2019 Honoree: Bob Castellini
Nearly 350 people packed the ballroom of the Cintas Center on Thursday, May 9, to honor one of the area’s most active community supporters, Bob Castellini, during St. Vincent de Paul’s fifth annual Celebration of Service.
Castellini is a longtime advocate of St. Vincent de Paul and serves on the board of a wide range of organizations that focus on improving Cincinnati and the lives of those who live here. Three of his friends were chosen to speak about his impact on the community.
- George Vincent, Marketing Partner and Chairman at the law firm Dinsmore, spoke of the wide variety of causes that Castellini has supported throughout Cincinnati over the past several decades.
- Linda Smith-Berry, Manager of the Good Samaritan Free Health Center, spoke of all of the assistance the Center, which Castellini helped found, has been able to provide to the community.
- And Fr. Barry Windholtz, Pastor of St. Rose Church, spoke of Castellini’s dedication to his family, friends, community and faith.
Castellini gave a brief talk, offering thanks and giving praise to the Vincentians—the St. Vincent de Paul volunteers who provide a majority of the Society’s social services—who give of their time to directly help the city’s poor.
The evening also included a fundraising component that supports St. Vincent de Paul’s Liz Carter Homelessness Prevention Fund. Guests helped raise more than $370,000 in Castellini’s honor, one of the largest contributions in the event’s five-year span. To date, nearly $1.5 million has been raised during the Celebration of Service events.