Banquet Raises $273K For Fairfax City's Homeless Day Shelter

Press Release: The Lamb Center

Fairfax, VA — In a moving tribute to a leader whose compassion shaped a community, The Lamb Center presented the inaugural Honorable Gerry Connolly Community Impact Award during its annual Hope and a Future Banquet on October 9, at Falls Church Marriott Fairview Park—a celebration of faith, service, and transformed lives.

Created to honor the late Congressman’s lifelong commitment to public service and advocacy for Fairfax’s most vulnerable residents, the award was presented by Congressman James Walkinshaw, alongside Gerry’s wife, Catherine “Smitty” Smith, and daughter, Caitlin Rose Connolly, to Mary Petersen, a longtime supporter whose more than 30 years of service to The Lamb Center exemplify the values that defined Connolly’s legacy: compassion, collaboration, and dignity for all.

“Gerry loved the closeness of local service, the ability to see results,” said Smitty, wife of the late Congressman. “He saw every act of kindness, large or small, as a way to strengthen the fabric of our community. Honoring his legacy through this award, and recognizing someone like Mary Petersen who has quietly uplifted others for decades, would have meant the world to him.”

“It just felt right honoring Congressman Connolly's legacy through Mary’s incredible years of service,” said Tara Ruszkowski, Executive Director of The Lamb Center. “To see our community fill the room, give generously, and stand together in faith was humbling. It reminds us that hope is not only alive—it’s abundant.”

Emceed by Claude Jennings and Jerry Woods, radio personalities at WGTS 91.9, this year’s banquet welcomed more than 500 guests, helping the organization raise an unprecedented $273,000, the highest total since the banquet’s inception.