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Nearly 700 people attended the second Mercy and Me Luncheon at the Peabody Hotel in downtown Little Rock. The April 9 event, hosted biennially by the Mount St. Mary Foundation, raised money to benefit the girls’ Catholic high school in Little Rock.
Kelly Wewers, director of special events, said response to the 2013 event more than doubled in just about every category over the 2011 inaugural luncheon, including participation and funding from a silent auction, jewelry sales, raffle and sponsorships. She said while actual money raised had yet to be totaled, it “far exceeded” the group’s $150,000 goal for the event.
Monies raised are returned to the school in two ways. Five percent is earmarked for the Mercy and Me Scholarship Fund, which awards merit-based scholarships to individual students as well as helps pay for students’ and school groups’ participation in activities, conferences and education that promotes and develops leadership. The remainder is returned to the annual fund to help the school recoup some of the gap between tuition and the actual cost to provide their education, estimated at around $2,500 per student.
Established just three years ago, the MSM Foundation has grown into a major component of the 186-year-old school’s financial operations. During the 2011-2012 school year alone, more than $1.3 million was distributed, supporting everything from technology and physical plant needs to faculty and staff compensation and development. Most significantly, 27 percent of these funds went to fund tuition assistance and named and need-based scholarships. While more than a quarter of the student body receives some form of financial assistance or award, such disbursements were critical to 23 students last year as without this aid, they would not have otherwise been able to attend Mount St. Mary.
Event co-chairwomen for the event were Susie Whitacre and Alice Hudgens Cooner, both of Little Rock. Wendy Saer of Little Rock was mistress of ceremonies. Speakers included Beatrice Biira, community engagement coordinator for Heifer International in New York; Dr. Deborah Baldwin, dean of the college of arts, humanities and social sciences at the University of Arkansas Little Rock; and Kelsey Broaddrick, student body president.