Exchange Leaders Join Jaguar to Champion Children's Cause at 18th Annual 'Ringside for Mercy's Sake'

GIULIANA & BILL RANCIC TO LEAD LIVE AUCTION AT BLACK-TIE BOXING GALA FOR MERCY HOME

• Press Release
• Source: Mercy Home for Boys & Girls
• On 11:00 am EDT, Friday October 23, 2009

CHICAGO, Oct. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- On Saturday, October 24, gladiators and glamour will go hand-in-glove at the 18th annual Ringside for Mercy's Sake. Sponsored by Jaguar, the spectacular black-tie gala raises support for Mercy Home for Boys & Girls, and is faithfully supported by the leadership of the financial industry's premier firms, including President & CEO of The PrivateBank Larry Richman, who serves as the 2009 event's chairman. It all begins at 6:00 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom of the Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile, 540 N. Michigan Ave.

Ringside features live boxing matches between members of leading financial exchanges, including CME Group, NYSE Euronext, Chicago Board Options Exchange, and Mesirow Financial.

All roads to Ringside lead up to the live drawing from the center ring for a three-year lease on a 2010 Jaguar XF. This is the 10th year in a row that charitable partner Jaguar has donated a luxury automobile to help raise support for Mercy Home.

Outside the ring, guests will enjoy an elegant atmosphere for fine dining, dancing to the sounds of The City Lights Orchestra, spectacular silent, super silent and live auctions, and a Horseshoe Casino VIP Lounge. Frasca Hospitality, owner of Kinzie Chophouse in Chicago, will provide fine wines, Goose Island has donated beverages, and Pernod Ricard will offer spirit brands including a special appearance by the Chivas 18 Ambassador who will host a Chivas Scotch Tasting throughout the night.

On hand will be boxer "Irish" Mickey Ward, the Massachusetts welterweight whose working-class roots and determination to succeed in the ring will be chronicled in an upcoming major motion picture. Television personalities Giuliana and Bill Rancic will conduct the live auction from the center ring, and CBS 2 Chicago anchorman Jim Williams will emcee the evening.

The live auction is distinguished by exciting travel destinations and unique behind-the-scenes experiences. The silent auction will allow guests to bid on rare sports memorabilia, home decor, jewelry and much, much more. Mary Castellano serves as auction chairman. American Airlines is the official airline of Ringside for Mercy's Sake.

Also supporting Ringside are: event honorary chairman Mayor Richard M. Daley, co-chairs Paul Adcock, (NYSE Euronext), William J. Brodsky, (CBOE), Terrence A. Duffy (CME Group), and James Tyree (Mesirow Financial). Event vice chairmen include Patrick Arbor, (Macquarie Futures USA, Inc.), William Castellano, (Worknet Inc.), Fred Schulte, and David Gupta (Systems Development Integration, LLC). Darryl Schimeck (Atlantic Plant Services) and Rich Daniels (City Lights Music, Inc.) of Mercy Home's Board of Regents co-chair the raffle. WBBM Newsradio 780 returns as Ringside media sponsor.

Ringside for Mercy's Sake's began in 1992 as a unique collaboration between the leadership of Chicago's financial exchanges and today includes boxers from companies across the country. Rev. L. Scott Donahue, president and CEO of Mercy Home for Boys & Girls expressed his gratitude for the enduring support of exchange leaders and for the many sponsors, donors and other volunteers who make Ringside a success. "We are truly blessed and also humbled by the tremendous outpouring of generosity that we receive year after year from supporters of this event." said Fr. Donahue. "By their unwavering support of this important fundraiser for Mercy Home, these generous benefactors truly are champions for children. We are extraordinarily grateful to have them in our corner, as we work to provide a solution for kids in crisis."

Mercy Home for Boys & Girls

Mercy Home for Boys & Girls has been a solution for kids in crisis since 1887. Through its full-time residential, aftercare and community-based mentoring programs, Mercy Home provides nurturing, guidance and opportunity to more than 600 hurting and troubled young women and men every year.

Mercy Home for Boys & Girls is a not-for-profit agency that is 99.7% privately funded and operates on two Chicago campuses - a home for boys at 1140 W. Jackson Blvd. and a home for girls at 11600 S. Longwood Dr.

Visit Mercyhome.org

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