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Author: Dan Meloy
Republished with permission from Detroit Catholic.

A Detroit Catholic reader has begun a $100,000 match campaign in support of Warren-based Immaculate Conception Ukrainian Catholic School’s effort to educate refugees from the ongoing Ukrainian-Russian War.

The anonymous donor worked with the Catholic Foundation of Michigan to establish a short campaign to raise funds for scholarships to cover the cost of tuition for refugee students who are attending the school this year, after reading about the school’s efforts in an Aug. 24 article in Detroit Catholic.

“The Catholic Foundation of Michigan’s whole mission is to make giving easy for our Catholic faithful,” Angela Moloney, executive director of the Catholic Foundation of Michigan, told Detroit Catholic. “We had a donor reach out to us after reading this beautiful article in Detroit Catholic and wanted to share their generosity to ensure these children had the ability to attend Catholic school.”

The anonymous donor wanted to use the Catholic Foundation of Michigan as a fundraising mechanism for Immaculate Conception Ukrainian Catholic School so a wider audience could learn about the campaign and donate to the school. The fund includes a dollar-for-dollar match up to $50,000.

“(I was) moved to tears by the beautiful story of both the plight of the Ukrainian school children and the generosity of the Immaculate Conception Ukrainian Catholic Schools community in welcoming,” the donor wrote to the Catholic Foundation of Michigan. “Like many around the world, my prayer regularly includes the Ukrainian people who have had their lives torn apart by the terrible assault on their nation and way of life.”

Donors can give to the Immaculate Conception Ukrainian Catholic Schools Refugee Support Fund to help cover tuition for the estimated 100 refugee students who will be attending Immaculate Conception this school year.

Having the fund administered by a third-party fundraising source like the Catholic Foundation of Michigan allows recipients, such as Immaculate Conception Ukrainian Schools, to focus on its mission while the Catholic Foundation focuses on the minutia of raising funds, Moloney said.

Moloney recalled speaking with Immaculate Conception Ukrainian Catholic Schools superior Fr. Daniel Schaicoski, OSBM, and principal Mary Anne Gruda, who were grateful for the donor’s generosity.

“It was so grace-filled, speaking with Fr. Daniel and Mary,” Moloney said. “As I was learning more about the school, how giving and generous and joy-filled the school is to be doing this, the hearts of these educators are so huge, it’s impressive. I asked Fr. Daniel if he thinks we could raise the other $50,000 in the community to meet the match, and he said, ‘Hands down. I know this community is generous, and we can do it.’”

“It seemed the Catholic Foundation was the most effective way to turbocharge the effort,” the anonymous donor wrote about the Ukrainian schools fund. “The school is in terrible need of support for these children now and into the foreseeable future. The Catholic Foundation can relieve some of the burden of fundraising for the school by helping to get the word out as well as easily accepting and administering new gifts, both large and small, and making the necessary grants.”

Beyond raising the money, Moloney said the Catholic Foundation is happy to tell the story of Immaculate Conception Ukrainian Catholic Schools, a small school in Warren that is making all the difference in the world for children escaping a war.

“This isn’t just another Catholic school for these kids,” Moloney said. “This is going to be a home that understands them and can embrace them in a way any other school or community might not do. This is a beautiful, perfect fit for these kids and families who have lost so much already. This is our Gospel call to help them.”

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Update 11/1/2022:
Your financial donation in support of the Ukrainian refugee students at IC Schools now goes further! The anonymous donor providing the matching funds to the Immaculate Conception Ukrainian Catholic Schools Refugee Support Fund has increased the match by $25,000. This brings the total match to $75,000.00 and we’re nearly at our goal!

Support the Immaculate Conception Ukrainian Catholic Schools Refugee Support Fund

Create a Fund for a Cause You Are Passionate About

Written by Elizabeth Gardiner

Have you been inside an elementary school when the recess bell rings? The hallways erupt with noise as children quickly put on their coats and head for the playground doors. Those doors fly open with children anxiously running to their favorite play structure. Children are scaling the rock wall, hanging from monkey bars, racing down the slides, swinging with friends, and much more. Kids are being kids (outside!) – they are running, shouting, playing, high-fiving, laughing, socializing, making friends, and most importantly, having fun. It is a schoolyard filled with pure joy!

Now imagine the looks on all of these children’s faces when they get to the play structure and see that sections of their ONLY play structure are blocked off with bright yellow caution tape. Imagine how these children feel when that bright yellow caution tape could remain untouched for months or even an entire school year. The kindergarteners who were so excited to finally be able to play on the “big kid” playground, are wishing they could have their preschool playground back.

As a former 1st grade teacher of sixteen years, I see a great need for a new playground at the parish, St. Joseph the Worker in Lake Orion, one of the fastest growing parishes in the diocese. Kids need to be kids at recess time!  The joy would be unstoppable! A new playground would lead to better physical and mental health, along with cognitive, social, and emotional gains for the students of the school and our church.

An inviting playground will invite families to stay after mass and allow their children to play. An inviting playground can act as an incentive for your grandson to behave at mass. An inviting playground may act as a center point for catholic evangelization as young families gather to watch their kids play. An inviting playground can be more if we choose to look at it differently. We live in a society that has brought us inside in front of our electronics when we are called to be out and spreading God’s word. We believe a playground serves more than the school-age children that attend the school, it serves the community at large.

My husband says all the time that God works in mysterious ways and the creation of the St. Joseph Playground fund is a testament to that. One Friday evening in May, my husband came home from a sporting clay fundraiser. He mentioned that he and a few parishioners of St. Joe’s parish started talking about how a sporting clay event would be a great fundraiser. When I heard the idea, I was on board and told him, “Let’s do it, let’s build a playground!” He was thrilled and one thing led to another.

In a few short months and countless hours of preparation, St. Joseph’s School in Lake Orion will be hosting “The St. Joseph Sporting Clay Classic” at Bald Mountain on Thursday, October 6, 2022.  The St. Joseph Sporting Clay Classic, in a special way, is dedicated “ to the joy of our children”.  All funds will be used to grow a restricted fund within the Catholic Foundation of Michigan for the purpose of St. Joseph’s Catholic School Playground.

Various donors have already heard the call and have generously donated to a designated fund at the Catholic Foundation of Michigan. The Foundation has been fundamental throughout the process by establishing a registration page for the event and an account that safeguards donations for its intended purpose.

“It is our hope and prayer that the children of God come together to see this project completed for the joy of His children. To this end, this is the core reason why we felt partnering with the Catholic Foundation was essential, as this fund will outlive each one of us. ” -Elizabeth and David Gardiner

Give to the St. Joseph School Playground Fund

Support the St. Joseph Clay Classic

Create a Fund for a Cause You Are Passionate About

The Malta Dental and Medical Clinic (Malta Clinic), with the help of hundreds of volunteers and supporters, has had more than 16,000 visits by uninsured homeless, elderly, and veteran patients in its 18-year history. Now, a family’s generous creation of a new endowment fund will help secure the Malta Clinic’s ministry for the future.

The family of the late John Tierney was inspired to make the gift because of the long friendship between John and Lou Mahoney, founder of the Malta Clinic. The two friends met in college at the University of Detroit through their future wives, who were high school friends and sorority sisters. Over the years, they bonded through their love of family, faith, travel, and cards. Be it bridge or euchre, they loved being partners. And the two men admired each other’s work ethic and commitment to the community. 

“Malta Clinic was a true passion of Lou’s and the Tierney family is making this gift in recognition of his commitment. Our family will match every $1 raised up to $30,000 for the Malta Clinic endowment fund,” explains Christine  Tierney, daughter of the late John Tierney.

John Tierney and Lou Mahoney passed to everlasting life, but their memory and legacy live on with the gift of this endowment fund. A permanent endowment is a fund designated to provide stable, ongoing financial support to a parish, school or organization – forever. The principal is legally protected and grows through prudent investing.

In 2021, the Malta Clinic provided more than 1,900 visits for uninsured patients. These visits include teeth examinations, x-rays, hygiene, fillings, tooth extractions, medical care for chronic diseases, diabetes, blood pressure, asthma and, in recent months, eye examinations. All care is provided by volunteers: physicians, dentists, dental hygienists, nurses, physician assistants, and students from Wayne State’s Medical and Pharmacy Schools and the University of Detroit Mercy Dental and Dental Hygiene School

Please join the Catholic Foundation in supporting this vital mission by giving to the endowment fund. Through your generous gift, you are helping to create a legacy of healing – physical, emotional, and spiritual – for those in need.

Update as of 11-15-2022: Thanks to the generosity of the community and the Tierney family, the original $30K match increased to a $50K match and was met! $100,000 was raised in support of the Malta Medical Clinic.

Endowment: Support Malta Clinic’s Needs for Forever

Designated: Support Malta Clinic’s Needs for Today

Create a Fund for Your Loved One

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Written by Mary Wilkerson
Inspired by Joey Wilkerson

Growing up as a cradle Catholic of Polish and Irish descent, I am not sure I ever thought twice about the Sacred images surrounding me in Church. The vast majority of images reflected back at me saints and holy men and women who looked like me. 

As one of the great miracles of my life, after much prayer, the Lord led me to my husband Aaron. Aaron is an African American convert to our faith. We fell in love, got married, and had our first child within two years of meeting. In the Lord’s complete undeserved generosity, Aaron and I were blessed with 5 children in the first 6.5 years of marriage. These beautiful children, three sons and two daughters- perfect images of God’s goodness. Looking at my children is always amazing because they are all different shades. Not even one of our skin tones matches and through this, I get a front-row view of the beauty of diversity within the Body of Christ.

As many people know, children can teach us in profound ways. When my children were toddlers and into the first years of school, I could see how important it was for them to have images of holiness that matched them. Representation of all shades took on a whole new meaning when I, as one of the two primary catechists of our children, saw how important it was for our kids to see images of holiness. I would notice my sons’ ears perk up when saint stories featured men and women of color. It was then I began to see how very important representation of people of color is within our Sacred spaces. 

One of my children, Joseph (Joey) often talks about feeling called to be a priest. I am not sure where God will end up leading him, but his insights into the faith stun me. When we found out about the Sacred Cultural Art Fund through the Catholic Foundation of Michigan, our Joey knew it was something he wanted to be involved with. Joey shared on social media about the importance of him seeing men/women who lived lives of holiness, and also looked like him. He shared how as a young boy of faith, seeing people of color within the church allows him to more easily picture himself as belonging to the family of God. Joseph, in his wisdom talked about vocations, and how as an African American young boy, he wants other African American men and women to know they belong in the fold of the Catholic Church. 

Joey asked our little community, our sphere of influence, to consider donating to this fund, and wouldn’t you know, our community responded. Our little community was able to raise thousands of dollars in just under a week to be donated to the Sacred Cultural Art Fund.

As a white mother of five beautiful African American children, so much of the racial dialogue of our time has been difficult to witness. Our family maneuvers our way through divisive sound bites on every side of the political spectrum. And yet, we know… Myself, my husband Aaron, and our children, Aaron, Joseph, John Paul, Malia and Julia- we know the true possibility of racial healing in this country. A healing that will only come from a deeper understanding of our loving God, the God who desires unity and peace, without sacrificing the beautiful diversity within His Body. A friend pointed out that whenever our Lady visits different countries through her apparitions, she always chooses to appear in the image of the culture she is appearing to. Our Lady, I like to think, values the importance of Sacred Cultural Images.

I will be forever grateful to the Catholic Foundation of Michigan for promoting and sponsoring the Sacred Cultural Art Fund. I deeply pray and hope men and women continue to donate to this fund, so that as my children grow, as children of the Archdiocese of Detroit, they will continue to see images that reflect back the beauty of diversity found in our church. Through the Catholic Foundation of Michigan, our children will be able to experience and see holy men and women of color, living their faith in vibrant ways. This is a blessing and a grace I will remember in years to come.

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Support the Sacred Cultural Artwork Fund

Create a Fund for a Cause You Are Passionate About

To learn more about the collaborative efforts of the Catholic Foundation, the College of Creative Studies and the Archdiocese of Detroit’s Cultural Ministries and Evangelical Charity, click here.