Thanksgiving 2017 from Maryknoll Sisters on Vimeo.
This Thanksgiving will be just another day without food or shelter for many people in the United States including families and children. Many of them have had much suffering in their lives to lead them to the streets, including the loss of a loved one, job loss, domestic violence, depression and disabilities.
No one deserves to be pushed onto streets. We ask you to please send a gift today. Even a small donation will make a difference. You will help a child or even a family.
Many of our Sisters are serving the homeless around the United States.
In the Central Pacific, Sr. Cecilia Santos MM, at 88 years old, volunteers at a food pantry. Sr. Cecilia has been a Maryknoll Sister for 70 years and she strives to serve those in need with compassion and respect. The food pantry serves about 500 needy each month and almost half are children.
Sr. Cecilia states, “Our team of 3 women and 1 man prepare 112 sandwiches and almost a crate of eggs to be scrambled and distributed to the homeless and other needy people every day. I also prepare 112 small paper bags with non perishable goodies also for distribution to these same people.”
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The food pantry has been an active ministry for over 35 years and distributes food to everyone who comes to their doors, regardless of where they live. Besides non-perishable foods, distributed items also include toiletries, household goods and clothing.
In California, Sr. Phyllis O’Toole MM and Sr. Moira Hurley MM volunteer at a soup kitchen in Los Angeles. The soup kitchen is located in the central city ghetto of L.A.’s Skid Row. Skid Row is an area with homeless, poor, and marginally employed residents and has been named “the homeless capital of the nation.” Sr. Phyllis states, “I serve food on the line and work in the garden, wiping tables, sweeping crumbs and talking with the people, helping to provide this oasis of food and fellowship away from the jungle of the streets in Skid Row. The people truly appreciate this place of refuge. They thank and bless us.
Sr. Kathryn Shannon MM volunteers at a shelter Monrovia, California. Sr. Kathryn is 89 years old and has been a Maryknoll Sister for 72 years. She serves hot meals to 40-60 hungry and homeless poor people every Saturday.
Over 1,000 people are served in just this one day and it provides them with a place of refuge until they have to go back into the jungle on the streets which are tough, inhospitable and dangerous.
Sr. Carolyn White MM and Sr. Mary Duffy MM are among some of the Sisters at our center in Ossining, NY who also volunteer their time to serving the homeless. Three times a week, our Sisters pick vegetables from the Maryknoll Farm to distribute to food pantries in our local areas.
We ask you to celebrate this Thanksgiving with a gift to the homeless here and around the world. We cannot continue our work without your help.
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We will pray for you and your loved ones on Thanksgiving and throughout the year. May God Bless you!