Franciscan ConnectionSTONE-BY-STONE PROJECT Year in Review 2004 | |||
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JANUARY Bro. Donald and Beth Lask attend the Franciscan Justice, Peace & Integrity of Creation workshop in Dittmer, MO. Parishioners from St. Anthony and St. Joseph Churches in Quincy, IL spend the day scrubbing walls and mending frozen water pipes in the condemned home of an elderly couple here in South St. Louis. Students from Fontbonne University share a Saturday doing the follow-up patching and painting. FEBRUARY The Stone-by-Stone Project Board meets with Fr. Larry Nickels of the Office of Ministries to review our carrying out of the "Five Priorities of the Franciscan Order." Quincy parishioners and local QU alumni return to restore the fire-damaged kitchen, lay a new floor, and complete plumbing to the 2nd floor bathroom, wrapping up over three-month's work at the Cooper project. MARCH College students from across the country join us for InterVarsity Spring Break 2004 tackling three weeks of service projects - building a basement bedroom for two little girls, tiling a kitchen floor for a wheelchair-user, painting a living room for one senior and a kitchen for another, and a host of other critical home repairs for South St. Louis families. APRIL Beth Lask and Bro. Donald help the staff at Habitat for Humanity prepare a list of "Crew 21" repair projects for its upcoming summer blitz build volunteers. MAY Braving spring rains, local graduates and their families join us for our 2nd annual Quincy University Alumni Day of Service, sanding down walls, painting a kitchen, pantry, bath & hallway, staining new cabinets and enjoying a backyard Mexican fiesta with a family of recent immigrants. Instructor Charlie Redecker and fifteen plumbing apprentices from the Independent Plumbing Contractors Association help gut out and replace all the plumbing in the two-story home of a single mom with 5 children. Juniors Seth Gundy and Sam Johns from St. John the Baptist High School share two weeks in service of our local neighborhood - hanging drywall, laying a tile floor and walls, installing a drop ceiling, and trimming out the same bathroom. JUNE Franciscan Volunteer Beth Lask completes her year of service here in St. Louis. Beth moves up to Browning, Montana to teach 8th graders on the Blackfoot Indian Reservation. JULY Bro. Donald journeys to Bogota, Colombia for four weeks to work with the Fraternidad Interfranciscana Itinerante, exploring the housing situation of families being displaced by drug trafficking, paramilitary violence and corporate greed. Preparing for his final vows, Bro. Doug Collins joins the FC staff as part of his Supervised Time in the Province. First task: paint the entire office! AUGUST Bro. Donald and Bro. Doug begin whittling away at the long waiting list of families in need of minor repairs: painting 2nd story soffits, patching concrete, fixing stormwindows, and stopping leaky faucets. Our new FRIEND-Raising Committee begins to meet monthly to help us promote the Franciscan Connection and to better involve the community. Volunteer Stephen McGinnis of Florissant enters the candidacy program in Joliet, IL to become a Franciscan friar. Our ministry's first vocation! SEPTEMBER Local retirees Wally Feld and Marty Grade return to help us tackle our bigger projects: building porches, tearing off an old roof, and mending fences. Bro. Doug enrolls in an introductory plumbing class at Forest Park Community College and completes his Missouri State lead-paint abatement worker training. Faith Beyond Walls hosts a Day of Interfaith Service for Collegians, helping us plant bulbs, mums amd pansies along Meramec and Minnesota streets around St. Anthony of Padua Church.
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OCTOBER Over 100 visitors drop by for the Franciscan Connection's Open House. All part of a "Franciscan Day of Celebration" which included a Transitus prayer service at St. Anthony's Church and a delicious spaghetti dinner hosted by our local Secular Franciscans. Eight students from Quincy University Circle K travel all the way to St. Louis to help patch, paint and furnish a bedroom for three little kids. Bro. Doug completes a three-day training session for state licensing in lead paint abatement procedures and work safety techniques. Little Flower School 7th graders return for their annual Halloween service project, helping us pick up litter along Cherokee Street. They also planted bulbs for a little springtime color. NOVEMBER Joetta Kern, SFO chairs the Stone-by-Stone Project Board as it meets quarterly to evaluate, expand and enhance our home repair services. Volunteers pitch in to prepare our annual holiday mailings to friends and benefactors. DECEMBER Ron Oberkrom and the plumbing class at Forest Park Community College will be helping us install a new water heater, kitchen faucet, and bathroom sink in the home of a local senior citizen. The Secular Franciscans will spread holiday cheer while Christmas caroling at the homes of several of our south city families. 2003-2004 PROJECT YEAR TOTALS 70 homes repaired 166 volunteers involved 28 professionals pitched in 1738 hours of volunteer service 54 clients learned new skills Average supplies per home: $172.92 Longest project: 21 days
2004 SPONSORS
WISH LIST Volunteer Opportunities - Weekday project volunteers - Saturday Service Day house captains - Bulk mailings & thank you notes - Computer data entry - FRIEND-Raising Committee
or to volunteer your time, contact: Bro. Donald or Bro. Doug FRANCISCAN CONNECTION 2903 Cherokee Street St. Louis, MO 63118 (314) 773-8485 FranciscanConnection@TheFriars.org www.thefriars.org | ||