NPH USA Gala – Illinois
Saturday, 10/21/2023
6:00 pm : Start
10:30 pm : End
63 West Ontario Street
Chicago, IL 60654
About
Please join us for our annual Gala including dinner, hosted beer/wine, games, live and silent auctions, and more!
Tickets
$200 Single Ticket
$2,000 Table of 8 Sponsorship
Interested in local and/or national event sponsorship opportunities? Please contact Abby Anderson at aanderson@nphusa.org!
EMCEE
Marie Saavedra from CBS Chicago will join us as our evening’s emcee!
Marie grew up in Evanston and is a graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism. Saavedra’s career as an anchor and reporter started in Springfield, Missouri, at KYTV. She was on scene in the aftermath of the EF-5 tornado that hit Joplin in 2011, and won a Regional Edward R. Murrow Award for her report on a Missouri veteran whose case was mishandled at a local VA hospital. Her next stop was KTVK in Phoenix, where she covered everything from immigration to wildfires. Saavedra then spent seven years at WFAA in Dallas. While there, she was awarded Regional Emmys for her work on several feature stories and for her live reports the night of the 2016 Dallas police ambush. She joined the CBS2 Chicago team in October 2020.
KEYNOTE
We are excited to announce that our 2023 guest speaker will be Rafael “Rafa” Bermudez, National Director of NPH Mexico.
Rafa came to NPH Mexico as a young boy with his five older siblings. He was among the first group to live at Casa San Salvador in Miacatlán. Over the years he had the opportunity to work closely with Father Wasson and learned much from our founder that continues to inspire him today. After several years working at NPH Honduras, he returned to Mexico and now leads our flagship operation.
HONOREE
The Howland Family are recipients of this year’s Corazón Award. The Spanish word “corazón” translates to “heart” in English. This award was specifically created to recognize those who have given their hearts to the children of NPH.
The late Betty Howland-Gildea was introduced to NPH USA by the honarary Bishop Ronald Hicks at Saint Elizabeth Seton Church in the late 90’s. Betty instantly fell in love with the mission of NPH and became a true advocate for the NPH family. She introduced the mission to her children and grandchildren who themselves have become supporters of the mission of NPH. Each family member has served the NPH family in their own, unique ways. Over the past 25 years, the Howland Family has visited many NPH homes, actively participated in fundraisers and special work projects, sponsorships, and donations. They are believers in the NPH mission helping children in need and that it is more important to give than receive. They continue to follow in the footsteps of Betty Howland-Gildea keeping NPH front and center in their minds and hearts. We look forward to honoring the Howland Family at this year’s Gala.
ENTERTAINMENT
This year, special guest Tom Howland and his bandmates from Hoopla Rocks will be our entertainment post-programming from 9:00 – 10:30pm. We will sway, swing and sing to the sounds of classic rock as we finish the evening celebrating the NPH family!
Premier Classic Rock Band, Hoopla Rocks, has been together for nearly 15 years. Performing at countless venues including Navy Pier, Rivers Casino, The Park West, Arlington Racetrack, Wallace Bowl at Gilson Beach, Hard Rock Café-Chicago, and many public and private events. Hoopla features a variety of performance, classic rock, and dance tunes. A lot of timeless music of the baby boomer generation. Hoopla combines multi-vocal harmonies and instruments to many classics tunes with a creative twist. Fasten your seat belts or get on your feet for a fun and rock’n good time with the band.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Sign-up to join us as a volunteer here!

NPH USA Gala – Illinois
Saturday, 10/21/2023
6:00 pm : Start
10:30 pm : End
63 West Ontario Street
Chicago , IL 60654
About
Please join us for our annual Gala including dinner, hosted beer/wine, games, live and silent auctions, and more!
Tickets
$200 Single Ticket
$2,000 Table of 8 Sponsorship
Interested in local and/or national event sponsorship opportunities? Please contact Abby Anderson at aanderson@nphusa.org!
EMCEE
Marie Saavedra from CBS Chicago will join us as our evening’s emcee!
Marie grew up in Evanston and is a graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism. Saavedra’s career as an anchor and reporter started in Springfield, Missouri, at KYTV. She was on scene in the aftermath of the EF-5 tornado that hit Joplin in 2011, and won a Regional Edward R. Murrow Award for her report on a Missouri veteran whose case was mishandled at a local VA hospital. Her next stop was KTVK in Phoenix, where she covered everything from immigration to wildfires. Saavedra then spent seven years at WFAA in Dallas. While there, she was awarded Regional Emmys for her work on several feature stories and for her live reports the night of the 2016 Dallas police ambush. She joined the CBS2 Chicago team in October 2020.
KEYNOTE
We are excited to announce that our 2023 guest speaker will be Rafael “Rafa” Bermudez, National Director of NPH Mexico.
Rafa came to NPH Mexico as a young boy with his five older siblings. He was among the first group to live at Casa San Salvador in Miacatlán. Over the years he had the opportunity to work closely with Father Wasson and learned much from our founder that continues to inspire him today. After several years working at NPH Honduras, he returned to Mexico and now leads our flagship operation.
HONOREE
The Howland Family are recipients of this year’s Corazón Award. The Spanish word “corazón” translates to “heart” in English. This award was specifically created to recognize those who have given their hearts to the children of NPH.
The late Betty Howland-Gildea was introduced to NPH USA by the honarary Bishop Ronald Hicks at Saint Elizabeth Seton Church in the late 90’s. Betty instantly fell in love with the mission of NPH and became a true advocate for the NPH family. She introduced the mission to her children and grandchildren who themselves have become supporters of the mission of NPH. Each family member has served the NPH family in their own, unique ways. Over the past 25 years, the Howland Family has visited many NPH homes, actively participated in fundraisers and special work projects, sponsorships, and donations. They are believers in the NPH mission helping children in need and that it is more important to give than receive. They continue to follow in the footsteps of Betty Howland-Gildea keeping NPH front and center in their minds and hearts. We look forward to honoring the Howland Family at this year’s Gala.
ENTERTAINMENT
This year, special guest Tom Howland and his bandmates from Hoopla Rocks will be our entertainment post-programming from 9:00 – 10:30pm. We will sway, swing and sing to the sounds of classic rock as we finish the evening celebrating the NPH family!
Premier Classic Rock Band, Hoopla Rocks, has been together for nearly 15 years. Performing at countless venues including Navy Pier, Rivers Casino, The Park West, Arlington Racetrack, Wallace Bowl at Gilson Beach, Hard Rock Café-Chicago, and many public and private events. Hoopla features a variety of performance, classic rock, and dance tunes. A lot of timeless music of the baby boomer generation. Hoopla combines multi-vocal harmonies and instruments to many classics tunes with a creative twist. Fasten your seat belts or get on your feet for a fun and rock’n good time with the band.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Sign-up to join us as a volunteer here!