Thanks to nearly $6,000 in donations over the past two years from the students at St. Mary School and the parishioners of St. Mary Catholic Church in Edgerton, the Louis family in Haiti has a new home.
Julie Taylor, St. Mary School principal, said the school for grades K-6 stages a pair of annual fundraisers — one that benefits a local organization and one that benefits a global organization.
She said the school raises money through a collection once a month from a weekday Mass, from an in-school carnival and student, family and community donations. For about the past six or seven years, for their annual global donation, the school has partnered with the national organization Food For The Poor, Inc.
This year’s global fundraiser generated $3,297.26, and the school raised $2,417.93 last year. Taylor said it costs about $7,000 to build a house in Haiti so Food for the Poor combined the past two years’ worth of St. Mary donations — $5,715.19 — along with what she believes are some other unattached donations in order to have enough to build the new house, which she said is for the Louis family, a young couple and their small child in Doudou Che, Grand’Anse, Haiti.
Food for the Poor confirmed that Taylor and St. Mary School are partners in bringing a new home to the Louis family.
“We are grateful for her heart, and for those of her students,” said Kathy Skipper, senior director, communications and community engagement, for Food for the Poor.
Taylor stressed that community and global service is part of the curriculum and ministry at St. Mary.
“The kids get super excited. We’ve built a house before (from St. Mary donations) ... and after the earthquakes there, we’ve really put the focus on (helping) Haiti as our global fundraiser.”
In August 2021, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck the Caribbean nation, killing more than 2,200 people, injuring thousands more and destroying or damaging more than 137,000 buildings.
St. Mary students also have supported the Williams County Humane Society, Christmas for Kids and most recently, the Angel Tree, for their local fundraisers, said Taylor. And they also are of service in sending birthday and Valentine’s cards to local elderly residents.
“Through service learning projects both locally and globally, our students learn that when we give what we have, God blesses our gifts. Even a small gesture of writing a special note to one of our parishioner friends can brighten their day and provide a smile,” she said.
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