Celebrating Success at Street Haven

The annual report for one of our agencies, Street Haven at the Crossroads, landed on my desk yesterday - they are working wonders there!

Last year, this women's shelter and resource centre provided shelter for 1,337 women in need and served more than 50,000 meals! Among other small wonders, Street Haven staff assisted 38 women with finding employment, supported 110 women as they worked to kick their addictions, and helped another 154 women in securing safe housing.

This is a great example of how ShareLife funding can make a difference in people's lives. There are real success stories at Street Haven and brighter futures for hundreds of women in our area.

Congratulations and thanks to everyone who makes Street Haven a success.

addendum
Well, it seems the students at St. Francis Xavier are smarter than me... they avoided the rain yesterday by taking their walk indoors. The halls of the school, all three floors of them, were filled with marching students - dry, marching students - as they continued their ShareLife event with nary a drop of rain in site.

Xavier on the march

The staff and students at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Secondary School in Mississauga are braving the rain as I write, participating in their annual ShareLife walkathon. This is another of those great school communities that supports ShareLife in a number of ways through the year. Xavier students also participate in an annual day of service in the spring, helping out at different ShareLife agencies.
The support we receive from our schools is really important to us. Catholic schools are the training ground for our young poeple and it's important that the values we share as a Catholic community are passed on to them as they grow. With the home-parish-school partnership at work, the Cahtolic leaders of tomorrow will ably carry the torch forward.
Thanks to everyone who is walking today at Xavier! And thanks to all the staff and students who support the good work of ShareLife agencies throughout the year.

Mass of Thanksgiving this weekend

With the turkey and stuffing of Thanksgiving weekend more than a week behind us, the ShareLife team is gearing up for another thanksgiving celebration.

The ShareLife Mass of Thanksgiving is being celebrated at St. Michael's Cathedral in Toronto Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. Donors receive thank yous from us in several ways through the year (letters, announcements, posters) but this Mass is a truly special occassion - a faith-filled expression of thanksgiving for the donors and volunteers whose contributions keep ShareLife agencies actively serving the community.

Our work would grind to a halt and the doors of some of our agencies would in all likelihood close for good if not for the generous support of all who help us. We are truly thankful for you all.

Join us if you can at 2 p.m. on Sunday at St. Michael's Cathedral, Toronto (65 Bond St.). Mass will be celebrated by Bishop Peter Hundt, Auxiliary Bishop of Toronto, and a light reception will follow.

Thanks for working wonders!

St. Margeurite d'Youville walkathon

On Friday, I had the chance to speak to the students of St. Margeurite d'Youville Catholic Secondary School in Brampton during two masses celebrated as part of their annual walkathon, held on the feast day of their school's namesake saint.
The staff and students of St. Margeurite d'Youville combine this short pilgrimage, walking from school to their parish, with a fundraiser for ShareLife agencies. They combine a time of spiritual reflection with a time for charitable action! Last year, they raised $20,000 and it looks as though they will top that result this year - an amazing accomplishment for a single student body.
Congratulations to the staff and students of St. Margeurite d'Youville! And thanks on behalf us all in the ShareLife family.

Corporate Campaign Launched + Relief Efforts for Indonesian Earthquake Victims

A number of dedicated volunteers gathered for Mass and a light breakfast to launch the 2010 Corporate Campaign. Our goal is to raise $1.5 million in the corporate community this year, and it can only happen with the help of these generous volunteers. We were joined by Martin Mark, director of The Office for Refugees in the Archdiocese of Toronto (http://www.archtoronto.org/arch_offices/refugee.html), who spoke about the important work being done by his office. Rest assured, ShareLife funding of this important agency is saving lives in faraway places and giving people new hope and new lives here in Canada.

On another note, the ShareLife Office sent an announcement to all parishes in the Archdiocese to let everyone know we are now able to accept humanitarian relief contributions for those affected by the deadly earthquakes that struck Sumatra, Indonesia last week. To learn more or to make a donation to help some of the hundreds of thousands of people who have been displaced by the disaster, click here.

Report to Donors on the way

We're preparing a mailing to all parishes today - sending a Report to Donors for the 2009 ShareLife Campaign. This is a great reference for anyone who wants to understand all we're doing to raise funds for our agencies - in the parishes, in the schools and in the workplace. We can be proud of our response as a Catholic family to the calls of help coming from the greater community.

You can check the Report to Donors out online, too, at www.sharelife.org/report

As Archbishop Collins says in his introduction to the report, "Catholics in the Archdiocese of Toronto have accomplished a great deal this year through their generous contributions to ShareLife. Together, as the campaign theme suggests, we are working wonders. It is our calling. It is our responsibility."