Tickets now are available for a Wednesday, Nov. 4, program that will honor three social entrepreneurs for their faith-based humanitarian work. One of the three will receive the $1 million Opus Prize, with $100,000 awards going to the other two.
The three finalists for the award – from Brazil, Colombia and Morocco – are being honored for their work by the University of St. Thomas and the Opus Prize Foundation.
Free tickets for the public program, which will be held at 8 p.m. in downtown Minneapolis' Orchestra Hall, are available from Orchestra Hall and St. Thomas. An individual can obtain up to eight tickets at these locations:
- The Box Office in Murray-Herrick Campus Center on St. Thomas’ St. Paul campus. Hours: 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, or call Ext. 2-6137 to place an order (intercampus mail only).
- Orchestra Hall Box Office, 11th Street S. and Marquette Avenue. Hours: Noon-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday.
- Orchestra Hall ticket line, (612) 371-5656. Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and noon-5 p.m. Saturday.
- This Orchestra Hall Web site.
The Opus Prize finalists are Aïcha Ech Channa, who provides services for unmarried women and their children in Casablanca, Morocco; Sister Valeriana García-Martín, who cares for disabled children in Bogotá, Colombia; and Father Hans Stapel of Guaratinguetá, Brazil, who operates more than 60 communities for people with drug and alcohol addictions.
The Opus Prize recognizes unsung heroes who create lasting social change and inspire others to do the same. They were selected through a process administered by St. Thomas. Dr. Charles Keffer, former provost at the university, is chairing a committee that began its work last year.
To read more about the 2009 Opus Prize, visit www.stthomas.edu/opusprize or www.opusprize.org.
