World Mission Ministries Offers "Hope" for Haiti
A Jan. 19th Call Bank Raised $42,000 in Pledges
Helping those in need is second nature to the World Mission Ministries Office of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. The department’s director, Sr. Frances Cunningham, and her staff regularly work to promote the Church's universal mission locally through global awareness, partnerships and outreach. That outreach often involves mission trips to the archdiocese’s sister parish, La Sagrada Familia, Dominican Republic, as well as other parishes and missions in countries suffering from abject poverty. This spirit has spread to parishes around the archdiocese.
Prior to that fateful day, January 12, 2010, when an earthquake struck Haiti causing damage to a country already suffering from widespread poverty, six Milwaukee parishes had established sister parishes in Haiti. They are: Gesu Parish, Milwaukee; Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Milwaukee; St. Francis Cabrini Parish, West Bend; St. Mary Parish, Hales Corners; St. Matthew Parish, Neosho; and Shepherd of the Hills Parish, Eden.
The day after the earthquake, Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki knew Haiti would need much more assistance than they were already receiving from the archdiocese. Therefore, he implored the faithful of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee to show their support for their Haitian brothers and sisters through prayers and donations. Archbishop Listecki asked the World Mission Ministries Office to handle the collection knowing that office would best be able to efficiently distribute the aid to those suffering in Haiti.
Then, when Mayor Barrett, declared Sunday, January 17, 2010, Haiti Relief Day in Milwaukee, he asked also that Milwaukeeans’ donations be made to World Mission Ministries.
When the opportunity to build upon the good work already underway to help those in Haiti, the World Mission Ministries Office jumped at the chance. To increase the amount of aid pouring into the Haiti, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee’s World Mission Ministries Office partnered with WISN Channel 12 to air Hope for Haiti – a call bank for those affected by the earthquake.
On Tuesday, January 19, 2010, between 4-8:30 p.m., pledges totaling $42,000 were received from generous callers in southeastern Wisconsin. Volunteers recruited by the World Mission Ministries Office staffed the call bank. Many of the volunteers had been to Haiti on mission trips, others had been involved with Haiti missions while stateside and the others simply lent their time because they had been so moved by the terrible destruction and devastation caused by the earthquake. The volunteers included staff members from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, Bishop William Patrick Callahan, parishioners from parishes such as All Saints, Milwaukee; St. Frances Cabrini, West Bend; St. Mary’s, Hales Corners; and Shepherd of the Hills, Eden, and individuals like Judge Jim Carlson who drove in from Whitewater and Tim Dewane from the SSND Office for Global Justice and Peace. Just days after returning home from being trapped in Haiti, Melissa Elliott volunteered her time at the call bank too. Her father, Mike, also helped out.
During the four and a half hour call bank, Channel 12 periodically broke away from shows such as Oprah, the local news and prime-time programming to show snippets of the mini-telethon. All of the newscasts the days before the call bank, as well as the day of and the day after included interviews with those actively involved with Haiti from one aspect or another.
Sr. Frances Cunningham, archdiocesan director of World Mission Ministries; Marianne Boehme and Mary Daly, parishioners at St. Frances Cabrini; Pam Lownick, parishioner of St. Mary’s; Hales Corners; Gesu Parish, Milwaukee; and Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Milwaukee, were all interviewed for special segments on Channel 12’s news programming.
The words of Sr. Frances from one of her Channel 12 interviews still ring true, "They need to be able to pick up their own lives, and they need all the care they can receive from all the organizations. We're not competing with organizations to raise funding, we're collaborating with them," Cunningham said. "It has to do with human dignity and the respect for people and the fact that we are all brothers and sisters across the world."
If you wish to donate money to help the Haitians devastated by the earthquake, please send a check marked Haitian Relief and payable to:
World Mission Ministries
PO Box 3087
Milwaukee, WI 53201-3087
You can also donate online. Click here to donate to Haitian Relief
To watch an interview with Sr. Frances Cunningham on YouTube, click here.
UPDATE - As of March 5, 2010, World Mission Ministries has collected $865,000 for Haitians in need.
Article by Gillian Lester-George
Cover photo courtesy of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee
(Photo - the WISN/Archdiocese of Milwaukee Hope for Haiti Call Bank)
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AMAR serves God through service to others. AMAR sirve a Dios por servicio a otros.