ACTION plans banquet April 21

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

ACTION’s 14th annual community fundraiser and banquet is planned for April 21 at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Basilica hall, 343 Via Mount Carmel Ave.

Guest speaker will be Judge John M. Durkin of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. Judge Durkin is the chairman of the Ohio Judicial Conference. The conference studies the coordination of various Ohio courts and encourages uniformity through the various court divisions.

The judge is a Youngstown native who earned both his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Dayton. He has served as an assistant prosecutor for the city of Youngstown and worked in private practice.

Honorees will be Sister Ann McMananon, director of Dorothy Day House, and Valley Teen Challenge and Pastor Roy Barnett.

The Alliance for Congregational Transformation Influencing Our Neighborhoods is an alliance of 21 congregations and groups in the Mahoning Valley representing more than 10,000 families.

ACTION is working on a number of key initiatives to improve the quality of life in the Valley that include building safer neighborhoods, increasing parent involvement in local schools, reducing crime and improving safety by working with law enforcement and community groups.

ACTION’s annual banquet typically is attended by more than 400 people. Sponsors are being sought. There are three levels of sponsorship available, and they include advertisement in the program booklet. Sponsorships are 100 percent tax deductible. Gold sponsors are $5,000; silver sponsors are $2,500 to $4,999; and bronze, $1,000 to $2,499. Sponsorships of $500, $300, $150 or $100 also are available.

For information on the banquet or ACTION, contact Monsignor Robert Siffrin, president, at 330-744-8451 or Rose Carter, executive director, at 330-941-0475.

Ray DeCarlo and Jacquie Hays are banquet co-chairpersons.