
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Prior to the event Mary Morvay, coordinator for religious education at St. Cyprian, had been busy collecting donations from sports teams like the Chicago Bears and Chicago Wolves, as well as local businesses like Nottoli Sausage Shop and Dunkin’ Donuts. These items were either raffled off or part of a silent auction at the event.
“Everything we have, I got donated and I started in July,” Morvay said.
She said about 80 people showed up for the event to partake in the food and fun activities the event had to offer, which included music, games, hula hooping, the chicken dance and the Cha-Cha Slide.
“It turned out to be really nice,” Morvay said. “Everybody had a good time. Now I can relax and take a break.”
The money raised goes toward scholarships for low-income people who want to participate in the church’s religious education classes. Tuition for one student is $185.
“Sometimes there are families that can’t afford it, so we put them on scholarship,” Morvay said. “We never turn anyone away.”
She said the parish focuses so much on religious education because there are certain religious processes new Catholics need to know and participate in, like Communion and confirmation. The money will also pay for teaching materials that will be used during the religious education classes.
Morvay said the ultimate goal is to increase the faith of people in the church.
“A lot of people know nothing about faith,” she said. “Your faith helps you through crises in life, good and bad. We need to pass that on.”
She believes it’s easy to lose faith, especially for those who don’t have any idea about it or how to receive it.
“We need future Christians and people get bombarded by media, the music and television, and that’s why we do this fundraiser,” she said. “They came to have fun and you also help someone and that’s what we’re here to do, help someone.”
Twitter: @DavidDPollard