WOMAN OF SPIRIT AWARD HONORS SR. MARY ALICE HANNAN, O.P.

Sister Mary Alice Hannan, O.P., founder and director of Desda's Grate in New Rochelle and executive director of Part of the Solution (POTS) in the Bronx, will be the honoree at the annual Sylvia Muldoon Woman of Spirit Award Luncheon. The event will take place Thursday, Oct. 14, at 11:30 a.m. at the Larchmont Yacht Club, 1 Woodbine Ave. in Larchmont.

The event is co-sponsored by two parish organizations in Larchmont, SS. John and Paul Women's Guild and St. Augustine's Ladies Auxiliary.  Sr. Mary Alice, born and raised in New Rochelle, N.Y., is a graduate of St. Augustine's Parochial School. 

Sister Mary Alice founded Desda's Grate, a temporary residence for homeless women and their children, in 2000. It is named for a homeless woman in Manhattan, whom she befriended and who touched her life deeply. Since 1996, Sister Mary Alice has been executive director of POTS, which began as a soup kitchen and is now an agency that provides meals and many social services to the needy.

Previously, Sister Mary Alice developed supportive housing for homeless elderly persons at Encore 49, based at St. Malachy's, The Actors' Chapel, in Manhattan. She became a volunteer, then Director, of part-time volunteers at Covenant House.  She worked with homeless persons in and around Port Authority, while based at Holy Cross parish near Times Square in Manhattan.

A member of the Dominican Sisters of Hope, Sr. Mary Alice has taught in parochial schools for 20 years.

Tickets are $35 and may be reserved in advance.  

Checks, payable to The Woman of Spirit Award Luncheon, may be sent to Patricia Howard, 223 Rockingstone Ave., Larchmont, NY 10538: (914) 833-2434.