"I am thankful for your help because without you I would not be in school." -Alice, an 8th grade student at St. Anthony of Padua Updates from LiberiaSummer Work Program Paints the SchoolWe are very grateful to the Shanahan Family for contributing $5000 to provide our Summer Work program this year. The students participating painted our whole school, inside and out. The project was led by Eid one of our college students. Eid was responsible for the daily morning meetings examining the previous days progress and setting the goals for the day. He managed the allocation of paint, brushes and other supplies and ensured supplies were procured in a timely fashion, so the work was not interrupted. Great job, Eid! And thank you to all our students who participated as well while gaining skills, working as a team, developing a strong work ethic and making extra income. Way to go!
Roof Project Completed Last December, we received word that the Ruckstuhl Foundation awarded us a grant for $26,000 to replace the tin roofs of the Junior High building, St. Martin Hall, St. Bahkita Hall and St. Michaels Church on Liberia Mission. The roofing project was managed internally, as our middle school, high school and college students did the work under the supervision of our Maintenance Manager. The students learned skills, improved the campus and earned extra income. We are grateful to the Ruckstuhl Foundation, our students and our staff who all collaborated to make this project successful. Did You Know?Thanksgiving Day in Liberia is November 2nd. The day is marked by church services and prayer. Although families get together, a big feast is not really a part of the celebration to the extent that it is in America. It is more of a religious holiday where the country takes time to thank God for His many blessings. Greg and Kristen Caudle and their four children arrived in Liberia a year ago. Greg, a seasoned school principal, jumped feet first into his role as the Mission’s Director. The children adjusted as they went along and Kristen contributed her experience as a Peace Corp Alumni along the way. Greg was immediately faced with some big challenges. Liberia had approved a new labor law which we needed to adjust to. He cracked the numbers, came up with options and came back to the board with suggestions. Together we developed a strategy to comply with the new regulation in a timely fashion and incorporate our staff into the process. Greg’s leadership, tenacity and financial management skills were immediately apparent. In August our Financial Manager, Brittany Skolnick, was due to return to America after a year of spectacular service and meticulous financial reporting. Kristen Caudle took over the work and continues to add to the progress Brittany made. We are very grateful to the Caudles for their service to God and His children at Liberia Mission. Do you want to have your support of Liberia Mission doubled this month? Create a fundraiser for us on Facebook to raise money on November 28th- Giving Tuesday! Facebook and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will match gifts made up to $1,000 through your fundraiser. If you want help or more information on how to do this, please reach out to us by email or by phone (773-809-4008). Donations Update We sent a note out in July asking for an incremental $20,000 in donations to get us through the fall. We are about 2/3 of the way to our goal. Thank you for your generosity. If you would like to make a gift to help us reach our goal, you can do so below. Mission Appeals We are very grateful to God for giving us a good number of mission appeals this year. Last year we had 12 parish appeals and this year we have had 34! Amy Spelz Travis, a member of our Board, is going to do our last appeal of the year in early November. The appeals are essential to our financial strategy. The low number last year contributed to the difficult financial situation we faced earlier this year. The money for the appeals comes at the end of the year. To date we have received about $10,000 in mission appeal money, helping us continue through the fall. There is a wonderful Liberian saying, “God makes a way when there is no other way”. Friends of the Franciscan Works + Liberia Mission have held a couple of fundraisers this fall. Kathy and Bob O’Dwyer hosted a wine tasting and Elena Bettis and Joan Agosto had a pizza party. The events brought in several thousand dollars and 5 new sponsorships! Thank you so much Elena, Joan, Kathy and Bob. Tip O’Neil (the deceased former Speaker of the House) once said, "All politics is local." I think we could say that about fundraising as well. If you are considering some event to help benefit the mission, we encourage you to go ahead and do it. You may only get a few people to come, but if each one of us could just bring in one new sponsor or one new donor, we would bring our missionary effort into sounder financial footing and continue our work breaking the cycle of poverty one child at a time. Do You Have Any Questions? Our Board President, Joe Sehnert, lived and served as Mission director for four years. He loves to share about Liberia Mission and can offer updates on sponsor students or any other questions you may have. Feel free to reach out to Joe by phone at 636-628-7270 or by email: joesehnert@gmail.com |