“An Evening in Paris” — well, actually in the Khorassan Ballroom of the Chase Park Plaza — is the theme of the 2005 Newman Gala, a fund-raising auction and dinner dance April 9 benefiting the Catholic Student Center at Washington University in St. Louis.
The gala begins with cocktails and a silent auction at 5:30 p.m. (doors open at 5 p.m.). The event also includes an oral auction and, following dinner, dancing to Arvell and Company, a seven-piece band performing Motown and other classics.
The fund-raiser is considered a vital source of support for the center, whose mission is to form students intellectually, morally, socially and spiritually through education, service and a worshipping community.
Among the more than 300 items being auctioned are a seven-night stay at a luxurious seven-bedroom home in Beaver Creek, Colo.; a luxury suite for 12 to a St. Louis Cardinals’ 2005 baseball game in April or May; a cottage on Lake Michigan in historic, charming Douglas, Mich., for four days, three nights; one week in a condominium at the private Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.; two nights at the posh Montecito Inn in Santa Barbara, Calif.; and a French language class at Alliance Francaise de St. Louis.
The Rev. Gary G. Braun is director of the Catholic Student Center, which is also known as the Newman Center. The center provides religious programs, leadership training, counseling services and social activities for Washington University students of all denominations. The center, at 6352 Forsyth Blvd., also offers instruction in Catholic theology and philosophy.
Monsignor Gerard N. Glynn, who opened the center in 1950 and served as its director for more than 40 years, is director emeritus.
The center includes a chapel, library, classroom, recreation rooms, study space and offices housing 15 staff members. Father Braun also is director of the Catholic Campus Ministries for the Archdiocese of St. Louis.
Students associated with the center participate in many social service and learning activities, including discussions on current social justice issues, attending lecture series and volunteering through local, national and international organizations.
Lee Quackenbush is chair of the gala committee. Individual tickets to the gala are $95. For sponsorship ticket information or for reservations, call Kelli McDonald, development associate, at (314) 935-9191, extension 221. For more information about the Catholic Student Center, please go to www.washucsc.org.