First Meeting of the Gardeners

Tomatoes, cilantro, peppers, carrots, . . . These are the April visions of our new group of gardeners.  Our new gardening coordinator, Sister Mary Irene Sorber, SCC and her helpers, Luz Flores, Ann Ryan and Sister Anne Moroney, met with six prospective gardeners today.  They decided what and where to plant on May 5 when they gather again.  We are grateful to Sister Mary Irene for leading this project.  Here are some photos of the day:

The gardeners meet to discuss their plans.

The group watches "The Art of Urban Farming" on the City Green website.

It is difficult to imagine that this land will be filled with vegetables in a few months!

The gardeners pose for a photo at the site of their future garden.

Our youngest gardener wonders if we have gloves small enough to fit his hands.

Bring a friend

At this moment, this blog has 50 email subscribers.  We are now hoping to double that number -- with your help!  Today we are requesting that you please ask at least one person to consider subscribing to the blog.  It's very simple to do.  Forward this email to at least one other person and ask them to follow these directions: 
1.  Go to http://womenscenterpassaic.blogspot.com;
2.  Enter your email address in the "Follow by Email" box on the right hand side;
3.  Most importantly, you will receive an email from "Feedburner Email Subscriptions" asking you to verify your subscription.  You must click the link in the email to activate your subscription and receive updates from the blog in your inbox.

Thank you, current subscribers, for helping us to spread the word about Passaic Neighborhood Center for Women.  We will update you about the progress of our subscription campaign. 

How was YOUR week?

Our week has been very busy!  On Saturday, Sister Ann Marie went to City Green to accept the Dig In! Grant from the Passaic County Community Garden and Neighborhood Farming Program. 

On Tuesday, our quilters completed their project that is meant to pray for and promote world peace.

On Thursday, Chloe (one of our Montclair State University student volunteers) continued her computer tutoring.

In between, we had English classes and Ladies' Night (with 15 women).

Thanks for your continued prayers and support!

By the way, we're still seeking someone to coordinate our garden project . . .

Gardening Coordinator Needed

As we shared with you previously, the Passaic Neighborhood Center for Women has been awarded a DigIn! Grant from Passaic County Community Garden and Neighborhood Farming Program.  This means we will be able to plant a small garden in the back yard where our women will be able to grow vegetables and reap the rewards by feeding their families with fresh vegetables that are traditional to their cultures.

However, we cannot move forward with this project until we have someone to coordinate the gardening.  We are asking for a volunteer gardening coordinator who can begin in April to gather the women who will do the gardening, order supplies and supervise the planting and maintenance of the garden.  This will be done with the assistance of the staff of City Green (the organization that implements the grant).  We hope that someone who has a love for gardening will step forward to make this dream a reality for us this spring and summer.

Please direct anyone who is interested in being the gardening coordinator to contact Sister Ann Marie at (973) 470-0844 or at sam@patersondiocese.org.  We are hoping to have our first meeting with the women who will do the gardening during the first or second week of April, so we would like to identify a coordinator very soon.

Please note:  We are actively and energetically seeking someone to coordinate this project.  While we welcome your advice and offers of materials, we cannot respond to these until we have a coordinator.

Happy Six Months!

"If the only prayer you ever say in your life is 'Thank you,' that will be sufficient" (Meister Eckhart (1260-1327), German theologian and mystic).

Today marks six months since we opened the doors of the Passaic Neighborhood Center for Women.  What a wonderful six months it has been!  We are grateful for:

• Over 400 visits from women
• Close to 500 volunteer hours served
• Our intrepid staff that continued to work through the harsh winter months
• So many collaborators
• Prayers, donations and grants
• The hope of springtime.

During the next few weeks, we will fill you in on each of these, as there is so much more to say. For now, we offer a simple "Thank you" and know that it will be sufficient. 

Thank you, Partners in Faith!

As reported in the Beacon this week, the people of the Paterson Diocese have pledged more than $61 million to Partners in Faith, the diocese's capital and endowment campaign.  As one of the "case statements" for the campaign, The Passaic Neighborhood Center for Women is very grateful to all the donors.  Because of you we were able to open our doors in September.  Because of you we are able to provide hope in the city of Passaic.  Because of you we will be able to continue to offer a safe and welcoming place that empowers women and strengthens families.  Thank you, Partners in Faith!  (Click here to read the article in the Beacon.)

Tuesday Update

On Tuesday March 4, our quilters made progress with their latest wall hanging and we celebrated a birthday.  The photos below allow you to join in the celebration with us.

Sister Pat and Sister Mary pose with the quilters.



Sister Pat and Tiffany (one of our Montclair State University students)
help Luz celebrate her birthday.