You can count on, oh, maybe one finger, max, the number of nonprofits that would be foolish enough to say no to Mary McNicholas
should she offer to lend a hand on this fundraiser or that. So imagine her surprise when Catholic Charities, an organization she has supported for decades, said “thanks, but no thanks” when she volunteered her specialty — auction-item procurement — for the 2009 Evening for Caring. Yet in the end, Mary had her way. In the weeks leading up to this event held at the Westin Tabor Center, Judy Megyesy, Catholic Charities’ director of special events, was hospitalized with double pneumonia, and Mary quickly stepped in to put the finishing touches on the mystery gift auction. “Just because we were being honored wasn’t a good enough reason for me not to help,” Mary concluded. Archbishop Charles Chaput was the honorary chairman for the Irish-themed evening that also included a performance — paid for by the McNicholases — by the Strictly Irish Dance Troupe. The honorees have supported Catholic Charities throughout much of their 36-year marriage. They’ve donated food from their KM Concessions to numerous school and parish fundraisers, money for scholarships and merchandise to be raffled or auctioned off.
When she was president of the Catholic Charities Guild, Mary began the monthly birthday parties for children in foster care that continue to this day. When she joined Facebook just days before Evening for Caring, one of the first to become her online “friend” was a young man she and Kevin had been foster parents to themselves some 18 years ago.