FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 24, 2025
Contact: Santino R. Thomas
(518) 949-4809 | [email protected]
St. Catherine’s Center for Children Announces Annual Fundraising Event
ALBANY, N.Y. – Today, St. Catherine’s Center for Children – a leading, regional human services agency – announced the return of its annual Casino Royale fundraiser, a Capital Region favorite. The casino-themed event will be held on Thursday, May 29 at Franklin Plaza in Troy. All proceeds from the event will benefit St. Catherine’s programs which serve children, families, and adults in need in more than 20 counties.
Similar to previous years, the event will have table games for casino-enthusiasts, including Black Jack, Roulette and Craps; plenty of silent auction items including golf experiences, tickets to Capital Region events, signed memorabilia for collectors, and more; a “Wine Pull” at which guests can take a chance to win bottles of wine valued from $20 to $100, and of course, delicious food throughout the night.
“This annual event is one of our most important fundraisers each year and its one of the most fun,” said Michele Puleo O’Hare, executive director of the Foundation of St. Catherine’s Center for Children. “The atmosphere is great with old friends getting together, cheers from people playing the table games, lots of smiles at our photo booth and a ceremony to recognize the incredible contributions of individuals and organizations who go above and beyond for St. Catherine’s Center for Children. As much fun as we have, this event is really all about raising funds to enhance the programs and services we offer for those in need in our community. If you can come out and join us on May 29, we can truly use your support and we promise you’ll have a great night.”
The honorees at this year’s event are: Rich and Melissa Carrier, owners of Total Events, Inc.; Mark Ustin of Farrell Fritz Attorneys and Sunmark Credit Union.
Rich and Melissa Carrier launched Total Events in 1999 after moving back to Albany from Las Vegas, Nevada where Rich spent years working in the hospitality industry. Total Events has been putting on a Christmas Carnival for the students at St. Catherine’s R & E May school for years and, for the third year in a row, will help put on “Kidz Prom” for the students as well as children in the residential program. The company also sponsors many of St. Catherine’s events and provides much of the equipment for Casino Royale, each year.
Mark Ustin, well-known in Albany for his work as a regulatory attorney and lobbyist at Farrell Fritz Attorneys, represents clients from the healthcare sector to the New York State Legislature, the Governor’s Office and many New York State agencies. Mark has served as a board member at St. Catherine’s for more than a decade, he has served on its executive committee and is its most recent past president.
Capital Region-based Sunmark Credit Union opened its first stand-alone branch in 1973, but it was founded in 1937 as Schenectady G.E. Turbine Department’s Federal Credit Union #1884. Since then, Sunmark has added many locations and now serves 14 counties in the Capital Region and Hudson Valley. Sunmark, and its charitable foundation, has been a valued partner of St. Catherine’s Center for Children since 2020, contributing to our programs, sponsoring events and holding volunteer days for its team at many of St. Catherine’s facilities.
Event sponsorship packages are still available and can be purchased, along with individual event tickets as well as grand prize drawing tickets, at: www.st-cath.org/casino-royale/. For questions call Michele Puleo O’Hare at (518) 817-6804.
The willingness of St. Catherine’s Center for Children to embrace change and develop new services is, and will remain, our guiding philosophy as we support human service needs, throughout the region, by providing a comprehensive range of services designed to offer hope, foster growth and improve the lives of the children, families and adults we serve. For more information, http://www.st-cath.org.
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