The Ladies of Charity are at it again. As everyone remembers, last year, the Ladies of Charity hosted an Advent bicycle drive to benefit the children of Immokalee and due to your incredible generosity, they collected 239 bikes which were distributed in conjunction with the Christmas holiday. This year, in addition to assisting deserving children in Immokalee, the Ladies of Charity are working in our own backyard – literally. This year’s goal is to collect 500 pairs of shoes to be distributed to every student in Naples Park Elementary School as well as many more in Immokalee. I have been very vocal in year’s past about assisting those in our general vicinity. Although the need in Immokalee is great, the need right next door is at times just as great. There has always been a misconception right here at St. John the Evangelist that we are a wealthy parish simply because we have a Naples address and are located near the beach. This could not be farther from the truth. We do have our share of wealthy parishioners, however, we also have a very large contingent who are blue collar workers and many more who struggle to meet their obligations daily. We have always accomplished our amazing works of benevolence as a parish through the gifts of many, not by individual donors. Many may think the same about the students attending Naples Park Elementary! In reality, this is also not the case. As a matter of fact, over 60% of the students at Naples Park Elementary participate in the free/reduced lunch program.
This sneaker drive is an amazing opportunity to benefit the children who attend school right next door, many of whom also attend Mass at St. John the Evangelist and may sit in your pew. Obviously, a pair of shoes is much less expensive than a bicycle (unless you are buying the latest version of Lebron James high tops.) You will see the Christmas trees in the narthex beginning this weekend with ornaments indicating the type of shoes requested. You also have the option of making a monetary donation if you are not in the market for shoe shopping. Believe it or not, we already have had sneaker donations arriving even though the program has not yet begun. Thank you so much in advance for your generosity in support of the Ladies of Charity and this awesome sneaker drive. Please see page 4 of this bulletin for more details.
As the height of season approaches, the volume of phone calls and emails I receive increases exponentially. At times, it is difficult to keep up with the intense volume (as many of you can attest by my tardiness in returning your phone calls expeditiously.) The majority of these emails and phone calls received are related to a “want” or “need” by a parishioner. Occasionally, I will receive a voice mail as I did last week which requires no action other than to sit back and smile knowing that through our hard work, we have made a parishioner happy, which is our ultimate goal. This particular parishioner had just returned from a six-month hiatus up north and was glad to be back at St. John the Evangelist. He commented that the bulletin was a work of art and that the new paper allowed the pictures to really “pop” off of the page. He commented further that our bulletin was the best he had ever seen. He kindly finished by saying there was no need to return the call, he simply wanted us to know that we were doing a great job and that it was sincerely appreciated. Thanks to you “anonymous parishioner” for your kind comments and validation of the work we do for you.
Do you have a golf cart in good shape that you would like to donate to St. John the Evangelist? Our 15 acre campus is becoming tough to maintain by foot. The Buildings and Grounds committee has asked me to see if anyone would be willing to donate a golf cart to be used to transport items (landscaping, etc.) from one end of campus to the other. Please contact me if you have a golf cart and are willing to donate. Your donation will be a tax deductible gift. Thank you for your consideration.
I am getting excited as we approach the homestretch with regards to the 2013 Catholic Faith Appeal. I hope my excitement and optimism is not unfounded. We currently are just shy of 94% of goal with less than two months remaining. We have less than $29,000.00 ($28,431.99 to be exact) to satisfy our goal for 2013. Remember that the CFA is the single most important component of our annual operating budget. As a reminder to our seasonal residents and visitors, please make your check payable to the Catholic Faith Appeal with St. John the Evangelist in the memo line. You may also make electronic contributions by visiting the Diocese of Venice website at www.dioceseofvenice.org. In addition, you may also make contributions of stock by contacting Deborah Shafer in the Diocese of Venice development office at 941.484.9543. Thank you for your continued support of the Catholic Faith Appeal.
In His work together,
Scott Schlossberg, MBA
General Manager