Catholic Charities of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties

Catholic Charities celebrated its 20th annual benefit gala, EVENING OF HOPE, on Saturday, November 6, 2010. This event was held at the historic Victoria Club in Riverside, it was attended by 300 guests from around the region.

The “Hope” 2010 Honorees who have demonstrated the Catholic Charities’ motto of “Providing Help, Creating Hope” were recognized at the dinner for their work in the two-county area. This year the honorees received a specialized award that reflected their respective roles in the community.

The “Hope” 2010 Honorees were Mr. Greg Baugh, Supervising Parole Agent, Division of Juvenile Justice; Ms. Catherine Mailliard, Director of Family Outreach, Community Food Pantry of Murrieta - St. Martha's 2nd Hand Treasures, Community Outreach of the Valley; Ms. Manuela Silvestre Principal, Mecca School; Mr. Don Smith, Project Manager, City of Riverside Homeless Services; and Dr. Stephen Wierzbinski, Physician and Community Volunteer.

“The challenge was to take five individuals, five locations, five missions, and create a unique art piece to represent the work and mission of honoree,” commented Kathie Neff, the EVENING OF HOPE Coordinator. “I think Michael did a fantastic job designing these awards.”

Local Riverside Printmaker Michael Bernbaum created personalized mixed-media collages for each honoree.

“Within the diverse and complex geography of the Inland Empire lies a story of an individual whose actions provide help and create hope for those who are less fortunate.” Speaking on his philosophy, Mr. Bernbaum commented, “The art’s message is integrally linked to its recipient, the place where their work is done, the work that they do, and the personal manner in which they serve.”

On the mixed media collages, Bernbaum used regional maps as “a sense of place and a symbol of their work to represent their mission.” Layered in various states of transparency the accent words “trigger a sense of the person it represented – that’s what the pieces are about.”

Mike Bernbaum teaches art at Valley View High School in Moreno Valley. He is a member of Riverside Art Museum. He received his MFA in Printmaking from Cal State University Long Beach.