Spirit Center dinner to raise the roof for youth retreat

Construction of a new youth retreat facility for the Coastal Bend is now underway along with plans for a major fundraiser in January. The Fannie Bluntzer Nason Spirit Center will open for teens and other groups of all faiths as a place for the spiritual, educational and social development of youth in South Texas sometime next summer. 
The rustic site just 45 minutes outside of Corpus Christi in Bluntzer will include a dormitory for up to 96 people, a dining room and an activity facility. Outside activities, such as basketball courts, ropes course and more, are to come, Executive Director Debbie Vickery said.
“After leaving high school, less than 50 percent of youth continue in church,” Vickery said. “We want to strengthen the basis of their faith, give them a place to get away from the internet, cell phones and other distractions.” 
The Spirit Center will occupy 100 acres of a 300-acre tract bequeathed in the 1960s to the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament by Fannie Bluntzer Nason. Each year, the group holds a Spirit Center Celebrity Dinner, where high-profile community leaders serve as waiters and entertainment. The next dinner is set for 6 p.m. Jan. 20 at the Solomon P. Ortiz Center. The evening includes entertainment, dinner, music, auctions, photo opportunities, a table decoration contest, awards and a cash bar. 
Although the Spirit Center will be operated by a Catholic organization, it is open to all faiths, Vickery said. Youth will have priority for booking time there, but other groups, including adult organizations and corporations, may use the facility as well. The center is rented to groups who bring in their own programming. 
“It is for spiritual education and social development,” Vickery said. “There are fewer places like this in this area, and so many of them are overbooked or don’t have enough room. This is something we are doing to increase retreats for youth. And we are working to make it affordable.”
Part of making it affordable lies in the fundraising. Vickery said this year’s goal for the celebrity dinner is $85,000. For those who can’t attend the dinner, other opportunities to donate are available, including naming rights for bunks, benches and even the dormitory. 
“This is a community project, and we need community support,” Vickery said. “We have gotten a tremendous amount in the past, and, I think, this year, with the project so close to completion, this will be our big year.”
For information on the Spirit Center Celebrity Dinner or to make a donation to the center, call (361) 888-7537 or visit the SpiritCenterBluntzer Facebook page.