St. Lucy’s Auxiliary was founded in 1957
by determined women volunteering
their efforts to provide aid to the
blind in the community. Beginning in
1964 the members began honoring
young women at the Medallion Ball in
recognition of their volunteer efforts.
The Bishop’s Medallion Ball became the
fundraising arm of SLA to benefit what
is now Blind and Vision Rehabilitation
Services of Pittsburgh (BVRS). Since
that time 4,552 candidates have been
presented, having worked a total of
871,319 hours of volunteer service. To
date, $3,535,360 has been donated by
St. Lucy’s to benefit BVRS. The mission
statement of SLA is “to encourage
and inspire a lifetime commitment of
volunteer service in young women,”
and this mission makes a difference in
the quality of the life of the blind and
visually impaired in our community.
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