PARENTS, PARISHIONERS and community members of a Westminster Catholic school came together on May 10 for a night of dinner, dancing and providing their support for the children.
LINDA MULLER, LEFT, SCANS A QR CODE TO BID ON AN AUCTION ITEM DURING BLESSED SACRAMENT’S GIVING GALA HELD ON MAY 6. PHOTOS BY ALAN WENDELL/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
Blessed Sacrament Catholic School hosted its annual Giving Gala, held at the Mile Square Golf Course banquet center in Fountain Valley, that was highlighted by a photo booth, poker and blackjack tables as well as a silent and live action.
“It’s just a great way to get together with both the church community and fellow parents — and have a fun night the day before Mother’s Day,” said parent Michael Odoco, who served on the gala committee.
The school’s principal Debra Daniel said she appreciates the partnership with the parish church community and hopes the gala further facilitates her and parish administrator Fr. Anthony Vu’s vision.
MICHAEL SELBERT, LEFT, AND PRINCIPAL DEBRA DANIEL RECOGNIZE THOMAS DAM, 2025 DONOR/SERVICE AWARD RECIPIENT FOR HIS HARD WORK AT BLESSED SACRAMENT SCHOOL.
“I would love for them to be able to see us as not church and school,” Daniel said. “We’re all one, supporting each other.”
Blessed Sacrament parishioner Linda Muller attended the Giving Gala with a group from Catholic Daughters of America. Although she doesn’t have children, she said she supports the school because of its students. She sees them at daily Mass with their teachers and they are always polite and respectful.
“They run a tight school there,” Muller said. “The students are really polite and they truly believe in respecting each other. There’s a lot of that and they’re good kids.”
A COUPLE CHECKS OUT SILENT AUCTION ITEMS DURING BLESSED SACRAMENT’S MAY 6 GIVING GALA.
The students themselves contributed to the fundraiser by working on a grade-level item for the silent auction, such as the third graders writing a cookbook. The live auction included school-based prizes (like front row seating at graduation or free dress Friday for the next school year) as well as big-ticket events like professional sporting games and wine tastings.
The Giving Gala is the school’s biggest fundraiser of the year, said gala co-chair Octavio Corona. This year, Blessed Sacrament is hoping to raise enough to implement new campus safety measures as well as do updates to the different playgrounds for preschool up to eighth grade, Corona said.
“God willing we raise enough, but if not, we will keep working,” Corona said.
Last year, Blessed Sacrament tried to raise money for a full-perimeter exterior fence, but it was too expensive, said Daniel. They are continuing to work on security though by raising money for an interior fence with a secure gate; the need is “critical,” Daniel noted.
Odoco agreed that security is of the utmost importance for the school community.
“With everything that is going on in the world today, I think security is one of the first and foremost things parents are concerned about,” Odoco said, who has a son in kindergarten and a daughter in fourth grade.
While $200,000 for the interior fence is being raised, the school also wants to update and renovate the different playgrounds by fixing tetherball poles, updating handball courts, painting play features on the asphalt and modernizing the preschool playground flooring — “different places around the school that need love and attention,” Corona said.
This is the school’s second Giving Gala since the coronavirus pandemic. Past fundraisers have allowed Blessed Sacrament to modernize and replace student technology, update sports equipment and complete different beautification projects on campus, Corona said. Kindergarten teacher Xenia Jeske, who has taught everything from preschool to second grade over the last 45 years, applauded the community’s continuing generosity.
“It means a lot,” Jeske said. “It gets hard sometimes and people are very supportive. They try to do whatever they can.”
She shared: “It adds up for us and it works out. We’ve always had what we needed.”