Fundraising

This past month, Vancouver had its first university THINKfast at St. Patrick’s Parish. The event was organized in collaboration with Catholic Christian Outreach (CCO), a pan-Canadian university student movement dedicated...

On May 9th, I entered into the beautifully decorated church hall of All Saints Parish in Coquitlam, B.C., where a sold out benefit dinner gathering over 200 Iraqi-Canadians and Catholics from across Vancouver was about to take place.  Since the fall, a dedicated group of local Iraqis along with the Knights of Columbus worked diligently to organize this event aimed at bringing awareness about the crisis in Iraq that has displaced 2.5 million Christians, Yazidis, and other minorities this past year, and raising funds for aid. 

The first time I heard about Sierra Leone, I was 14 or 15. I read an article about child soldiers who were fighting in the civil war. From the pictures I saw - children with guns, drugged and dismembered - it certainly did not appear “civil.” My heart broke. I couldn’t stay silent about this injustice so I wrote a paper for a high school project. At the time, the civil war in Sierra Leone was not on many people’s radar and the international community only started to talk about blood diamonds years later.

Last Friday, March 13th, staff and National Council members had the privilege of experiencing the first edition of a fundraising activity initiated by the Fundraising/Communications Working Group of the Share Lent Campaign organizing committee: a silent auction!

A life-changing decision at a retreat… once again! It was at a retreat many years ago that Dr. Joachim Ostermann first felt the call from God. He subsequently left his career in the world of biotechnology and last year joined the Franciscans.

With the end of a long winter comes the conclusion of another Share Lent campaign. This 46-year long tradition brings together Development and Peace members, partners and staff who gather in cities and towns across Canada to share the experience of international solidarity together.

This Good Friday, Canadians across the country will be fasting in support of all those in the Global South faced with poverty and hunger. Together, we are fasting for world peace, for human dignity, for justice and for food for all, and by raising funds for Development and Peace, you are contributing in a concrete way towards solutions that allow all to benefit from God’s gifts to mankind.

Nearly 200 philatelists gathered in Montreal and Quebec City on Saturday March 29 to participate in the stamp sale organized since 1992 by Development and Peace. A total of $2,727.70 was raised in Montreal on that day, bringing to $27,323.90 the amount collected since the beginning of the year.

Stamp collecting, also known as philately, is a hobby that can also express international solidarity. So once again this year, Development and Peace is organizing a used-stamp fundraising sale to finance projects in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

Ash Wednesday marked the beginning of our Share Lent campaign, and many activities have already taken place just in this first week! We held the national launch of the campaign in the Diocese of Hamilton with special guests Most Rev. Douglas Crosby and Fr. Hagos Hayish, the Secretary General of Caritas Ethiopia. Both did touching presentations on the impact of Development and Peace’s work to be in solidarity with the most poor and vulnerable in the Global South and how this is changing lives.