Reverse Raffle and Gala Auction for Advancing Maternal and Child Health in Saint Rock

Want a chance to win $10,000 and help mothers and babies?  On February 7, 2013, the Neighborhood Club in Quincy will host the 3rd annual Saint Rock Haiti Foundation Reverse Raffle and Gala Auction at 6:30 pm.  Tickets are $100 each and include a light buffet and a chance for the reverse raffle.  Only 500 tickets will be sold and the grand prize is $10,000.  Winners do not need to be present at the drawing.  Tickets are available through Gala committee members, atwww.saintrock.org and will be sold after masses at St. Agatha’s in January.

The event is sponsored by the St. Agatha Parish’s Global Outreach Ministry.   After raising more than $50,000 last year, co-chairs Maureen Ellis and Mary Keally are looking forward to another successful event.   They are currently offering sponsorship opportunities and soliciting items for the silent auction.  Master of Ceremonies, Jim Wells, will pick the lucky winner of the raffle.

Proceeds from this year’s gala will be targeted toward advancing maternal and child health of the Saint Rock Haiti community.   The needs include basics like pre-natal vitamins and baby formula.  A $250 sponsorship can provide vaccinations for 25 children and $5000 buys a portable ultrasound system.  According to co-chair Maureen Ellis, who has traveled to Saint Rock several times,  “Many families in Haiti struggle to find health care of any kind.  The money we raise this year will make it easier for the foundation to provide the basics for mothers and babies that we all take for granted.”

Established in 2002, the Saint Rock Haiti Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit agency working to provide health care and social services to the Saint Rock community, 94% of all funding going directly to medical clinic and community outreach programs.  Several times a year, volunteers from St. Agatha’s and the surrounding area arrive in Saint Rock and help out the Haitian staff there in a variety of ways from providing basic medical care to offering advice on starting retail businesses through a micro-loan program.

In 2010, a devastating earthquake wreaked havoc in the tiny island nation of Haiti.  Already struggling, the people there faced unthinkable challenges in day-to-day living. Located just 3 km from Port-au-Prince’s city center, it has population of approximately 25,000.   With non-existent infrastructure, the area is difficult to access and is faced with challenges on both socio-economic and administrative levels.

For tickets, sponsorship and auction questions, please send email to saintrockhaiti@gmail.com or contact Maureen Ellis at (617) 698-3079 or

Mary Keally at (617) 333-0106.  For more information about the Saint Rock Haiti Foundation, go towww.saintrock.org or find us on Facebook – Saint Rock Haiti Foundation.