Mardi Gras & All That Jazz!

Paducah, Kentucky—Mark your calendar for Fat Tuesday, February 24, 2004 to celebrate a New Orleans tradition at Paducah’s premiere charity event—Lourdes Foundation’s Mardi Gras & All That Jazz! In 2003, Mardi Gras & All That Jazz! proved to be a successful resurrection of the once heralded Gourmet Gala and is back by popular—and overwhelming—demand. Raising more than $35,000 in its first year, the upcoming event will support Lourdes’ Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit.

Tickets for Mardi Gras & All That Jazz! are $40 each or $600 for reserved tables of eight. Corporate sponsorships are available for $2000 or $1000, with the added benefit of reserved seating and special perks. To arrange a sponsorship or to purchase tickets, call Lourdes Foundation at (270) 444-2353.

The region’s best party will feature the swingin’ music of Dr. Ted Borodofsky’s Southern Jazz and enough gourmet cuisine and spirits from area restaurants to fill the Mississippi Delta! This fundraiser will be held at J.R.’s Executive Inn International Rooms A, B & C from 6 to 9 p.m. Vendors participating include A Charmed Life, Colonel Newsom’s Aged Hams, Flamingo Row, Hello Catering, Little Edibles, Lourdes, Mansion II Go, Outback Steakhouse, Parcell’s Catering, Party Mart, Patti’s 1880s, Pepsi, Roof Brothers Wine & Spirits, SophistiCatering, The Pasta House Co., The Range at Harrah’s Metropolis Casino, West Kentucky Coca-Cola and Whaler’s Catch.

Get a French Quarter feeling, complete with sidewalk cafés, potent potables and an exciting Mardi Gras parade. Local artist and interior designer Bill Ford has completed the second piece in a series of original artwork—created especially for this event—which will be auctioned off to the highest bidder. An enthusiastic member of the host committee, Bill will sign guests’ invitations and program covers featuring his artwork for a contribution to Lourdes Foundation. A limited edition Katherine Baumann beaded handbag donated by Michelson’s will also be up for bid!

The generous Corporate Sponsors who support this event to help Lourdes’ Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit include: Presenting Sponsors--Our Community Owned Utilities (Jackson Purchase Energy, Joint Sewer Agency, Paducah Power System and Paducah Water Works), Boehl Stopher & Graves, Denton & Keuler, KDA Holdings, Superior Care Home & Rehab Center, Swift & Staley Mechanical & Electrical Contractors, Taco John’s Supporting Sponsors--Calvert City Lumber/Commercial Door & Hardware, Cardinal Health, Milner & Orr Funeral Homes, Morningside Assisted Living of Paducah, Paducah Bank, Paducah Sheet Metal, Pinnacle, SimplexGrinnell, Union Planters Bank, US Bank and WPSD NewsChannel 6 Other Support—HP Products, MeadWestvaco, Michelson Jewelers and William Carter Photography.

The Inpatient Rehabilitation Center is one clinical area supported by the Foundation that has great impact on the lives of patients and their families. The only inpatient rehabilitation unit in the region, Lourdes Rehab Center is designed to help patients build upon their strengths and adapt to their weaknesses following injury or illness. Physicians, nurses and therapists work together with families and patients to assist in regaining skills necessary to live a fulfilling, self-sufficient life. The course of therapy set by the Rehab staff helps patients develop the confidence needed to regain independence. Over 86% of our patients are able to return to their home environments—a rate much higher than the national average.

“Mardi Gras & All That Jazz is more than just a party,” said Missy Hendley, Director of the Lourdes Foundation. “It is an occasion to celebrate the successes of the strong men and women who have regained their self-sufficiency and quality of life thanks to Lourdes’ Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit. What a great reason to show our support! If the community can come together to help even one patient regain the independence that we often take for granted, then Lourdes Foundation is truly fulfilling its mission to extend the healing ministry of Jesus.”

The mission of Lourdes Foundation is to extend the healing ministry of Jesus by improving the health of our communities with emphasis on people who are poor and under-served. Lourdes Foundation assists those in need through four funds: Patient Mission Fund, providing emergency funding for patients’ basic needs such as medication or transportation; Clinical Mission Fund, to support the needs of clinical areas of Lourdes Hospital; Employee Mission Fund, employees helping other employees with crisis situations; and an Endowment Fund to save and build for future growth of the hospital.