Section:
companions
Pennies from Heaven
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The Holy Angels companions gather for the 2nd Annual St. Francis Italian Fest. |
As companions to the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia at Holy Angels in Trenton, New Jersey, we try hard to participate in all fundraising efforts. So, when we first heard of the Capital Campaign, we wanted to do our part to make the campaign a success. The Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia have touched the hearts and lives of so many of us at Holy Angels. We knew the parish community would want to support the campaign but needed a project that would not be a financial burden to anyone. At our discussion meeting in Aston, possible ideas were presented; among them was the idea of a penny drive. It was just the kind of project we needed—simple, easy to manage, and not at all burdensome. We committed ourselves to doing the penny drive for three years, to end in 2005, during the 150th Anniversary Celebration.
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Husband and wife Barbara and Al Buzzo, parishioners at Holy Angels, return their penny jars to support the congregatioin's Capital Campaign. |
We named the project Pennies From Heaven. With little publicity, we held our penny and loose change drive in October 2003, on the two weekends near the Feast of St. Francis. Our first penny drive resulted in a $659 collection. Heartened by the generosity of our parishioners, we set our three-year goal at $2500. Now, we do believe that God blesses every act of kindness but there was no way we could have predicted what happened next.
Connie Starling and Eileen DeSantis, two of our companions, are parishioners at St. Anthony’s Church, Trenton, New Jersey. They were so inspired by the results of our penny drive at Holy Angels, they decided to undertake a similar drive at St. Anthony’s Church. Connie approached Monsignor Tom Gervasio who gave his full support to the undertaking. He urged the congregation to forget the coins and give paper—and so they did. Together, Connie, her husband and son, and Eileen collected a startling $1800 in two weekends at St. Anthony’s. We were stunned!
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For our second annual Pennies From Heaven drive in 2004, Nancy Opalski coordinated the decoration of approximately 120 penny jars made from various and sundry empty jars—plastic and glass (a great recycling effort). With the support of our new pastor, Father Jeff Kegley, these penny jars were distributed in June 2004 to our parishioners, and families, and friends who were willing to participate. The penny jars were collected on the first weekend of October 2004—just prior to the Feast of St. Francis.
The response to the penny drive was outstanding. All proceeds from that drive were presented to the Franciscan Ministries Foundation. With grateful hearts we presented this year’s check in the amount of $1675—almost triple the amount collected in 2003.
2003: $ 659 Companions, families, friends, and parishioners of Holy Angels
2004: $1675 Companions, families, friends, and parishioners of Holy Angels
2004: $1800 additional from St. Anthony’s through the efforts of Connie and Eileen
To date we have collected $4134. God has truly blessed our efforts! A special thank you to all who helpedmake this penny drive a success. Together we were able to accomplish what we were unable to do individually.
The Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia have touched so many lives over the years. It is our hope that this gift will help ensure that the spirit of Francis and Mother Francis Bachmann will continue to touch lives into the future. Although we have already exceeded our original goal, we will hold our 3rd annual Pennies From Heaven drive in 2005. With a little more publicity and a few more penny jars—who knows how our efforts will be blessed!
What have we learned from all this?
It all begins with a single idea.
God blesses every act of kindness and generosity.
The people of God remember the faithfulness of the
Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia.
Pat Langon
