WHY PARTNER WITH US? A
WHY PARTNER WITH US? A parish partner helped Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel in Puerto Rico rebuild after Hurricane Maria. YOU’LL SEE THE RESULTS. The partnership won’t end once you’ve made your gift. We’ll share updates, stories and photos. It’s a moving experience to see how much your gifts can do, and how grateful the people you help will be. ENGAGE THE CHILDREN IN YOUR PARISH. Schools can join a larger parish project, or take on one of their own. In fact, a number of the missions we support specifically serve children, including: • Summer Camps • Youth Centers • Sisters’ Ministries It may be most meaningful to let the students discuss several projects and choose one that they feel moved to take part in. It’s up to you and your parish leadership. These relationships between Catholic Extension and the ministries that need support is what makes the difference between “helping” and “serving.” Melissa Howlett, director of religious education at a Chicago-area parish, said it’s the difference between “coming out, meeting people, being with people … as opposed to coming with our own agenda.” “Catholic Extension does such a good job seeing who’s already there, working hard, and investing in those people,” she said. With the support from this parish, a “literacy wagon” program is fighting summer learning loss among the children of migrant farmworkers in the Yakima Valley in Washington State. Read the full story at catholicextension.org/literacy-wagon. PARTNERSHIP IN ACTION Austin parish paid it forward to rural mission churches An Austin-area parish, which had benefited from a Catholic Extension grant years ago, held a special “pay it forward” campaign. They wanted to help a parish who was now in need. They supported the church-building efforts of Our Lady of Refuge church and its four Missions located in southern Texas. The pastor said the parish needed to remember those rural, isolated mission churches that need help now more than ever. In a letter to the parish, Father Pablo, pastor of Our Lady of Refuge, wrote, “Living along the winding Rio Grande River might be likened to the winding road from Jerusalem to Jericho during the time of Jesus [Lk 10:25-37]. One never knows what awaits one around the bend; what challenges each day will bring. Your support is a great catalyst for community development, fellowship and planning for the future.”
