She Continued to Love and Serve through the Darkness
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Hello NCBWL members and friends!
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Since 1998, the Nashville Catholic Business Women's League has raised money to fund the Aurelia Varallo Mariani Memorial Scholarship, which provides tuition assistance to three girls for all four years at three local Catholic high schools: St. Cecilia Academy, Father Ryan High School, and John Paul II Preparatory School. We are also building a fund for the new school St. Michael Academy.
The scholarship is funded through the annual Pearls of Wisdom Scholarship Fundraising event. This year’s event will be held at Richland Country Club on Friday, October 6 from 5:30 to 9:30 pm and features dinner, a silent auction, live auction, and entertainment. Tickets are $150 each and include valet parking, dinner, and two drink tickets. A cash bar will be available.
Sponsorship, donation and ticket sales can be found HERE. Only 72 seats remain!
Please carefully and prayerfully consider your gifts and talents, and let us know how you can support us this year!
Here are some areas we could use your help:
Support the Kendra Scott Sip & Shop event on Aug. 23 from 5-7pm
Join us at the Kendra Scott store in Green Hills on Wednesday, Aug. 23rd from 5 - 7 pm for Sip & Shop with the members and friends of the Nashville Catholic Business Women's League! 20% of sales will be supporting our scholarship fund! Invite a friend or neighbor to come too! RSVP HERE
Can't join us in-store?
Use code GIVEBACK-EIPKC online August 23rd-24th and 20% of the proceeds will benefit the Aurelia Varallo Mariani Scholarship Fund
Share our posts on social media to your pages or copy and paste the info above and email your friends!
VOLUNTEER to be on the Committee
If you can help solicit or pick up auction items, help with flower arrangements, or create a slideshow to showcase our sponsors and live auction items, please reach out to one of us at conklinrealestate@yahoo.com or lauren.barca@gmail.com.
DONATE an ITEM for the live or silent auction
Click this LINK to let us know what kind of item you would like to donate and someone will contact you.
You can also download and print a donation form here.
Thank you so much for your support in helping us reach our goal of raising $60,000 this year!
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Courtney and Lauren
Pearls of Wisdom 2023 Co-Chairs

For more information, contact one of our Development Co-chairs:

Courtney Conklin

Lauren Barca
President's Monthly Message

Claudia Weber
The long hot summer (also, a great movie) will be remembered especially in January when heating costs replace air conditioning bills. And unlike “up north” where I came from, the return to school is now upon us.
To remind us of the value of a Catholic school education, our July meeting included Shana Druffner, principal of the new St. Michael Academy in Nolensville. She is energizing and inspiring and there are more specifics about her presentation on this website.
I am reaching out to each development director and principal of our current high schools (Pope Prep, Fr. Ryan, and St. Cecilia) to get updated information on our scholars and to advise them on our efforts to increase the Aurelia Varallo Mariani scholarship fund.
As always, I need help in contacting parishes for their participation in our events.
I look forward to our next board meeting on August 4 in which we will firm up our event materials and preparations with Lauren Barca and Courtney Conklin assemble the October 6 Pearls of Wisdom evening event at Richland Country Club.
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Finish message on President's Page.
September Focus: Catholic Medical Mission
Debbie Rayhab - Volunteer
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Debbie Rayhab serves God’s people through food. Her education, career positions and volunteer investments have focused on building strategies and solutions to address chronic illness, malnutrition and healthy lifestyles. At the September meeting we will learn about her work with the Catholic Medical Mission Board, (www.cmmb.org).
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She is currently working with Mercy Community Healthcare in Franklin, TN to develop healthy snacking handouts and recipes to support nutrition education, and Back to School events to offer physical assessments and screenings to determine nutrition strategies, update immunization records and provide free supplies.
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Debbie has completed a Master’s in business administration with an emphasis in marketing and a Master of Science Degree in Nutrition and Wellness, with research on bone health and its effect on college-aged students. As a certified Health Educator Specialist, training and education are at the forefront of collaboration with industry partners to build healthy communities.
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Other recent projects, inside the category of building healthy communities, extend to projects for education in Guatemala, feeding children with disabilities in Africa, and community programs in Nashville for an underserved population that focuses on healthy eating habits for children.
The Medical Mission Board invited her to work in Africa this Spring. She spent three months living and learning and teaching on the front lines of poverty.
She and her husband Hugh and their grown children worship in several parish and retreat houses!

Learn from Nashville's Debbie Rayhab about her call to serve the critical mission of the Catholic Medical Mission Board. She will present opportunities to learn and serve. Financial donations can be made through the website: https://cmmb.org.
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Living our Catholic faith through fellowship and service
The Nashville Catholic Business Women's League (NCBWL) is a non-profit organization open to all Catholic women in the Diocese of Nashville. In addition to supporting one another spiritually, we support our Catholic community by providing scholarships to young women attending the three Catholic high schools in Nashville. For many years, we have raised funds through our only major event Pearls of Wisdom.
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OUR MISSION
To provide opportunities for Catholic women to engage in fellowship through stimulating programs and meaningful service.
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OUR VISION
To connect, support and encourage Catholic women to live their faith.