Serving Fish Dinners and Serving the Homeless

For the second year in a row, the CDA hosted the most well-attended and tastiest Lenten Fish Dinner this season! Thanks to Maria Elena Grimm's Fish Taco Recipe and the many volunteers, this event was a great success! CDA served Ensenada fish tacos with rice and beans, salad, nachos, a salsa bar and to top it off, a Mexican chocolate cake.

This year, we teamed up with the Interfaith Shelter at Santa Sophia and fed temporary residents during our dinner. Residents were delighted to have such a fantastic meal, hot and ready for them! We had more than enough to give them seconds and it was very much appreciated.

Thank you, Maria Elena for making this a great event again and to all the members who chopped, stirred, cleaned, baked, decorated and served with a great CDA smile!

Reception of New Members - April 21, 2010

A Special Invitation for

You are cordially invited
to participate in the
Catholic Daughters of the Americas

Reception of New Members

Wednesday, April 21, 2010
6:00 PM
Santa Sophia Catholic Church
9800 San Juan Street
Spring Valley, CA 91977
Celebrant: Fr. Peter McGuine

Mass begins at 6:00 PM
Champagne & Wine reception to follow
R.S.V.P. by email PamKay@fiberartist.com
or call (619)464-2009

Officers are encouraged to wear their robes

Reserve a spot for the "Junk from your trunk" sale!

Load up your car trunk, truck bed or minivan with all of your gently-used treasures and drive down to Santa Sophia to join others for a giant rummage sale!

When: May 1, 8:00 am to 1:00pm
Where: The parking lot next to the Catechetical Ministry Building.
How: Create your own store in a parking space to clean out those things you’ve been meaning to get rid of! For only $20 per parking space we'll take care of advertising this giant sale. Just show up with your treasures to sell.

Reserve early for the best spots. Please click here to reserve online or call (619) 463-2299. Your reservation fee will benefit the Catholic Daughters of the Americas and their efforts to support the parish and community.

Thank You for Attending Our Membership Tea!

Thank you to those who attended our Afternoon Tea and Membership drive! We had a great turnout and it was nice to see new faces as well as our current members! We gained 4 new members from the Membership Drive.

A special thanks to Dee Sanford for organizing this event, Mr. Joe Cromwell for the entertainment, Victor Lopez for the mimosas, and to all the ladies who brought delicious treats!

To view more photos, please click the link below:

Membership Tea 2010

2010 Education Contest - "The Joys of God Surrounds Us"

The 2010 Education Contest was a success! Entries were submitted by 4th through 8th graders from Santa Sophia Academy in the Essay, Art, and Photography Categories. The judges have selected six 1st place winners and four 2nd place winners. We were able to submit two winners in Essay and Photography categories in Division II and two winners in Art and Essay categories in Division I.

Special thanks to our judges who have a background in education and to Pam Kay to opening her home during the judging!

Here are the judges in action:

Our Best Baby Shower Yet!

2010 was our most successful year for the CDA Catholic Charities Baby Shower. Court 2520 overwhelmingly responded to the call. A special thank you to all of you wonderful ladies for your generosity, especially since this is a financially difficult year for most families. It seems that in the midst of hard times we especially rise to the occasion. These special donations will be remembered and cherished by the mothers who are in need now more than ever.

Thank you to our co-chairs for this event, Anne Havin and Debbie Crutchfield! Without your leadership, our Circle of Love project for LIFE would not have been this successful!

Below are photo highlights:

The 2nd Annual Wedding Celebration

On February 13th, 2010, the Catholic Daughters teamed up with the Knights of Columbus to put on their 2nd Annual "Wedding Celebration." Guests were treated to a night of mingling, dinner, and dancing just as they would at a wedding reception - complete with a surprise bride and groom!

Prendergast hall was transformed, thanks to our returning sponsors, Cathy and Tomas at Celebrity Weddings, who provided chaircovers, table linens and gorgeous candelabra centerpieces for each table. Many thanks to Catholic Daughters, Rebecca Kelly, Marie Mixon, Claire Rerucha Lake, Dee Sanford, Melissa Hiatt, Millie Maraia, Diana Garra, Rosa Caeti and Debbie Crutchfield who helped decorate and prepare food for the event.

The bride and groom (a married couple) were chosen at random from a bucket of entries. The lucky couple, John and Sue Campion, won a 2-night stay at Barona Valley Ranch and Casino with dinner for 2 at their Italian restaurant. They selected Van and Rita Fritzenkotter and John and Georgene Kruzel to be at their side as their wedding party.

The evening started with a cocktail reception where guests were treated to hors d'oeuvres partially provided by Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market on Campo Road. Our bartender, Leo McGarry, from the Knights of Columbus kept the mood lively, serving up beer, wine, sodas, specialty drinks.

Throughout the evening, events were being documented by Tony Amat of AR Event Photography. A dinner buffet was coordinated and prepared by Brother Knight, Sam Caeti and Catholic Daughter, Melissa Hiatt and their team of helpers in the kitchen. A gracious donation of salads and breadsticks were provided by Pat & Oscar's Plaza Bonita Mall .

For dessert, guests were treated to a delicious Red Velvet cake donated by Grove Pastry Shop in Lemon Grove.

The Columbian Squires assisted in clearing plates from the table and the Catholic Daughters clean-up crew consisted of Melinda Bauers, Claire Rerucha Lake, Lou Turner, Chris Murphy and Dee Sanford.

The evening would not be complete without the DJ and Masters of Ceremonies, Thom Hiatt, who kept the night going, announcing the wedding party, giving away door prizes, and making sure that events happened on time.

Below are some photo highlights of the event:

Many Thanks to our Wonderful Sponsors:

Our wonderful friends at Celebrity Weddings have once again generously donated the use of their professional-grade chair covers, table linens, charger plates and other decorations. Please call Cathy at 619-804-3959 when planning your next special event, anniversary, or corporate party or visit http://www.celebrityweddings.us.

www.AREventPhotography.com

www.breadstick.com

www.grovepastryshop.com

www.hctb.net

www.freshandeasy.com

9912 Campo Road, Spring Valley

9711-9729 Campo Road, Spring Valley

Cali Comfort Restaurant & Sports Bar

Casa de Oro Haircutter

Spring Valley Chamber of Commerce

Premier Designs by Rita Fritzenkotter

Mt. Helix Florist

Beauty & Wellness Day Spa

Santa Sophia Catholic Church