Scouts in Girl Scout Junior Troop 3982 at St. Jude the Apostle School in Atlanta did some community service to help youngsters who are sick. Rose Clipson and Ashlee Durthaler visited patients at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite on Friday, June 10, to deliver 19 tote bags.

More than 100 people came out to support the Blue Star Support Group’s fundraiser and gala at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, Alpharetta, on behalf of military women and men.

More than $3,000 in proceeds was split between the Wounded Warrior Project and the USO, said Anita Neidert.

The Blue Star Support Group started about six years ago. Its mission is to provide support to military personnel and their families who are members of the parish family. Its leaders are co-chairs Debra Mahon and Suzanne Huseman and vice chair Janet Frankowski.

On May 15, the Blue Star Support Group teamed with the parish music and drama ministry, the Boy Scouts and the Knights of Columbus to create and present the event.

The USO Show was performed for the vets and their families after dinner. It lasted an hour and a half with a musical tribute of songs from World War II to the present Iraq and Afghanistan wars, said Neidert.

As the veterans and guests left the parish hall, the cast, crew and Blue Star Support Group members honored them with applause.

Neidert said one of her favorite parts of the evening was the community support for the veterans and service members. Local restaurants provided gift cards so that every vet or currently serving soldier went home with a door prize and a local coffee shop donated a tiered cake in red, white and blue for dessert, she said.

A student at Holy Redeemer School, Johns Creek, and one at St. John the Evangelist School, Hapeville, are the winners of the Archdiocese of Atlanta Scholarship for Academic Excellence.

The winners of the 2011 scholarship are Caitlin Varner, from Holy Redeemer School, who will be attending Blessed Trinity High School in Roswell, and Andrew Jacon, of St. John the Evangelist School, who will be attending St. Pius X High School in Atlanta.

The awards are given to rising ninth-graders. The scholarship was established in 1980 to recognize eighth-graders in archdiocesan schools who will be attending an archdiocesan high school in the fall. Scholarships are awarded based on the demonstration of overall academic and personal achievement and are renewable for the sophomore year.

Scholarships will be renewed for Margaret Crawford, who attends St. Pius X High School, and Ameet Kallarackal, who attends Blessed Trinity High School.

On May 25, an ultrasound machine was presented to the Advice and Aid Pregnancy Problem Center in Hapeville by the Knights of Columbus.

Past Grand Knight Paul Zock, of Council 7662 in Dalton, is in the medical equipment business and supplied the machine, which retails for $38,000, for $22,000. Half was raised locally, with St. Marguerite d’Youville Council 12905 of Lawrenceville raising $7,500 and the Georgia State Council donating $3,500. The Knights Supreme Council matched the local fund with another $11,000 to purchase the machine.

David Canale, Georgia pro-life director for the Knights, stated: “Research shows that 70 to 80 percent of women who are planning to abort their babies will change their minds after seeing a sonogram image of the baby. Each of these machines can save hundreds of lives per year.”

This is the fifth machine placed by the Knights in Georgia. Previously machines were placed in crisis pregnancy centers in Dalton, Decatur and Albany, Georgia, as well as in Kingston, Jamaica, with the Missionaries of Charity.

Noreen Coughlin, director of Advice and Aid Pregnancy Problem Center, stated: “It has been such a blessing to have the support of the Knights of Columbus. To have 50 brother Knights tour the center and present the new ultrasound was a thrill. Our center is looking forward to launching the use of limited ultrasound under the medical direction of Dr. Kathleen Raviele. The efforts of the Knights have been a consistent support.”

Anyone who wishes to contribute to the placement of the machines can make a tax-deductible contribution to the Georgia Knights of Columbus online at their website: http://www.gakofc.org.

Twenty-two young people from Our Lady of the Mountains Church, Jasper, made a recent pilgrimage to St. Augustine, Fla.

The group learned about the people who brought Catholic Christianity to North America by establishing the first permanent settlement of St. Augustine, which is known as the first parish where the first baptisms and conversions to the faith took place.

Their stay at the Marywood Retreat Center began each day with Mass in the chapel, followed by trips to Castillo de San Marcos or to the Fountain of Youth for history lessons. There was also time at the beach, shopping, visiting Ripley’s Believe It or Not and seeing the new movie “Soul Surfer.” The days ended with evening prayer in the chapel.

The young people enjoyed supper with parishioners from the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Augustine followed by a performance of “The Gospel of Mark” by Father Joseph Morris of Atlanta.

Accompanying the young people were Jasper pastor, Father Charles Byrd, youth director, Pam Gardner, and adult chaperones Jhonna Orebaugh, Matt Sorrentino, Renee Hatcher, Maria Doll, Joe Lukowski and Teresa Carnes and chaperone Mary Ann Clagett from St. Luke Church, Dahlonega.

Many organizations supported the young people, including the Women’s Guild, Men’s Club, Knights of Columbus, and St. Vincent de Paul Society. A grant from The Catholic Foundation of North Georgia made travel by charter bus possible and permitted 10 teens from St. Luke Church in Dahlonega to participate.