We are so grateful to our volunteers!

During the month of October, our volunteers served 100 hours!  We are so very grateful to them:  Sr. Ursula Carr, SC; Sr. Mary Culhane, SC; Nancy DiRocco; Sr. Catherine Drury, SC; and Sr. Pat Reynolds, SC.

We are asking our friends to volunteer and to encourage others to volunteer (especially on Tuesday mornings, but other times are available, too).  Working with children, answering the door and phone, or a particular skill that you might want to share with our women . . . many possibilities exist.

Contact Sr. Elaine at (973) 470-0844 or srelaine@patersondiocese.org for more information.

Tuesday Update

On Tuesday, November 5, we were pleased to receive a visit from Sister Ann Cecilia, one of the Little Sisters of Jesus who lives in Paterson.  Sister Cecilia was able to visit our quilting class and our English class on Tuesday morning.  We are so grateful to Sister Cecilia for taking the time to visit and we are so proud of the progress being made by our women in both quilting and English classes.  Here are some photos from Tuesday:

Sr. Cecilia talks with Sr. Pat about the quilting project.
 

Busy quilters!

Great progress!

Graciela demonstrates her new quilting skills for Sr. Cecilia.

 

Sr. Cecilia visits with Sr. Mary and two of her English students.

Progress in Quilting

Here are two photos showing the accomplishments of our women during their second week of quilting class with Sister Pat Reynolds:

Speaking of Hope

Thanks to our ministry partners, the Dominican Sisters of Hope, who included an article about the Passaic Neighborhood Center for Women in their Fall 2013 newsletter, Speaking of Hope. Click here to read the article.

Thank you, Partners!

The October 24 issue of The Beacon contains an article about how the strong support of the Partners in Faith campaign has allowed the Center to open and thrive in its first month of operation. Please click here to read the article, written by Cecile SanAugustin.   We are most grateful to those who have contributed to Partners in Faith and to all of our partners -- the religious communities of the Paterson Diocese, the various diocesan offices and individuals who have given invaluable support, the pastors of the Passaic Deanery, our Passaic neighbors, the staff of St. Mary's Hospital, Passaic and the staff of so many organizations who have encouraged our efforts.  The German theologian Meister Eckhart (1260-1327) has said, "If the only prayer you ever say is 'Thank you,' that is sufficient."  Please allow our prayer of gratitude -- the best prayer we can offer to and for our benefactors and friends -- to suffice.

First Quilting Class

We are grateful to Sister Pat Reynolds, SC for teaching our quilting class, which began yesterday, October 22.  Click here to view some photos from the class.  Because Sister Pat was kind enough to share sewing machines and materials with us, our women were able to have a quilting class.  In the future, we will be asking for contributions toward purchasing our own sewing machines and materials.  We are purchasing the machines because it is important that every woman is working from the same machine and that we know the machines are in excellent condition.  (Kind of like teaching a class using the same textbook for each student...)  Thank you for any contributions you can make toward this goal.

When you view the photos, you might notice that there are lists of words on the wall.  These are the words used by the women in the English classes.  As you can see from the multiple lists, the women have learned an abundance of English in just a few weeks!

Thank you, Volunteers!

During the month of September, volunteers at the Passaic Neighborhood Center for Women gave 54 hours of service.  (Considering we only opened the doors on September 24, this is wonderful!) We are so grateful to these volunteers -- Sister Ursula Carr, SC, Sister Mary Culhane, SC, Nancy DiRocco, and Sister Catherine Drury.  Do you know anyone who would like to volunteer at the Center?  How about college students who have a community service requirement?  Retired women or men looking to volunteer a few hours each week?  Sisters in your religious community? Associates of your religious community?  Please have them call us at (973) 470-0844.  The expansion of our programs depends on increasing our staff of volunteers.  We are most grateful for any volunteers you refer to us.