Archdiocese of Miami honors local ‘Women of Faith’ at annual luncheon

The Archdiocese of Miami will present the second annual “Women of Faith” Awards at noon Sunday at Turnberry Isle Miami in Aventura. Ten women will be recognized for their community and religious service.

Eve Moll, 17, a student at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, will be honored in the youth category.

Eve had a simple idea. In 2011, a friend was diagnosed with leukemia and she drew a picture to cheer him up. That picture became the springboard for a project called Art By Eve, which raised more than $65,000 for local charities over the past four years.

After seeing how much her friend loved the picture, she put the drawing on a card, wrote his story on the back, and started selling Christmas cards for charities. Organizations she has donated to include ARC Broward, an organization that helps improve the lives of disabled people and FORCE (Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered), which promotes awareness of ovarian and breast cancer.

“I’m really excited to be able to speak and I hope that it’s a way to show [the Archdiocese of Miami] how much I appreciate [the award],” Eve said.

Eve said that she is also looking forward to meeting the other women who will be honored.

There’s Myriam Mézadieu, the chief operating officer of Catholic Legal Services of the Archdiocese, who serves South Florida’s underprivileged immigrant community. Mézadieu will be honored in the compassion category. There’s also Mariana Martinez, honored in the radiance category, who turned a vacation encounter into the International Kids Fund.

While in the Dominican Republic, a taxi driver approached Martinez and said his two sons had a rare skin disease. Inspired by the encounter, she returned to the United States and started the International Kids Fund with Jackson Health Foundation. The Fund provides lifesaving and life-changing treatment to children in the United States and abroad who wouldn’t have access to treatment otherwise.

The 10 women will be honored in the following categories Sunday: charity, compassion, faith, grace, humility, love, motherhood, radiance, wisdom and youth.

Proceeds from the luncheon will go toward need-based tuition assistance for the Archdiocese's Catholic schools. Last year’s luncheon raised over $60,000 for tuition assistance. Tickets for the luncheon are $150 and can be purchased through give.adomdevelopment.org.