USED BALLPOINT PEN - SCHOOL SUPPLIES DRIVE - A HUGE SUCCESS

       

USED AND NEW PENS

We didn't get quite this many, but I would say we did get close to two thousand so far. (That's about 2 pens for each student and teacher.) The island school kids and teachers will certainly welcome these pens and put them to good use! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! 

Since the need is continuous, I will keep collecting pens and sending them down in future shipments of donated supplies. 

SCHOOL SUPPLIES

So far, I have 25 boxes of new and used pens and new school supplies. 
Thanks to all who got involved even as far away as Elizabethtown and Brandenburg Kentucky, Indiana, Florida and North Carolina. Some were anonymous. 

A very special thanks to Michelle Owings and Deacon Chris McDonnell, Cathedral parishioners, who gathered the lion's share with me. 

Letter from Sister Carmen

Hello Father Ron, 

It was indeed  a pleasant surprise for us  when you visited  St. Mary's R.C. School on your last visit to St. Vincent, especially the Grade 2 class. The children were really happy to meet you.

The people of St. Benedict's Parish were also glad that you were able to celebrate Holy Mass with them.  Thanks so very much for your kindness and generosity.

The Principal, teachers and students of St. Mary's R.C. School are grateful too for your assistance. We appreciate your kind support. Thank you.

May God continue to bestow His Choicest Blessings upon you.
Sr. Carmen

Sister Carmen will be in charge of distribution to assure that the distribution is fair and that nothing is wasted or hoarded. This shipment of pens and school supplies will be distributed among the 663 students and 35 teachers of Saint Mary's Grade School and several kids at Saint Benedict and Bread of Life Homes for Children. 

                      

           

Dressed for Church in their Sunday best.

The boxes are taped and almost ready to ship. I was waiting for a few more to come in. I hope to ship them on August 10 so they will get them before school starts on September 3.  Of course, there is no such thing as "too late" since the needs are year round. 



Thanks to Tim Tomes of SUPPLIES OVER SEAS who oversaw the final boxing and taping for shipment. Thanks, too, to the two young women volunteers at SUPPLIES OVERSEAS who helped with the heavy lifting. 
Tim used his truck to get all the boxes to S.O.S. for the final prep for shipping and from S.O.S. to  FORWARD AIR on Outer Loop. From there they will go to AMERIJET in Miami to be flown on to Saint Vincent on their weekly Tuesday morning flight. They should land in Saint Vincent on August 14. I never realized that crayons and notebooks weighed so much! 
The boxes in this shipment weighed a total of 528 pounds. 

THANKS EVERYONE WHO MADE THIS POSSIBLE!


Next semester we will focus on the boys and girls high schools.