2020 Lenten Almsgiving
St. Anne Catholic Community
Catholic Extension
While our work in Cuba is on hold…
We can celebrate the work going on as a result of our past efforts. No clearer example of this is what is happening with the Dominican Sisters of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima in Puerto Rico, who were the beneficiaries of St. Anne’s Almsgiving in 2018.
The Spirit of Giving Pierces Darkness with Light
As you may remember our intended project was to help them build “Casa de Salud”—a house of rest for the members of their Community between missionary assignments. As you may also recall, horrible hurricanes battered Puerto Rico, and at their request Catholic Extension redirected our funds to help the countless people who were left homeless. Just as there were signs of hope after the hurricanes, however, earthquakes came. Especially hard hit was the area around Ponce where the Dominican motherhouse is located.
Sister Judith Maldonado described how they began feeling the temblors and rushed their elderly and infirm Sisters out of the building just before much of the ceiling collapsed. These older sisters are residing temporarily in a retreat center near the diocesan offices in Ponce, while those engaged in active ministry are lodging in tents and small wooden structures on the grounds of the Motherhouse.
What is remarkable, though, is how these women have carried on their work now made even more difficult by the presence of the coronavirus. “We bring Christ to the family, and the family to Christ,” is their motto. The inconvenience of having to essentially live outdoors indefinitely seems to them little reason to stop doing the work of ministry. At a nearby technical college, Catholic Extension met with sisters and volunteers organizing much needed food, water, and medical supplies for distribution to the many still in need of such basics. They described how many families had been sleeping in cars or in nearby parks for fear of returning to their homes. The earthquakes stretched on for days and days, shuttering schools and businesses and casting a pall of fear over the entire population. Nevertheless, the Sisters—who have been described as the beating heart of Puerto Rico—were on the front lines of service, even as they themselves were going without.
We are profoundly grateful for the many women who so often are on the front lines of showing the merciful face of Christ. St. Anne is honored to be a small part of their work!
Recycle All Old & Obsolete Cell Phones
- Help the Elgin Community Crisis Center convert old phones into cash and offset higher utility costs in their shelter, which houses victims of domestic violence from surrounding communities.
- Keep cell phones out of landfills where they pose an environmental threat.
Most of us are just getting the hang of our cell phone features when the technology rudely catapults us forward. Most of the changes have been for the better...Remember the seven lb. bag phones...! But what do you do with the drawer in your house that serves as a graveyard for obsolete cell phones?
About Shelter Alliance
Shelter Alliance is a program of GRC Wireless Recycling (www. grcrecycling.com), a private sector company dedicated exclusively to socially responsible cell phone recycling. With over 2000 active participants in 50 states, Canada, and Puerto Rico, Shelter Alliance is now the largest cell phone recycling program in the U.S. SA participants have earned over $4,000,000 since 2001.
When we began our mission in 2001, we discovered that cell phone “fundraising” revenue was primarily funneled to national nonprofits, often leaving local organizations without their due share. Additionally, we found that large surpluses of phones often resulted from “911 emergency phone collections,” leaving social service organizations with offices full of phones and no responsible recycling solution. Shelter Alliance was established to offer local community organizations a viable, profitable fundraising option. Four years later, we still hold true to our “founding principles”: accountability, individualized attention to each participant, and responsiveness.
During January, Faithjustice offers you a possible solution: RECYCLE YOUR OLD CELL PHONES. Put your phones with their batteries in the baskets on the hearth in the Gathering Space. Please do not include accessories or adaptors and, if you are able, delete all phone numbers. Your old and obsolete cell phones will be turned over to Shelter Alliance who will refurbish, resell or recycle your discards.
All proceeds from this effort will benefit the Community Crisis Center, a shelter in Elgin, IL, serving the survivors of domestic violence, including women and children from our own area. The Center receives anywhere from $1 to $30 per viable phone. The more current the phone the better!
Your donation also serves environmental efforts to keep electronic equipment and batteries out of local landfills. Old cell phones are disassembled and parts salvaged using eco-friendly methods.