December

We have been quite active at the Passaic Neighborhood Center for Women during the month of December -- so active, in fact, that we have neglected posting here!  Please accept our apologies for our absence and for this rather long post.  We hope you enjoy reading about our December "happenings."

On December 1, our friend Rosa was here again to conduct a Christsmas-themed arts and crafts workshop for the women.  Here are some photos:

During the first week of December, we also took delivery of the first four of our new computers, purchased with donations and grants that we told you about previously.  (See this post -- and this one.)  Our current English learners are thrilled to be using the new computers and accessories.  And, we have already added new learners to our Rosetta Stone program.  We are overjoyed to be free of the many hours of troubleshooting that our old computers required.  "Stay tuned" to this blog during the new year for photos of our women enjoying the new computers.  We are grateful to our generous benefactors.

While continuing to honor Advent (with Sister Ann Marie's program at St Anthony of Padua, Passaic),  we moved forward toward Christmas with a luncheon that was planned, prepared and served by our women on December 19.  At the luncheon, we were able to share so many gifts with our women!  The staff of the Paterson Diocesan Center continued its "Giving Tree" tradition by providing us with thousands of dollars of grocery gift cards.  The parishioners of the Church of Christ the King in New Vernon added grocery and other gift cards in addition to diapers, wipes and formula.  The St. Vincent dePaul Society at Nativity of Our Lord Parish, in Monroe Township provided an abundance of toys and children's clothing.  Other benefactors -- both individuals and religious communities --  gave generous Christmas donations. Again, we are grateful!

Sister Ann Marie provides the Advent reflection for the English-speaking
community at St. Anthony Parish, Passaic.

Some of the toys donated by our friends at Nativity of Our Lord Parish.

Christmas shopping at the Center

Sister Margaret watches a young one while his mother enjoys the party.

Some of our faithful volunteers and our women enjoy the food and fellowship.

Finally, we want to wish you a very merry Christmas!  Hopefully, you realize how much we need and appreciate your help in this ministry.  Quite literally, we cannot do it without you!  Thank you and God bless you!

Week of Giving Thanks Continues

How grateful we are to Father Brian Sullivan, pastor, and the parishioners of the Church of Christ the King in New Vernon, NJ, for awarding a "We Care We Share" grant to the Passaic Neighborhood Center for Women!  We have put the funds to immediate use in our English Language Learning program.  We continue to give thanks for so much generosity bestowed on us during our "Week of Giving Thanks."  We are truly grateful for the faithful support we have received from the Church of Christ the King.  Please enjoy these photos of yesterday's presentation:

"We Care We Share" Committee Member, Marianne Morris
and Pastoral Associate Sister Mary Joseph Schultz, SCC,
present the grant to PNCW Director, Sister Ann Marie Paul, SCC.

The Wednesday morning English class shares in the presentation of the grant.

Giving Thanks for Giving Tuesday

We are so very grateful to our Giving Tuesday donors!  In addition to those who donated through iGiveCatholic, donors visited us to deliver checks and other items.  We are extremely grateful for the financial donations, but we are also very grateful for the new relationships we formed and for the faithful relationships we strengthened.  We are grateful, too, for our benefactors who offered the $2,500 match which doubled each dollar we raised! 

We are grateful to everyone in the Development Office of the Diocese of Paterson.  Through their efforts and support, we were introduced to iGiveCatholic and had a very successful first attempt at Giving Tuesday. 

How can we ever thank you enough?  Perhaps by growing the ministry and continuing to serve the people of God in Passaic, one of the poorest neighborhoods in the country.  We'll do our best!  Thank you and God bless you!

49% with 8 hours remaining

We have now achieved 49% of our goal of $7,000!  Our online portal for Giving Tuesday is open until 11:59 CST.  Click here for information about donating to help the women of Passaic.  Thank you!

36%

We have raised 36% of our goal of $7,000 for Giving Tuesday.  Would you consider a gift to the Passaic Neighborhood Center for Women?  Click here for more information.  Thank you!

This is the Day!

Welcome to Giving Tuesday, friends!  The giving page is open and we sure would appreciate your help to provide our women with materials to continue their English learning!  As we told you yesterday, there are three ways to get to a site where you can donate online:

1.  Our website:  ncwpassaic.org.  There is form on the right side of the home page.  Please take three minutes to view our video while you are on this page.
2.  Our blog:  womenscenterpassaic.blogspot.com.  Again, there is a form on the right side.
3.  Our page on iGiveCatholic.org:  Here you can read more about the project we are attempting to fund and complete the donation form.

We are grateful for gifts of any amount.  Don't forget:  Generous benefactors are matching every donation up to $2,500!

Tomorrow!

As you know, tomorrow is Giving Tuesday!  We have made it easy for you to donate online to the Passaic Neighborhood Center for Women.

Here are your options:

1.  Go to our website, ncwpassaic.org and complete the "Giving Tuesday" form on our homepage.
2.  Go to our blog, womenscenterpassaic.blogspot.com and complete the "Giving Tuesday" form there.
3.  Go to our Giving Tuesday page at iGiveCatholic (click here) and complete the form there.

(The forms on all three sites will be active only from midnight to 11:59 PM CST on Tuesday, November 28.)

Thank you and God bless you for your generosity!

Advance Giving Update

As you know, our "Advance Giving Days" -- that is, the days in advance of "Giving Tuesday" -- began last Friday and will run through November 26.  We are pleased to announce that, including the matching funds, we are 28% closer to our goal of $7,000 to enhance our women's English learning possibilities.  Will you consider a gift today?  Visit our website, ncwpassaic.org, for more details.  As always, thank you!  God bless you!  We are grateful to #iGiveCatholic.org for providing the opportunity and Internet infrastructure for this fundraising project!

Advance Giving Begins Today!

Good news! #iGiveCatholic's  "Advance Day Giving" begins today, November 10, and runs through November 26!  What does this mean? You need not wait until November 28 to make your "Giving Tuesday" donation to the Passaic Neighborhood Center for Women; you can do it today!  Just go to our page (click here) on the site and complete the information.  Remember that our generous benefactors will match each dollar up to $2,500.  That bring us so much closer to the new computers for our women.

Thank you for considering a donation to our Center. May we ask another favor?  Would you please share this information with at least one other person?

Just a reminder (so you can tell your friends):  Our video is available here, and here is what we posted in October about our campaign:

This year on Giving Tuesday, we are offering you the opportunity to support the Passaic Neighborhood Center for Women.  In collaboration with the Diocese of Paterson and #iGiveCatholic, we are participating in #Giving Tuesday from midnight until 11:59 pm on Tuesday, November 28.  It's 24 hours of giving for the Catholic community, but you have the opportunity to make your gifts in advance beginning November 10 and running through November 26.  Transactions made on iGiveCatholic.org are secure and your donations of $25 or more are tax deductible.  You can find more information about #iGiveCatholic by visiting  iGiveCatholic.org (clicking on this link takes you directly to the Passaic Neighborhood Center for Women page).  We know that there are so many competing financial priorities at this time of year, and we thank you for considering Passaic Neighborhood Center for Women among them.  Thank you!

NCW Passaic from NCW Passaic on Vimeo.

Exciting News: A Challenge!

As you know, on November 28 we are participating in Giving Tuesday through iGiveCatholic. We are desperately in need of  new computers and accessories to sustain the Rosetta Stone portion of our English learning program.  Just yesterday, we received exciting news about our Giving Tuesday campaign:  Generous donors will match every dollar up to a total of $2,500!  So, if you are able to donate $25, it will equal $50; $50 will equal $100; and . . . well, you get the picture!  Your donation will go so much further with this "challenge match."  Thank you to our benefactors who are providing the match!

Remember that early giving begins on Friday, November 10.  We will be grateful for any amount you can donate.  Because of you, we can continue to serve some of the most vulnerable families in New Jersey.  We thank you in advance.

Share Our Mission

As we prepare for Giving Tuesday (and the "early giving" days of November 10-26 on our #iGiveCatholic page), we invite you to view the following video.  Hopefully, this brief video (only three minutes long) will help you to remember why you support the Passaic Neighborhood Center for Women.  (Email subscribers:  If a video is not embedded below, please click here to view it.)
Thank you and God bless you!

Giving Tuesday, November 28

Dear Friends,
Believe it or not, Thanksgiving is just around the corner -- followed by Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday.  This year on Giving Tuesday, we are offering you the opportunity to support the Passaic Neighborhood Center for Women.  In collaboration with the Diocese of Paterson and #iGiveCatholic, we are participating in #Giving Tuesday from midnight until 11:59 pm on Tuesday, November 28.  It's 24 hours of giving for the Catholic community, but you have the opportunity to make your gifts in advance beginning November 10 and running through November 26.  Transactions made on iGiveCatholic.org are secure and your donations of $25 or more are tax deductible.  You can find more information about #iGiveCatholic by visiting  iGiveCatholic.org (clicking on this link takes you directly to the Passaic Neighborhood Center for Women page).  We know that there are so many competing financial priorities at this time of year, and we thank you for considering Passaic Neighborhood Center for Women among them.  We will send out more information as we get closer to the "early giving" time on November 10.  In the meantime, would you share this information with at least one friend?  Thank you!

A Prayerful Friday

We are grateful to our volunteer, Sister Maria Pia Arca, a novice with the Sisters of Christian Charity for leading our first-ever prayer group on Friday, September 29.  Given the current stressors in the lives of our women, they were so very grateful to be able to spend an hour in prayer together.  This fits in beautifully with our goal of helping our women to grow wholly -- body, mind and spirit.  Another hour of prayer will be offered this Friday.  We will be sure to remember your intentions.

A Beautiful Friday!

On Friday, September 22, the Passaic Neighborhood Center for Women held two workshops for our women and their children.  (Passaic Public Schools were closed to allow their Jewish students to observe Rosh Hashanah.)  Our dear friend, Rosa, led a workshop on making paper flowers known as "Cempazuchitl."  These flowers are particularly important to Mexicans as they honor the souls of their deceased ancestors.  After the paper flower project was completed, the women and their children visited the Center's garden, where our friend, Jose German, Founder of Northeast Earth Coalition, held an educational workshop.  We are so very grateful to Northeast Earth Coalition for sponsoring this workshop and for its constant support of the Passaic Neighborhood Center for Women.

All in all, it was a beautiful day with filled with smiles, mothers, children, friends, flowers, sunshine and gardens. Please watch the slideshow below to share in our joy! (Email subscribers who do not see the video embedded below, please click here to view this post on the blog.)

Profile of a Friend

Each month on their website, the Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth, Convent Station, NJ, offer a profile of one of their members.  This month, the profile is of our former volunteer and dear friend, Sister Mary Culhane, SC.  Click here to get to know Sister Mary better.

Prayers

The recent hurricanes and earthquakes have had devastating effects on countries where our women still have family and friends.  We especially ask for prayers for those affected by yesterday's earthquake in Puebla, Mexico.  You may have heard that more than 200 people were killed.  What you may not know is that about 80% of the Mexican population in Passaic comes from Puebla.  We are adding our prayers for everyone affected, especially the families of our women.

Sharing the Summer with You, Part III

On Thursday, August 10, Sisters of Christian Charity Maria de la Cruz, Maria Ester and Maria Ingrid visited the Passaic Neighborhood Center for Women and the North Hudson Community Action Corporation (NHCAC) clinic.  These Sisters came to the United States from Uruguay, Chile and Bolivia to participate in a project in honor of the 200th birthday of the founder of the Sisters of Christian Charity, Pauline von Mallinckrodt (1817-1881).  Because August 10 was also the birthday of Sister Maria de la Cruz, our women and children joined in singing and refreshments in her honor.  The Sisters were also able to sample some of the local cuisine on Market St.  We are grateful to Sister Marlene, one of the SCC Provincial Councilors from Mendham, NJ, for escorting the Sisters to Passaic.  Enjoy the photos!

The Sisters were greeted by Andrea, one of this summer's faithful volunteers.

"Happy Birthday" was sung in English . . . 

. . . and Spanish

Our women and children greet our visitors.

The Sisters visit an English class.

The Sisters visit Sister Mary Amata at the NHCAC clinic.

Preparing for lunch: Sister Gerardine and Sister Maria de la Cruz, . . . 

. . .  and Sister Marlene, Sister Maria Ester and Sister Maria Ingrid 

The Sisters sample the local cuisine.

Sharing the Summer with You, Part II

As our faithful blog readers know, we have entered into our fourth season of gardening.  We continue to be grateful for our DigIn! Grant from the Passaic County Board of Chosen Freeholders, administered by City Green.

On Friday, August 4, our women attended a workshop on vegetable gardening presented by José German, President of Northeast Earth Coalition.  We are grateful to José, whose constant support of our garden has been so very helpful to us.

Here are a few photos of the workshop and the garden:

Sharing the Summer With You, Part I

What have we been doing all summer?  We're glad you asked!

On Thursday, July 20, Sister Elaine (our Associate Director) and our crocheters delivered their latest community outreach project to the residents of Hamilton Plaza Nursing and Rehabilitation Center -- a facility that is right up the block from the Passaic Neighborhood Center for Women.  Our women crocheted beautiful short capes to wear around the shoulders of those residents in wheelchairs. The staff and residents were grateful for these gifts, as you can tell from the photos. 

Passing It On

What do you do when your daughter needs help with Math, but does not qualify for summer school because she has not failed Math?  If you are a mother at the Passaic Neighborhood Center for Women, you ask for help here and your daughter gets individual tutoring from a seasoned Math/Physics teacher!

Sister Gerardine Tantsits, SCC, former volunteer and current Administrative Assistant at the Center, always responds enthusiastically to such requests, as she has spent most of her life teaching Math and Science (especially Physics).  Here is Sister Gerardine helping this soon-to-be-sixth-grader (as she does twice a week) with fractions and decimals:

What makes this more exciting for us is that this youngster is also getting help from another volunteer, Andrea.  Here is Andrea showing the younger girl how to access additional Math assistance online.  Why is this exciting for us?  Because Sister Gerardine previously tutored Andrea -- now a student at a local community college --  in English and Math!

We are so happy to be able to fulfill our mission by providing this space for women to express their needs and connecting them with resources to fulfill their needs.  We are happier when one of our women who has been helped here can "pass it on" by using what she has learned to help others.  

Because of our supporters, donors and staff, we can continue to respond to the needs of the families of Passaic.  Thank you!

At the Craft Fair

We enjoyed meeting everyone at St. Philip's carnival in Clifton last evening.  If you are in the area, please come over to the gym to see the beautiful crocheted and quilted items handmade by the women of the Passaic Neighborhood Center for Women.  The carnival starts at 6:00 on Friday and 6:30 on Saturday.  Enjoy the photos!

Beautiful quilts ready to greet the guests of the St. Philip's carnival craft fair.

Just a few of the crocheted items available

Beth Crocker (from St. Philip's) welcomes Nancy DiRocco (our faithful volunteer
 and St. Philip's parishioner) and Sister Ann  Marie to the carnival's craft fair.

Women's Crafts on Sale at St. Philip's Carnival

We are grateful to St. Philip the Apostle Parish in Clifton, NJ for allowing us to sell our women's quilting and crocheting at the carnival this week.  If you are in the area, please stop by on Thursday, Friday, and/or Saturday (June 15, 16, 17) between 6:30 and 10 pm.  We'll be at the craft fair in the gymnasium.  Click here for more information about the carnival.

Thanks, again, to The Beacon!

Once again, we are grateful to everyone at The Beacon, the award-winning newspaper of the Diocese of Paterson, NJ, for its coverage of the Passaic Neighborhood Center for Women.  This article by Cecile Pagliarulo in the April 20 edition is a reminder of the debt of gratitude we owe to the Partners in Faith donors.  Without your generosity, our ministry could not exist.  Thank you!

Happy Easter

We hope that your Easter season has been a blessed one thus far.  In the spirit of the season, we are sharing with you an article by Sister Ann Marie from Global Sisters Report, "Turning Toward Jesus with Mary of Magdala."  Click here to access the article.

The Garden's Fourth Season Begins!

We are happy to announce that we have received a grant to begin our fourth season of gardening.  We are so grateful to everyone at City Green and to the Passaic County Board of Chosen Freeholders for continuing the DigIn! program which provides our grants.  We are proud to continue as a member of the DigIn! Community Garden Network.  Here are some photos from last evening's grant presentation ceremony:

Jennifer Papa, City Green Executive Director,
and Jasmine Moreano, City Green Director of Community Engagement,
welcome the grant recipients and guests.

County Freeholder Assad Akhter addresses grant recipients.

County Freeholder Director Sandi Lazzara adresses the grant recipients.

Sister Ann Marie, Director of Passaic Neighborhood Center for Women,
receives the grant check.

 Even the animals joined in the celebration!