Welcome Deacon Greg Palmer, from the Diocese of Rapid City, South Dakota

My Dear Parishioners,

This week we welcome Deacon Greg Palmer, from the Diocese of Rapid City, South Dakota to speak to us about our Mission this year.  Please note that while he is speaking to us this week, the special collection for this Mission will be taken up next week.  We were asked to collect in this manner so as to provide ample time to prayerfully and thoughtfully prepare your contribution.  He is here to speak to us about the program “Uplifting Parents (Program UP!).”

The Uplifting Parents program was created to empower single parent families by providing resources to support their advancement in education.  The goal is to assist lower-income single parents to acquire the education needed to become financially sustainable, and thus provide stability and opportunity for their children.  The Catholic Social Services works with over thirty coalition partner agencies in the community to identify possible single parent families and to further develop the program.

Some of the program components include:

  • Scholarship Funds and minimal stipends for ongoing living expenses,
  • Ongoing Program Evaluations,
  • Mentoring and Support Services,
  • Parenting Classes,
  • Financial Counseling and Classes, and
  • Group Activity and emotional and spiritual Support.

The mission statement of Program Up! is “To uplift single parents to achieve success in providing stability and greater opportunity for their family.”   The vision statement is “To empower single parents to achieve greater financial and social-emotional stability for their families by assisting parents in advancing their education and careers by providing mentoring services, community resources, and scholarships.”

Program UP! participants are matched with an Uplifting Parents mentor from Catholic Social Services.  The primary task of the mentor is to help anticipate and intercept potential crises that could derail the participant’s success.  Mentoring is the heart of the program and helps provide the wraparound services that will assist the participant in achieving success and completing their degree.

Thank you for your attentive listening and generous support for this important mission.

God Bless You,
Fr. Bordonaro

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