The Mercy Ministry expresses our heartfelt gratitude for your generous contributions throughout the year. Your time and financial support have enabled us to continue our charitable work, making a significant difference in our community and beyond.
Each year, we choose three agencies to focus on at the local, national, and international levels. Here's an update of what we've been able to do with your generous support this past year.
Locally, we've had two food drives to support the Durham Community Food Pantry, raising over $11,000 and collecting 3,700 lbs of food.
Nationally, we've supported the Knights of Columbus by donating to Operation Lamb for students with special needs, the Catholic Parish Outreach food pantry, and Coats for Kids, collecting more than $4,000.
St. Matia Mulumba in Uganda has been our international focus for the past few years. Project funding of $44,477 provided health center medical instruments, three water tanks, 50 school desks for two schools, a copy machine, plastering the walls of four mission churches, pastoral care for the sick and homebound, a much-needed security wall around the convent perimeter, tuition for 17 seminarians and school supplies for youth.
In addition, we organized and donated to an Oak City Care supply drive and meal drive, the A Doorway to Hope Christmas gifts project, the Salvation Army White Flag blanket drive, the Catholic Relief Services rice bowl, a Habitat for Humanity build, the Teen Group's Catholic Heart Workcamp Mission, a Blood Connections blood drive, and Birthchoice through the Baby Bottle drive and Christmas cards.
The Mercy Ministry's role is to look at each project and identify the need, who will be served, and how the project reflects both our vision and the teachings of our patron, Mother Teresa. As we plan for this new 2024-25 fiscal year, the Mercy Ministry will continue to support the Durham Community Food Pantry and Oak City Cares as our local organizations, Knights of Columbus as the national, and St. Matia Mulumba in Uganda as our international focus. In addition, we'll support some of the projects we assisted last year as the need arises.
We value your input and would love to hear your ideas on better serving our community. Whether it's a new project or an improvement to an existing one, your suggestions are important to us. Please share your thoughts with us at [email protected].