Why does St. Joe’s have a picnic?
The St. Joe’s Picnic was started in 1850 by a group of Ursuline nuns to raise funds to care for the orphaned children living at St. Joe’s. The Picnic has continued for 171 years and remains as the largest annual fundraiser providing much needed support to cover the day-to-day operating expenses of the Home.
Many people do not realize that children still live at St. Joe’s. However, the days of the traditional orphanage are gone. The children who now reside at St. Joe’s were removed from abandoned, abusive, neglectful, violent, and broken homes. They are wards of the state who are placed at St. Joe’s for therapeutic treatment to help them move beyond their traumatic experiences and grow into successful young adulthood.
As expected, funding is provided from the state to assist with the cost of caring for these children, but this covers less than 77% of the actual expenses. This leaves a significant amount that must be raised by other means. The picnic is the major source of these additional funds and EVERY DOLLAR RAISED HELPS THE KIDS.
Can I buy a Picnic swag?
A limited number of swag items will be available for purchase via St. Joe’s merch page.
Can I take a tour of the landmark building?
Unfortunately, only essential personnel are allowed inside the landmark building due to COVID-19 restrictions. Building tours will resume upon lifting those restrictions under state and federal guidance.
How can I help St. Joe’s make up for income lost due to the cancellation of the live Picnic event?
Although there will be no large event on the grounds this year, Picnic will go on, and there are multiple ways that you can participate to help support our mission.
- Please consider donating the amount that you would normally have spent at the Picnic. Visit our online Picnic donation page at https://p2p.onecause.com/sjpicnic and click one of the donation buttons to make your gift.
- Be a fundraiser for St. Joe’s. Visit our online Picnic page at https://p2p.onecause.com/sjpicnic and click Register to sign up to be a peer-to-peer fundraiser. Follow the simple steps on the page to create your personal page that you can share with your friends and family via social media and email to encourage them to make donations. Win prizes: all participants who raise a minimum of $500 will receive a free Picnic t-shirt, and there will be larger prizes for top fundraisers, top social media posters and top recruiters. Contact Pam Stone via email at pams@sjkids.org for more information.
- Buy raffle tickets for chances to win great prizes. The Raffles are going online this year and we have some amazing new prizes you can win. Visit the Raffle Sales page at sjkids.org/picnic/raffles/ to learn more and buy your tickets.
- Buy a Picnic t-shirt and other St. Joe’s merchandise to show that you are a proud supporter of St. Joe’s mission. Visit the online store at sjkids.org/shop/ to view the selection and make a purchase.
- Do you love the awesome quilts made by the talented ladies of the St. Joe’s Sewing Society? A limited selection of beautiful handmade quilts and pillowcases are available for purchase at sjkids.org/shop/.
- Celebrate #PicnicAtHome and share your event on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram to win great prizes. Visit sjkids.org/picnic/picnic-at-home/ for more details.
- Wondering what to do with those dimes and quarters you had saved since last year to play the wheel games at this year’s Picnic? You can still bring them to St. Joe’s on Picnic Day. There will be a special drive-through donation collection site at St. Joe’s on August 8th from 12:00 noon to 5:00 PM sponsored by Byerly Ford. Bring your cash donations and follow the signs from the Frankfort Avenue entrance to place your gift in one of the donation jars.
Why didn’t I receive raffle tickets in the mail this year?
As part of the statewide COVID-19 precautions, an order was issued by the Department of Charitable Gaming restricting all sales of raffle tickets to online purchases only. The order was recently revised to allow limited in-person purchases. No raffle sales can be made via mail. Raffle tickets can be purchased this year via our online Raffle Sales page at sjkids.org/picnic/raffles. In-person purchase of raffle tickets will also be available on August 8th from 12:00 to 5:00 PM at the St. Joe’s campus. Enter via the Frankfort Avenue entrance and follow signs for Raffle Sales/Buy A Raffle Ticket.
Will there be a Chicken Dinner this year?
Since there is no large live Picnic event on the grounds this year, there will be no Chicken Dinner. Yes, we did consider the possibility of having a carryout option for the Chicken Dinner, but after much discussion, we concluded that it was not logistically feasible to host even a “carryout only” version of the Chicken Dinner.
I bought a raffle ticket online. How will I know if I won?
Winners for all raffles will be drawn at 9:00 PM on August 8th. Drawings will be viewable via live streaming at our Facebook page. Winners will be notified by phone on Monday, August 10th, and will also receive a letter via mail. Winning names (first initial and last name only) will be posted on the Picnic page of the St. Joe’s website at http://sjkids.org/picnic/ within the week following Picnic.
How do I claim my prize?
If you are the winner of a raffle or one of the other prizes during Picnic, you will be contacted on the Monday following Picnic. You can also contact the Picnic Coordinator, Pam Stone, via email at pams@sjkids.org or by phone at 502-893-0241 ext. 262 with any questions or to make arrangements to pick up your prize. To protect our staff and the children in our onsite programs, no walk-ins are permitted, so you must schedule a time to meet with our Picnic Coordinator at a designated location on the St. Joe’s campus.
