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Money multiplies in Pay It Forward projects |
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By Pat Norby
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Tuesday, 30 March 2010 |
For the third consecutive year, Pay It Forward for Lent participants are multiplying their money by tenfold and more.
Rosa Gómez stirs a sample pot of bean soup in her family’s kitchen as Liliana, left, Theresa and Catarina observe. The family is making and selling a bean soup mix as its Pay It Forward for Lent project. A photo of Oscar Gómez is inserted. Photo by Dave Hrbacek / The Catholic Spirit
On March 22, with two weeks left to complete their projects, this year’s three participants had already turned $300 into $5,250. In 2008, six projects raised $15,000, and in 2009, four projects pulled in $7,000.
The idea of the Pay It Forward for Lent project is based on the 2000
movie “Pay it Forward” and the Gospel parable of the servants who were
given 10 talents to go out and multiply.
The Catholic Spirit awarded $100 to each of the three participants and
encouraged them to multiply it through Lent to help others.
The following are the participants and their projects:
» About 200 students at Our Lady of the Lake in Mound made 500 Haiti
House pins and magnets that are being sold for $5 each to raise money
for Catholic Relief Services to help the people in Haiti.
Art teacher Dawn Hebig, who organized the project, said they had raised
$2,200 by March 22 and expected to reach their goal of $2,500 by Good
Friday. They also plan to send an additional $1,000 they previously had
raised by making and selling 200 houses immediately after the earthquake
hit the island nation.
» The Strong Fish Club, a youth group for junior high girls led by Ling
Becker, has taken in $1,250.
The girls purchased boxes of bandages with their $100. They decorated
the bandages and boxes and gave them to family and friends to fill with
loose change throughout Lent. Friends of the Orphans, which has
orphanages across Central America, will receive the money at the end of
the project.
» St. John the Baptist School and parish in Savage helped the Gómez
family in Burnsville raise $1,800, which will go to Sociedad Amigos de
los Ninos, an organization that provides homes for children in
Honduras that is run by Franciscan Sister Maria Rosa Leggol.
Sister Maria Rosa helped raise Oscar Gómez, father of the Pay It Forward
participants: Liliana, 14; Catarina, 10; and Rosa, 8, said Theresa
Gómez, the girls’ mother.
The girls oversaw the packing and sale of Theresa’s bean soup recipe and
a Lenten soup supper at St. John’s.
Kindergartner Brendan Arey of Our Lady of the Lake School in Mound works on a Haiti house as his art teacher, Dawn Hebig, watches. Students at the school are making and selling the houses, which are made into both pins and magnets, as their Pay It Forward project. Photo by Dave Hrbacek / The Catholic Spirit
A souper project
Theresa Gómez said, “We’ve been on a great ride with this project.” She
said that it helped her daughters learn to trust God and other people.
They had to organize people to package more than 100 jars of soup mix
and serve a soup supper to 100 people. They also had to prepare a slide
show about the project and speak at the supper.
Liliana said, “I have learned that the Holy Spirit works in many ways.
For example, I feel that we couldn’t do what we did if it wasn’t for the
help of the many members from our parish. . . . I also think that my
faith in God has increased.”
When they began the project, the girls worried about having to do it all
on their own.
“So we prayed about it, and God answered our prayers by not giving us
what we thought we needed but [giving] us the help of our friends and
fellow parishioners.
With their help, we managed to pull it all together,” Liliana said.
Catarina said the project prompted the Gómez family to spend more time
praying and working together. She said she learned that God will help,
even when you have to talk to a large group.
“I learned a lot about Sister Maria Rosa and her work, and I learned a
lot about bean soup,” Catarina said.
Pins make a difference
Hebig said Our Lady of the Lake students learned through the project
that they can make a difference in the lives of others. The houses they
made, which many people in the community are displaying, also remind
them to pray for the people in Haiti.
“It helps them be more mindful of people who are in need,” Hebig said.
“It’s amazing to see how much enthusiasm the kids have kept,” she said.
“It feels good to be part of a bigger solution [through the Haiti Houses
organization].”
Ellen Feuling, Our Lady of the Lake principal, added that the unique
designs of the houses also showcased the students’ talents.
“They found out they could make a quality product out of virtually
nothing,” she said. “I think the kids felt good about what they made.”
Last push during Lent
Becker said the Pay It Forward project has helped to remind her why she
manages 40 girls in a youth group.
“It’s a nice reminder that God gives us all these great opportunities,
and he uses us to show us his hand is on everything we do,” she said.
Becker has seen an increase in camaraderie and creativity among the
girls, as they handed out boxes door-to-door, set up a box in a health
clinic office and got a Cub Scout pack to match donations raised by the
Scouts. She also has seen the continued efforts of the girls during
these long weeks of Lent.
“Lent is a time when you make goals and resolutions, the same as in
life,” Becker said. “The excitement period is really fun and then you
get to the work and now it’s a time to re-energize yourself. I think
that’s probably where a lot of Catholics are at with their Lenten
resolve.”
This project has been a good experience for the girls to think beyond
their own needs and be “missionary focused,” she said.
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