|
 I
am delighted to be here with you today to celebrate the 10th
anniversary of the Sisters of St. Joseph Charitable Fund.
I’m getting in on the tail end of the celebration, since I
know you have been celebrating all year long.
There is so much to celebrate.
We are really celebrating you and all the other grantees for
your love that prompted you to reach out to help improve the quality
of life of the residents in the Mid Ohio Valley.
After
96 years of sponsoring acute healthcare at St. Joseph Hospital, our
congregation dreamed of continuing our commitment to St. Joseph
Hospital and of broadening our horizons by focusing on wholistic
health and wellness. Impelled
by a dream of expanding our vision of health, the Sisters of St.
Joseph established the Charitable Fund in 1996 with the 20 plus
million dollar proceeds from the joint venture between St. Joseph
Hospital and HCA. Our
dream was that we would administer these funds to benefit the people
in an 11 county service in the Mid Ohio Valley.
We saw this as a once in a life time opportunity to impact
the health and wellness of the people in this region.
The first grants were offered in 1997 and over the past 10
years the fund has distributed nearly 9.5 million dollars in grants.
Our dream was to offer new and expanded community services
that focused on wellness and prevention of illness.
 We
dreamed of promoting health by providing financial assistance,
strengthening collaborative relationships and supporting local
initiatives.
We
dreamed of listening carefully to people in this local community
with special concern for those who live in poverty and are
underserved.
We
dreamed of supporting a broad vision of health that includes
spiritual, emotional, physical, social and economic well-being.
We
dreamed of providing programs that strengthen families, especially
those that address the root causes of poverty and focus on systemic
change.
We
dreamed of supporting strategies that reflect Christian ethical
principles and that are faithful to Catholic social teaching.
We
knew that we could not realize our dream alone; we couldn’t get
there without each of you and the other grantees.
It took all of us working together to bring the dream of the
SSJ Charitable Fund to birth.
You
generated and continue to generate conversations with friends,
neighbors and organizations to identify unmet needs
You
are awake to the needs of the residents in this area and to the many
ways the environment affects health.
You
collaborate with other groups and seek additional financial support
from other funding sources. (I
am delighted to see representatives from other Foundations with us
today).
You
are creating new models of health that support wellness.
You
are building relationships throughout the Mid Ohio Valley and
growing a sense of community among the people.
You
care deeply about one another and you are giving birth through
powerful action that changes lives and restores hope in the future.
I
imagine that you have discovered many talents, gifts, energy,
passion and commitment that you never knew you had within you.
You
are visionary and have responded to unmet needs with exciting and
innovative programs.
You
have helped improve the health and well-being of people across the
age spectrum – from helping families who are expecting a baby - to
school based nutrition and physical activity.
Your MAP – More Active People - project rippled out from
the schools into the neighborhoods – to families - to senior
citizens.
You
have supported free health clinics, including the only free dental
clinic in West Virginia.
 Our
dreams for the SSJ Charitable Fund are becoming a reality because
you have the creative juices, loving hearts and dedicated commitment
to come together to reach out to others so that their lives can
become more healthy.
On
behalf of all the Sisters of St. Joseph, we thank you.
You have brought not only Light into the lives of others, you
have also brought the precious gift of hope.
By enkindling hope in the hearts of the people in this
valley, you have also brought hope into our larger world.
I
can hardly wait to see all the good that you will accomplish in the
next 10 years!!!
As
together we move forward, I pray that God will rekindle our love,
revitalize our compassion and renew out commitment to work for
health, healing and wholeness for those we serve.
May
you and your families have a very holy and happy Christmas.
Sister
Christine Riley, CSJ |
