Catholic Charities Diocese of Trenton will honor those who have played a critical role in supporting its mission and served as role models in the community at its Guardian Angel Benefit of Hope.

The benefit, which will be held online Sept. 9, is the organization’s signature annual fundraiser, raising monies to serve its 100,000 clients across the Diocese’s four counties.

“The pandemic has profoundly impacted so many people and hurt them in ways that may take months – or even years – to recover,” said Nancy Tompkins, CCDOT director of development and marketing. “We will be here to help them in whatever way they need help, as we have helped people in need for over 100 years.”

Among CCDOT’s numerous programs: food, clothing and temporary housing services; support for mental health, childhood trauma, addiction and domestic violence clients; Spanish-community outreach and, most recently, working with community partners in COVID-19 vaccinations.

Without its supporters, Tompkins said, CCDOT couldn’t “do the work we do.”

“They share our mission and passion to help people overcome poverty, homelessness, hunger … and so many other hardships,” she said.

Those who will be honored this year:

Tricia of Florence: Client Achievement Award. Tricia reached out to CCDOT in 2014 for help with mental illness issues she had been living with since childhood. Since that time, she started her own cleaning business and self-published two books of poetry. She hopes to expand her cleaning business and is considering a phlebotomy career. She has two children.

Donna and John Kuchinski, St. Denis Parish, Manasquan: Richard J. Hughes Humanitarian Award. The Kuchinskis have supported Catholic Charities since 2007. John serves on Catholic Charities’ Board of Trustees and will become chair of its Finance Committee July 1. He is a recently retired partner of KPMG, spending 40 years at the global accounting firm. Donna worked for years in early childhood education as a speech therapist and preschool teacher. She also donated a kidney to one of her young students, and is a supporter of Donate Life.

Kathleen Spivey, St. John Neumann Parish, Mount Laurel: Light of Hope Award, Burlington County. Spivey has been a longtime donor to Catholic Charities and served on its Burlington County Board for 10 years. She recently retired from Lockheed Martin. She volunteers as a court-appointed special advocate, appointed by the Family Court judge to advocate for the best interests of abused and neglected children. She attributes her passion for community service and charitable giving to both her upbringing in a large Irish Catholic family (two aunts were nuns and two uncles were priests) and Lockheed Martin, which encourages community activism.

[[In-content Ad]]

Mark Bolgar and Bethanne Warrack, Incarnation-St. James Parish, Ewing: Light of Hope Award, Mercer County. Mark and Bethanne have been generous supporters of Catholic Charities for 12 years. Both are employed at Bristol-Myers Squibb Company – Mark, as senior scientific director, and Bethanne as principal scientist. Bethanne is secretary and past chair of Villa Victoria Academy’s Board of Directors and past president of Villa Victoria’s Alumnae Association. Mark, a certified pilot, volunteers with Young Eagles, which introduces youth to aviation.

Damian Sylvia, Our Lady of Hope Parish, West Long Branch: Light of Hope Award, Monmouth County. Sylvia has been a devout supporter of Catholic Charities and is a longtime member of its Monmouth County Board, where he serves on the sponsorship committee and participates in food drives. He works in retirement planning at an Oakhurst-based company he founded called Retirement Income Solutions. His roots with Catholic Charities are lifelong: He and his two siblings were adopted through Catholic Charities. He credits his charitable involvement to his Catholic upbringing. He attends Mass at one of the parish’s two worship sites, St. Mary of the Assumption, Deal.

Elaine Molen of Brick: Light of Hope Award, Ocean County. Molen has supported Catholic Charities in various capacities. She is a donor and a member of Catholic Charities’ Ocean County Board and the Guardian Angel Dinner Dance planning committee, and she briefly worked on the development and marketing team as the events coordinator. She is a Realtor who helped Catholic Charities’ Family Growth Program secure a new location in Ocean Township. She worked as a certified housing counselor helping people facing foreclosure – and still occasionally does housing counseling now. She serves as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion in St. Catharine Church, Spring Lake (a worship site of St. Catharine-St. Margaret Parish).

SobelCo of Livingston: Corporate Citizen of the Year. SobelCo is a certified public accounting and consulting firm well known for serving middle-market, family owned businesses and the nonprofit community. The firm has supported Catholic Charities for more than two decades and served as the agency’s auditor for many years.