For years, the Nashville Catholic Business Women’s League’s biggest fundraiser, the Pearls of Wisdom event, has been a luncheon for ladies.
But this year, the group is moving the event, which raises money to pay for scholarships for young women attending the three Catholic high schools in Nashville, to the evening for the first time and inviting men to join them.
“This is a big, big change,” said NCBWL President Lynne Warne, a parishioner of St. Henry Church in Nashville. “We’re enthusiastically inviting our spouses and the men in our lives to join us.”
The Pearls of Wisdom dinner is Saturday, Sept. 10, in Bishop’s Hall at the Catholic Pastoral Center. The event will begin with Mass at 5:30 p.m. at the Catholic Pastoral Center, followed by dinner and a live and silent auction.
Tickets are $100 per person or $800 for a table and will include appetizers, cocktails and dinner catered by the Clean Plate Club. For $500, a person can become a Rose Patron, which includes two reserved seats at the dinner and recognition in the Pearls of Wisdom program and on the NCBWL website.
Tickets can be purchased online at www.ncbwl.org/pearls-of-wisdom-2022 . Please RSVP by Aug. 20. Those who cannot attend the event but still want to support the effort, can make an online donation at the same website.
For this year’s auction, joining familiar items such as jewelry, women’s accessories and beach house vacations, there will be items that might appeal more to men, Warne said, such as Predators and Nashville SC tickets, and whiskey tastings valued at $150, $250 and $500 at the non-profit Whiskey House.
The online auction will open by Sept. 1 with a link on the NCBWL website, www.ncbwl.org, Warne said, and a full list of auction items will be available then.
The proceeds from Pearls of Wisdom benefit the NCBWL’s Aurelia Varallo Mariani Scholarships. Named in memory of Aurelia Varallo Mariani, a 1951 graduate of St. Cecilia Academy, the scholarships are provided for four years for one student each at St. Cecilia, Father Ryan High School and Pope John Paul II Preparatory School. The recipients are selected by the schools.
Last year, the NCBWL provided each of the schools $17,000 to cover the cost of the scholarships, Warne said. With the changes to the Pearls of Wisdom event this year, the group is hoping to boost its level of support to $20,000 per school, she added.
NCBWL also is building an endowment to provide a scholarship to a student at St. Michael Academy in Nolensville, which is planned eventually to be a pre-kindergarten through 12th grade school, when it adds high school grades, Warne said. Construction of the elementary school portion of the facility began this summer.
The Nashville Catholic Business Women’s League is more than 70 years old and the oldest Catholic business organization in the Diocese of Nashville. The organization is open to all Catholic women in the diocese.
“We provide opportunities for Catholic women to engage in fellowship through stimulating programs and meaningful service,” Warne said. “In the end, we’re all about encouraging Catholic women to live their faith.” For more information about the Pearls of Wisdom dinner and auction, visit https://www.ncbwl.org/pearls-of-wisdom-2022.
