Our Lady of the Angels

Here is my note to all who donated clothing and helped with the rummage sale March 23, 2009

Dear Parishioners of St. Therese and Our Lady of Angels Mission,

On behalf of all of us who worked on the rummage sale this past weekend we just would like to say Thank You!

The clothing drive yielded over 80+ bags of clothing. We where truly overwhelmed by the generosity of these gifts! The best of what we received was put on display at the Sonoita County Fair Ground for sale. It was nice to have such great support from both St. Therese & Our Lady Of Angels! I was able to meet many of you for the first time. Your support shows how well our community can work together.

The attendance at The Sonoita Fair grounds, was weak this year, due to a misprint in the local paper; and no sign on the marquis outside. Despite these factors we still managed to raise around $100.00 dollars for both St. Therese & Our Lady Of Angels. We hope to improve this in the future with better advertising.

The positive factor in the sale, is that as a community, we managed to raise some money for us, as well as supply two very worthy Catholic charities with much needed clothing donations.

The First Charity to receive clothing was The Kino Border Initiative. Fr. Don Bahlinger was at our Parish Council meeting on the 19th of March. Fr. Don expressed how great the need was for clothing, shoes & donations to help migrant men, women & children on their journey home. These migrants often have walked so many miles, that their shoes have often disintegrated.

The second Charity was The Pio Decimo Center. This Catholic organization came to my attention by way of the Sisters' at St. Rita's Abby in Sonoita. This organization works on many different levels to supply families in need. Pio Decimo's mission is to help families with everything from a place to stay, clothing, food, to job skills & financial counseling. They help families become self-sufficient. This unique Charity truly works to better families in Tucson.

This clothing drive started out to be a way to raise money for our community. What it has become, is so much more important, a way for our community to help others in need directly. As a community in Christ, we must never forget those around us who are in need. Because of this we will gladly accept clothing donations throughout the year. Our target date for larger donations will still be January – early March for the rummage.

Again, Thank you all for the great donations!

Sincerely,
Secretary, Jennifer Rinaldi