Jim Handly, NBC4 anchor, will emcee the annual Hope Blossoms event for St. Ann’s Center for Children, Youth and Families on May 14, 2025, at Columbia Country Club in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
Handly, who in 2022 celebrated 30 years with NBC4, will welcome the hundreds of people from the Washington area expected for the annual event.
“We’re blessed to have Jim emcee this meaningful – and fun! – celebration of St. Ann’s Center families and the community of donors who empower them,” said Sister Nancy Downing, who serves as the CEO of St. Ann’s Center for Children, Youth and Families.
Sister Nancy, a religious sister in the Congregation of Notre Dame, said this year’s event holds extra meaning, with the honorees being Michael Steele and the Order of Malta Federal Association. Steele – a commentator for MSNBC and the former lieutenant governor of Maryland – was adopted from St. Ann’s as an infant and has been a steadfast supporter of its outreach.
The Hope Blossoms event is occurring during the Jubilee Year of Hope in the Catholic Church, and Sister Nancy said the jubilee year and its theme of encouraging the faithful to be “disciples of hope” resonates with the people and mission of St. Ann’s Center.
“St. Ann’s is a place where hope leads to transformation in the lives of young families,” said Sister Nancy. “The families we accompany – and all who support their journeys – are indeed ‘disciples of hope.’”
Hope Blossom’s, the flagship fundraising event for St. Ann’s center, drew a record 360 attendees last year, raising more than $500,000 for the center’s programs serving women and their children as they journey from crisis to stability and independence.
St. Ann’s Center is one of the longest continuously-serving social service agencies in the Washington, D.C. area. Founded by the Daughters of Charity in 1860, today St. Ann’s Center helps mothers and children by providing a safe and supportive home, child care, education and employment assistance, and clinical social work services within a Catholic community that welcomes all.
St. Ann’s supportive housing programs for mothers and their children include Grace House that offers residential care for pregnant adolescents and young mothers and their babies, and Hope House and Faith House that offer transitional and supporting housing programs for pregnant and parenting women experiencing homelessness and instability.
St. Ann’s wraparound support services for mothers and children include an education and employment program, clinical and social work services, and a licensed child care center.
The chair for St. Ann’s 2025 Hope Blossoms event is Vince C. Burke III, who said, “Hope Blossoms is always a special time to come together to celebrate and support the families at St. Ann’s Center.”
Burke is a senior advisor at Brown Advisory and ahs served on the boards of numerous charities and foundations, including Catholic Charities of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.
The Hope Blossoms event for St. Ann’s Center for Children, Youth and Families will be held on Wednesday, May 14, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Columbia Country Club, 7900 Connecticut Ave., Chevy Chase, Maryland.
For more information, go online to: https://www.stanns.org/events/2025/2025-05/join-us-hope-blossoms-2025
