Completed 2009/2010 Activities

              April Activities

Auxiliary members continued to provide food donations to the needy throughout April. by way of picking up an delivering the generous donations from Panera Bread 2-4 times per week and delivering them to numerous charities.   At the April meeting, held at St. Theresa, members discussed offering a college scholarship to any member, members child or members grandchild  for the 2010/2011 school year, and took orders for the cookbook which has already been sent to the publisher.  They assisted the KC with the MH dinner on the 16th. 

            March Activities

Auxiliary members and guests were treated to an  early "St. Patrick's Day" party at the Alexian Brothers Auditorium & Atrium at our regular monthly meeting, complete with Irish music provided by Dave Kunzweiler, Irish coffees, Shamrock floats and appetizers. They assisted the KC with the pancake breakfast and the KC with the fish fry for the benefit of the St. Theresa Respect Life Committee, as well as another fish fry. Donations of Panera bread  and baked goods were collected two-three times per week and delivered to the Carmelite Monastery,St. Joseph's Home for the aged, Miles Jesu, the food pantry at St. Thomas church, St. Theresa and Catholic Charities food pantry. Donations of non-perishable items were delivered to Maria Bloome who coordinates the donations for the PADS shelter for the homeless. Cake decorating for kids was held on the 27th of March at St. Theresa lower Dolan center. Auxiliary members taught the children how to decorate an Easter cake of their choice.

               February Activities

The Auxiliary participated in all night Eucharistic Adoration on the 5th,  assisted with the KC Spaghtetti Dinner on the 6th, and donated baked goods to the St. Theresa Women's Club for their Sweetheart Bake Sale on the 14th.  The guest speaker for our February meeting, was JP Hulsebosch a representative of the Appalachia Service Project from St. Thomas of Villanova followed by an appetizer social and was held at the Alexian Brothers Medical Building on Salt Creek Drive in Arlington Hts. We continue to seek advertisers and recipes for the cookbook. Auxiliary members Mary Powers, Barbara Simeo and Juli Tragasz met with Pastry Chef Gale Gand (previous Food Network star) to pick up an autographed chef coat she donated to the auxiliary, as well as one of her signature dessert recipes for the upcoming cookbook. The chef coat will be one of the prizes raffled off just prior to Christmas.  Each cookbook will contain a free raffle ticket.  Other chefs, sports figures, movie stars, musicians etc. also contributed recipes to the cookbook committee for inclusion in the cookbook. Donations for February were made to: the Knights of Columbus for their seminary support program; to Alexian Brothers for their center for elderly in Signal Mountain, Tennessee; to the Fr. Mc Givney Center for Hope & Healing; Relevant (Catholic) Radio; and to St. Thomas Church for use by their Appalachia Service Project Ministry. Donations of health care and oral care products were solicited from the vendors at the Chicago Dental Society Mid-Winter Dental Convention for distribution to: The St. Vincent de Paul Society, PADS, St. Joseph's Home for the Elderly, the Carmelite Monastery, Miles Jesu, Catholic Charities and the St. Thomas Food Pantry. In total, nine bags and two suitcases full of products was collected. thrice weekly donations of bread from Panera were picked up and distributed to the Carmelites, St. Vincent de Paul, St. Joseph's Home, St. Thomas Food pantry, Immaculate Conception, Catholic Charities and St. Theresa.

           January Activities

The Auxiliary held a SOUPer Bowl Fundraising Luncheon/ Dinner on Sunday Jan 10 at St. Theresa Church in the lower Dolan Center. Surplus deserts etc. were donated to the four fire stations in Palatine and to St. Joseph's Home for the Elderly. The Auxiliary donated baked goods to the St. Theresa Welcoming Committee to use for serving in the Gathering Space on Welcoming Sunday which was also held on the 10th. The January meeting, held at St. Theresa, was a lively appetizer pot-luck and White Elephant gift exchange.  Weekly donations of bread from Panera to St. Joseph's Home for the Aged, the Carmelite Monastery, Miles Jesu, St. Theresa, St. Thomas food Pantry and  Catholic Chairities continued throughout the month. Monetary donations were made to Monsignor Richard Zborowski/ St. Theresa Church, The Little Sisters of The Poor, Rest in His Arms, Prenatal Partners for Life, Woman's Choice Services and to the Catholic Medical Mission Board for Haitian relief. Auxiliary members spent the last two months collecting recipes for our upcoming cookbook, including many VIP recipes. Those wishing to submit recipes should contact the auxiliary at: holyghostauxiliary@gmail.com.

               December Activities

Donations of cases of  personal care items and linens from Kevin Gildemeister were brought to the Auxiliary and then delivered by Auxiliary members Tina Mc Gill and Juli Tragasz to St. Joseph's Home for the Aged, the Carmelite Monastery and Miles Jesu. The joint KC/Ladies Auxiliary Christmas Party was held on Saturday Dec. 5th at St. Theresa in the Lower Dolan Center. Cake Decorating was held earlier in the day on the 5th,  and auxiliary members assisted the KC with the Children's Christmas Party on the 6th. Kevin Gildemeister also donated a case of candy to the Auxiliary for use at the Knights of Columbus Children's Christmas party as well as mints for the celebration honoring Monsignor Zborowski. The Ladies Auxiliary served as greeters and hostesses at the celebration for Reverend Monsignor Richard Zborowki on the 13th  A very successful Auxiliary Christmas bake sale, organized by Mary Lou Arns, was held on the 19 and 20. The winners of the raffles were: Lois Butler- the edible winter scene and Angel Reyes- the teddy bear with restaurant gift certificates. All unsold baked goods were donated to St. Joseph's Home for the Aged. and were delivered by Auxiliary and KC members. The Auxiliary, working with the St. Vincent dePaul Society adopted a family of 10 for Christmas and provided gifts for all family members as well as a meal. Extra items were donated to the Society for distribution to other families. Weekly donations of Panera bread were delivered to St. Thomas of Villanova food pantry, St. Joseph's Home for the aged, St. Theresa, the Carmelite Monastery and Catholic Charities.

                November Activities

Auxiliary Trustee, Barb Simeo, organized workers for the 2009 PLMA (Private Label Manufacturer's Association) trade show/food drive on Nov 17, 18, 19, and 20th.  With the assistance of Auxiliary members: Gen Baur, Nicole Miller and Becky Murzyn as well as Knights of Columbus they worked side by side with members of the St. Vincent de Paul Society who work annually on the drive.  Tuesday at the Donald E. Stevens convention center in Rosemont they gathered non-perishable food and other items at the conclusion of the trade show. They collected, sorted boxed and loaded 5 semi-trucks with the items collected.  S.V.D.P. distributes the items to the food pantries of St. Thomas of Villanova church and Holy Family church, in addition to PHD. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday they worked at the Pack Rat warehouse/storage facility in Gurnee, Illinois to further sort items by categories.  Afterward, orders were filled and set aside for 25 or more groups to pick up the pallets of boxed items for distribution to their food pantries. Auxiliary members donated baked goods to the St. Theresa Women' Club bake sale.
 
 The guest speaker at the November meeting was Jenny Barr, a firefighter/paramedic from Itasca Fire department who spoke about the "File for Life" program.  Jenny is the daughter of LA member Gen Baur and KC Jim Baur.  Food was collected from the members to assemble three Thanksgiving baskets for needy families at St. Thomas of Villanova, St. Theresa and Immaculate Conception parishes. The baskets were delivered to the parishes on the Monday prior to Thanksgiving.  Loaves of bread donated by Panera bread were picked up by Auxiliary members and also were added to the Thanksgiving baskets.

Donations to Active Military

Cases of Beef Jerky donated  to the Auxiliary by Auxiliary member Gen Baur and husband Jim (KC)  were delivered to Palatine Township Trustee Sharon Johnson who works with The Yellow Ribbon Campaign. The beef will be added to care packs for the armed forces in  Afghanistan and Iraq. Sharons husband, Palatine Police Officer Patrick, just returned from serving in Afghanstan and described the beef jerky as a soldiers "prized possession".

                      October Activities

The Monthly meeting was held at St. Theresa Church and included a "pound auction" and pot -luck dinner.  Members signed up to bring non-perishable food items to the November meeting to be placed in "Thanksgiving Baskets" for the needy from St. Theresa, St. Thomas of Villanova and Immaculate Conception parishes.  Auxiliary Treasurer, Denise Ciciora  served as auctioneer, and was assisted by Auxiliary VP Mary Lou Arns.  See photo gallery.  

                        Tootsie Roll Drive

The Ladies Auxiliary assisted the Holy Ghost Council Knights with the Tootsie Roll Drive the weekend of Sept. 18-20 to raise funds for local agencies that assist the disabled.

 Weekly donations of bread to local charities

The HG Ladies Auxiliary has joined forces with Panera Bread of Deer Park to help those in need. Auxiliary members Nicole & Mary Zermatten started collecting donations of bread from Panera Bread which were then delivered by Auxiliary member Linda Farley to the Carmelite Monastery in Des Plaines. Now the deliveries have expanded and  Auxiliary members deliver  baked goods, donated by Panera, to various charities. The baked goods are picked up  several times each week and delivered to: the  St. Thomas Food Pantry, the Carmelite Monastery, St. Theresa, Catholic Charities, The St. Vincent de Paul Society and Miles Jesu.  Members are encouraged to show their support and appreciation to Panera. 

 September  Activites and Donations

Auxiliary members and guests enjoyed a tour of the Alexian Brothers Archives/Museum,a presentation by Fourth Degree KC Chris Galiardo about the Church in the Middle East,  and an atrium social hour with Mimosa's and appetizers at the September Meeting held in Arlington Heights.    The Auxiliary donated a grill and gift basket full of grill accessories to the Countryside Association for People with disabilities for their silent auction scheduled for October. The Auxiliary sponsored a booth at the Jaycees garage sale in downtown Palatine on Aug. 12. Items not sold at the garage sale were donated to the Palatine Public Library and to Misericordia. The Auxiliary supported the Bishop Abramovich Seminary by placing an ad in the program for their recent fundraising dinner in Chicago.  Holy Ghost Ladies and Knights were present at the dinner.   St. Theresa Pastor Monsignor Richard Zborowski, and Ron Tragasz both Holy Ghost Knights, and former St. Theresa Associate pastor, Monsignor Merek Kasperczuk serve on the Seminary board. See current photo gallery for pictures of these event.      

               August Guest Speaker

Fourth Degree Knight, Pierre Zermatten, spoke about Countryside Association for People with Disabilities at the August meeting.  Information about the Association can be found at their website www.countrysideassn.org. Auxiliary members voted to donate a silent auction item for the Countryside upcoming fundraiser, as well as to make donations to each of St. Thomas and St. Theresa schools for tuition assistance, and to the Bishop Abramovicz Seminary Program.              

Auxiliary members feed 70+ Pro-Life Volunteers

Auxiliary members: Barbara Simeo, Mary Powers, Stephanie Galiardo, and Juli Tragasz cooked and served lunch for 70+ members of the Pro-Life Action League of Chicago during their recent “Truth Tour” held in Palatine. The Pro-life Action League promotes peaceful; pro-life activism through prayerful vigils outside of abortion mills, sidewalk counseling, youth outreach via Generations for Life, support for unwed expectant mothers as well as for the post abortive woman and through education on the “life” issues. See photo gallery. Information about pro-life action league can be found on their website: www.prolifeaction.org. 

             

Installation of Officers for KC and Ladies Auxiliary

 Officers for the Knights of Columbus and Ladies Auxiliary were installed at a dinner held in the Lower Dolan Center at St. Theresa on Fri. June 19.  Auxiliary member Pam Peterson and (KC) husband Brian organized the catered event. The event was attended by Knights of Columbus, Auxiliary members, the KC District Deputy who installed the officers and Fr. Tom from St. Thomas Church who offered prayers &  blessings for the officers and organizations. See photo gallery.

            Donation to St. Thomas Food pantry

Proceeds from the Bake Sale held Memorial Day weekend at St. Thomas Church were donated to the St. Thomas Ministry of Care/ Food Pantry.  This event was chaired by Mary Lou Arns and Ramona Reschek. The check was presented to Marilyn Korney from St. Thomas at the June Auxiliary meeting. See photo gallery.

        Donation to Palatine Township Food Pantry

Ladies Auxiliary member Gen Baur and (K of C) husband Jim donated cases of dried meat and beef jerky to the Ladies Auxiliary who in turn delivered some to Palatine Township Food Pantry dropoff at Palatine Complete Dental.  Auxiliary members, Linda Farley and Juli Tragasz joined the dental office staff in delivering the donated meats and other items collected by the dental office to the Palatine Township Food Pantry. See photo gallery.

                     2009 Baking Olympics

The Holy Ghost Auxiliary sponsored a 2009 "Baking Olympics" and bake sale the weekend of June 27th and 28th at St. Theresa. Winners of the Contest included: "Gold Medal" Christina McGill, "Silver Medal" Vi Weisbeck, and "Bronze Medal" Stephanie Galiardo. Best in Category for Pies was Barbara Simeo with her Rhubarb/Strawberry Pie; Best in Category for Cakes was Christina McGill with her Raspberry Lemonade Cake; Best in Category for Allergy Free/Sugar Free Desserts was Nicholas Galiardo with his Minty Chocolate Fudge Bars; Best in Category for Cookies/Candy and Cookie Bars was Vi Weisbeck with her Cheese Cake Bars; and Best in Category for Breakfast Pastries was Stephanie Galiardo with her "Carmel Apple Cappuccino Sticky Buns. Alternate prize winners were: $634. teeth bleaching donated by Plum Grove Dental Associates- Laura Harris; $449.  Weber Grill donated by  Weber-Stephen Products Co- Jack Landers; Weber Cookbook- Emily Fasick; Weber Cookbook- Darcy Killigrew; Weber Cookbook- Linda Farley; Italian Blown Crystal Martini Glasses- Laura Harris; Italian Blown Crystal Martini glasses- Jack Landers; Spice Art- Mary Lou Arns; Spice Art- Darcy Killigrew; Spice Art- Ruth Ruff; Knife Set Roberta Sowizrol; Knife Set- Mary Powers; Knife Set- Deirdre Ehredt; Knife Set- Brad Cook; Knife Set- Debbie Landers; Knife Set- Pat Barrett; BBQ Skewers- Laura Harris; Michelangelo Footed Sauceboat- Chris Taylor; Hershey's Smores Maker- Dolores Urbasik; 16 piece baking set- Gen Baur. Serving as judges were Fr. Richard Zborowski Pastor of St. Theresa and Fr. Andrzej ("Andrew") Beltowski Associate from St. Theresa. The scores were tabulated by Auxiliary members Becky Murzyn and Nicole Miller.  Registration was handled by Barbara Simeo. Kitchen helpers were: Gen Baur, Darcy Killigrew, and Mary Lou Arns. Auxiliary members who assisted in other areas included Toni & Deirdre Ehredt. The contest was held in the Pauline Center on Saturday June 27 with baked goods dropped off at 10am and judging from 10:30-12 noon. The bake sale was held on Saturday and Sunday after all the Masses.  Auxiliary members assisting with the bake sale were: Ann Nelle Schwind, Gen Baur, Barbara Simeo, Mary Lou Arns, Darcy Killigrew, Terry Drabot, Ruth Ruff, Stephanie Galiardo and Juli Tragasz. Congratulations to all of the winners! Keep checking our website for the date of our 2010 bake-off. See photo gallery.

                    4th. of July parade

Auxiliary members walked with the Knights of Columbus and their families in the 4th of July Parade in Palatine, carrying the new banner designed and made by Auxiliary member Barbara Simeo. See photo gallery

                      July Guest speaker 

Deacon  Tom Maloney from St. Thomas of Villanova spoke about the state of Catholic Higher Education and the Land O'Lakes Project and an article that appeared in the September issue of the New Oxford Review titled: From Orthodoxy to Heresy: "The Secularizing of Catholic Universities" by Michael V. McIntire. Copies of information provided can be obtained from Deacon Maloney  or via: www.newoxfordreview.org/article.jsp?did=0908-mcintire. 

      Ladies Auxiliary Receives State Award