Pulte Family Charitable Foundation, St. Paul on the Lake Parish, Msgr. Chuck Kosanke honored for contributions at this year’s gala
PLYMOUTH — Every year, more than 25,000 people throughout the Archdiocese of Detroit receive assistance from Catholic Charities of Southeast Michigan.
Be it finding affordable housing for a senior citizen, filling the food pantry for a family, or providing long-delayed medical treatment for an unhoused person, Catholic Charities work touches the lives of countless people throughout the region.
More photos: See more photos from Catholic Charities' Annual Celebration 2026
And it's work that would not be possible without Catholic Charities donors and benefactors, particularly those present for the Catholic Charities of Southeast Michigan Annual Celebration gala on Sept. 25 at Saint John’s Resort in Plymouth, emceed by former Detroit TV personality Chuck Gaidica.
This year's gala featured more than 500 guests who raised $360,000, the most in the gala's history, with the campaign still ongoing.
“You know this is an evening that gives hope to a lot of people for so many different reasons,” Gaidica told the ballroom full of people. “More than 25,000 people throughout the Archdiocese of Detroit each year will benefit from the work of Catholic Charities. Tonight, we’re here to honor all the other in the Catholic community for their outstanding and inspiring service, many times, for people they do not know and will never meet.”
Detroit Archbishop Edward J. Weisenburger, president of Catholic Charities of Southeast Michigan's board of trustees, thanked the dinner attendees for their years of support.
“This is such a critical, critical endeavor for us to be Catholic,” Archbishop Weisenburger said. “To be followers of Jesus Christ is to be involved deeply in the lives of those in need. Your presence here tonight is a witness and a testimony to faith, and I’m deeply grateful to each of you.”
This year’s gala recognized an organization, a parish and an individual for their contributions to Catholic Charities of Southeast Michigan’s mission.
Fr. David Buersmeyer, chairman of Catholic Charities’ board of trustees, presented the award for an Outstanding Organization to the Pulte Family Charitable Foundation, which operates Saint John’s Resort, one of the organization’s “humanitarian hotels,” whose profits go toward nonprofits such as Catholic Charities.
“Guided by the seven corporal works of mercy, believing in the dignity of all, the Pulte Family Charitable Foundation is committed to serving society’s most vulnerable,” Fr. Buersmeyer said. “This includes steadfast support for the Center for the Works of Mercy in Detroit and an unwavering support of the St. Leo’s Soup Kitchen. We continue its legacy of service to the hungry because they go beyond with the hundreds of organizations that are supported by the foundation.”
Kevin Doyle, spokesperson for the Pulte Family Charitable Foundation, accepted the honor on the organization’s behalf.
“On behalf of the Pulte Family Foundation, I just want to say we are incredibly grateful for this recognition,” Doyle said. “Our foundation was created and endowed through the wealth of a local carpenter named Bill Pulte. And at his core, Bill was three things: He was a man of God, a devout Catholic. He was an entrepreneur who never went to college, but went from building homes at the age of 18 to building a Fortune 500 company. And he was a silent and selfless giver, quietly giving away hundreds of millions of dollars during his lifetime before leaving his fortune at his death to serve those with the least, those populations Catholic Charities of Southeast Michigan and so many others served.”
Fr. Buersmeyer then awarded St. Paul on the Lake Parish in Grosse Pointe Farms with the Outstanding Parish Award, citing the parish’s support for the Center for the Works of Mercy, St. Leo’s Soup Kitchen and the Residences at St. Matthew on Detroit’s east side.
Fr. Jim Bilot accepted the award on behalf of his parish, but was quick to sing the praises of Tricia Kesteloot, director of evangelical charity at St. Paul on the Lake, for leading the parish’s efforts.
“One year, she would come to me with an idea of the school where we were going to collect 2,200 boxes of cereal, and I would just shudder,” Fr. Bilot said. “But the kids in the school organized a whole dominoes set of cereal boxes that went down the stairs, widened around the floor and came in from both entrances to the gym and met in the middle. It’s just one example of the many crazy things Tricia is involved with, and she is the reason we’re here.”
Kesteloot thanked Fr. Bilot for the acknowledgment and the support she and the parish staff have received over the years from its pastors in reaching out to the community.
“Without the support of our pastor, we would not be able to do what we do,” Kesteloot said. “There are days when he does look at me with that shuddering look of, 'What are you going to do?’ But then he’s always there to support us along the way, and my sincere thanks, our sincere thanks to everybody who is at our table. We have a huge charity team that is just filled with the most wonderful ideas.
“At St. Paul on the Lake, we are grateful for the shepherds, the pioneers and the teammates that have served before and alongside each other,” Kesteloot added. “Our continued hope comes from watching our parishioners grow in charity and draw closer to Jesus in the Eucharist while modeling His love for others. At St. Paul, we are very grateful for this award and this acknowledgment, and we are just very humbled. Thank you, Catholic Charities.”
The final award of the night was presented to Msgr. Charles Kosanke, rector of the National Shrine of the Little Flower Basilica in Royal Oak and moderator of the Northwest Region of the Archdiocese of Detroit, who previously served as the founding chairman of the board of trustees for Catholic Charities of Southeast Michigan.
Paul Propson, CEO of Catholic Charities of Southeast Michigan, presented the award to Msgr. Kosanke.
“Msgr. Kosanke was appointed to the Catholic Charities board really before there was a Catholic Charities, when we had Catholic Social Services in six different counties in the archdiocese,” Propson said. “Archbishop Emeritus (Allen H.) Vigneron took a strong commitment to restructuring and committed to this change; it took courage and a willingness to rearrange what was happening to serve the mission, and he chose Msgr. Kosanke to lead that mission. And that vision was led by Msgr. Chuck, who, through his managing work at Catholic Charities, reminded us that every Catholic charitable work must also be an authentic expression of Catholic faith.”
Msgr. Kosanke thanked Archbishop Vigneron and Archbishop Weisenburger for their leadership in the archdiocese and for supporting the work of Catholic Charities, which he said must always have the mission of proclaiming Jesus in every meal that is served, every housing unit that is offered, every set of clothing that is given and every act of mercy toward people in need.
“There are a lot of good nonprofit organizations that do good work, but for us as Catholics, as disciples of Jesus, we know that our work is not one direction; it’s bilateral,” Msgr. Kosanke said. “Often in society, even good humanitarians will look at the 'haves' giving to the 'have-nots.' And that’s not bad. But for us, it’s more than that. When we do something for the least of our brothers and sisters, we not only do it for them. We do it for Jesus.
“When we serve the poor, the poor serve us,” Msgr. Kosanke continued. “Because the poor make it possible to see Jesus in the suffering and help us grow in holiness. When we’re helping the poor, they are helping us.”
The evening ended with a "panel raise" fundraiser, in which donors raised $125,000 for The Residences at St. Matthew housing program at St. Matthew Parish in Detroit.
