When disaster strikes, at home or abroad, our Catholic community extends support to those in the throes of crisis. Donations continue to flow in for our various humanitarian relief efforts. Check out our update on our ongoing appeals (read more...). To make a donation, please click here.
A great reference for anyone who wants to understand what we do to raise funds for our agencies. A report of all that we do and how we effectively raise funds for the greater community (read more...)
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Shared Insights ... by
Arthur Peters, Executive Director
Reaching Out to Help Those in Need ...
(October 09, 2009) Most people associate ShareLife with the Catholic Church’s fundraising efforts for our Catholic agencies. While this is our primary responsibility, there’s more to our work here at the Archdiocese of Toronto, such as responding to an emergency that affects our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world.
When a natural disaster strikes, the ShareLife office works with our relief partners to respond to the situation at hand. Be assured that, for the most part, we work through Caritas Internationalis, the official relief agency of the Vatican; meaning our contributions, while serving all affected by the situation, are handled in a manner consistent with our Catholic values.
It is inspirational to know that, in an emergency, the Catholic community responds to those in need. After hearing of the devastation caused by the recent typhoon in the Philippines and the earthquake in Indonesia, our office received calls and visits from people wanting to help. Regarding the Philippines, an ad-hoc group of several organizations has joined forces to work toward collecting funds and hard goods to provide much-needed support to friends, relatives and their fellow man. As well, a local school board is planning to hold loose change collections for both of these relief efforts. Parishes are inviting parishioners to make a contribution to ShareLife’s relief appeal. In many ways, we’re coming together to make a difference in the lives of people who most of us will never meet – to fulfill Gospel values – ‘whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, you do unto me.’
To make a contribution to either of these relief efforts, click here.
I’d also like to spend a moment talking about accountability. At ShareLife, we treat our supporters’ contributions as a sacred trust, ensuring they are used in a responsible manner, and that the maximum amount possible is forwarded to the work of our agencies. Our donors have the right to know where their contributions go, and the amount dedicated to the overall operation of the campaign.
To that end, our 2009 Report to Donors is now available. This brochure highlights the various areas of our allocations, the different campaigns we conduct, and provides some examples of how your contributions are making a difference. Download and review this document, which has also been distributed to parishes across the Archdiocese. You may also request a hard copy by sending an e-mail to slife@archtoronto.org. Our goal is to provide greater insight into the overall ShareLife effort and to demonstrate our commitment to managing contributions responsibly.
Together, we are sharing life….together, we are working wonders!
Arthur Peters
Executive Director
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