Blog Posts from September, 2017

Thank You Volunteer Groups

Volunteers from various companies continue to share their time to support our mission.

Thank you to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, DTE Energy, Flex n Gate and the many more supporters!

Fr. Solanus Casey and the Capuchin Soup Kitchen

With the announcement of the Beatification of our Capuchin friar Solanus Casey on November 18 at Ford Field, I’ve had a lot of people ask what this means for the Capuchin Soup Kitchen. When I see the old black and white photos of the long lines of people that waited to see Fr. Solanus what I’m reminded of is how much people suffer in our world. The Beatification is, in many ways, a very public acknowledgment of the amount of suffering that people face and a challenge to all of us to try to respond in some faith-filled way to what we ourselves and/or what others are going through. It might be checking in on a neighbor in need; carefully listening (like Fr. Solanus) to what someone is going through; or maybe questioning tendencies in policies in education, transportation, housing, and health care that might perpetuate some types suffering. And we ask for God’s help to find this healing.

School Supply Event a Great Success

Thanks to the overwhelming generosity of many people, churches, Dominican Sisters, staff and various organizations, a monumental amount of school supplies were donated to the Rosa Parks Program during August 2017

All together we were able to distribute 339 backpacks filled with school supplies. Finally, Friday afternoon, Sept. 1, we had to start packing supplies in plastic bags as we ran out of backpacks.

One of the best components of the school supply distribution was that before any supplies were given, a conversation was held with each child and their parent regarding how they were going to make education a priority this coming year. The discussions ensued with honest and worthwhile thoughts about more time on homework and reading—and less time on TV and social media.