The Auxiliary of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Home will hold its annual fundraiser to benefit the revered, long-established Atlanta institution on Saturday, Oct. 1, at the Renaissance Waverly Hotel. This luncheon, held for the 49th time this year, is the major fundraiser for the home, which has given free aid to those stricken with cancer for 66 years.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Home was established in 1939 by the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, who provide free care to those terminally ill with cancer. The home is located at 760 Pollard Blvd. in Atlanta, in the shadow of Turner Field. No payment from patients or their families or from private or public insurance is accepted—the sisters help anyone in need. Founded in 1900, the order relies on God’s providence and the support of volunteers and benefactors to continue its ministry.

The Auxiliary was established in 1940 to assist the sisters in their work. Members of the Auxiliary serve as needed at the home in a volunteer capacity—in the office, the rooms, the laundry—and also coordinate groups in parishes who help the sisters. They have also sewn thousands of cancer pads for the patients. In recent years, the Auxiliary members have served as public relations ambassadors, sharing information with the community for the benefit of the home.

Along with the sisters, those in the Auxiliary strive to help those in the community suffering from terminal cancer.

The event on Oct. 1 will include a luncheon, silent auction and medical supply fund drawing. The silent auction will begin at 10:30 a.m., and the meal will be served at 12 p.m.

All are invited to attend—tickets for the luncheon are $35 per person, and a table of 10 is $350.

Prizes for this year’s event include $1,000 cash, a pearl and silver necklace and an Atlanta Falcons jersey signed by Mike Vick in a trophy case.

All money raised goes directly to the home, which depends solely on the contributions of the community.