Weldon shares the following with the Board of Trustees, “Here is a peek at some of the activities Foundations in Faith staff engage in behind the scenes. All three Nursing Home Pastoral Care teams come together quarterly to support each other, problem solve, share best practices, collaborate, and enjoy fellowship. Foundations in Faith staff and Board Advocate, Lorraine Carrano have been hosting these meetings for the past few years. We are now shifting the hosting role to the Pastoral Care teams. Each of the three nursing home Pastoral Care teams received a $9000 grant from Foundations in Faith. The momentum and morale resulting in our grants are palpable!
Among larger foundations, intentional focus is placed on developing and supporting cohorts/learning circles as the cumulative benefits to grantees have significantly more impact. Please enjoy excepts of Carol’s [FIF Grants Manger] meeting recap below.”
Carol writes…. “I’m pleased to bring you the update from the Lourdes Fund meeting this past Tuesday, July 11 at St. John Paul II Center in Danbury.
Pat Baker, Sister Frances, and Fr. Otto hosted and Fr. Paiva, Sister Elizabeth and Fr. Mauriello, Sister Clara, and her Mother Superior attended from St. Joseph Center and St. Camillus, respectively, along with myself and Kelly.
In addition, Arlene Perricone and Margaret Buonaiuto from accounting joined via Zoom.
Fr. Otto started the meeting with a lovely prayer.
First order of business was to address questions all three teams seemed to share regarding submitting receipts for certain expenses. Arlene was able to clear those up, and in so far as the expenses related to their pastoral care budget under the Foundations in Faith grant, they were to be submitted directly to accounting for payment. It was also addressed the matter of approvals relating to expenses in connection with the Foundation’s grant. I took the opportunity to advise the teams to note their budgets exceeded the $9,000 grant each of them received so they should make adjustments before incurring expenses.
Next, the teams discussed their individual progress with their respective programs. They mostly expressed along the same lines that getting residents ready and in place for Mass and other gatherings tends to be their greatest challenge. But in spite of this, they have been regularly tracking attendance and have seen a steady number of attendees even increase in some.
I’m happy to spark the conversation about the next meeting with the teams after Labor Day— I’ll be happy to facilitate a decision as to when and where to meet next.
Fr. Otto closed in prayer.
If I may add a personal note, the greatest fruit borne in this meeting was the collegial atmosphere I saw forming. It was really encouraging to see their camaraderie and support of one other. Truly special.
We all enjoyed some fresh fruit and a delicious lemon cake baked by Pat herself.
Carol Incarnacao-Schirm
Grants Manager
