Dear Friends,
I recently visited one of our larger Marist Brothers’ retirementfacilities and on my first night there, we decided to share dessert in the community room. That way I could mix and mingle with every Brother.
What an amazing group of people! However, I found it odd that several elderly Brothers were sitting off by themselves – away from the conversation. They didn’t appear sad or ill, yet they were by themselves. What was the problem? Why weren’t they joining the conversation?
I asked the retirement facility’s onsite nurse for her opinion. Shesuspected that these elderly Brothers – five, to be exact – were experiencinghearing loss. In fact, she had already scheduled hearing tests for them.
It turns out that our nurse was right! All five men are struggling with
various degrees of hearing loss. In the community room, when I saw my
elderly Brothers sitting alone, they weren’t being antisocial – they simply found conversation too difficult. That’s a lonely way to live, don’t you think? Fortunately, there’s a healthy solution.
Won’t you please be a Guardian Angel to our elderly Brothers? Your gift – in whatever amount you can afford – will help us purchase hearing aids for each Brother in need.
If you or a loved one is hard of hearing, then you understand why we must take action. At the same time, we’re facing a steep cost for five hearing aids. Each hearing aid costs $2,860, for a total cost of $14,300.
We turn to you, as a valued Marist Brothers’ friend, and ask for your gift. This issomething that deserves our immediate attention, and we hope you’ll find it in your heart to help us cover the cost for five urgently needed hearing aids.
A properly fitted hearing aid will make a world of differencefor our elderly Brothers. Hopefully your gift will arrive soon!
Imagine how wonderful our elderly Brothers will feel once they have a hearing aid and can once again hear what everyone is saying. They’ll be able to reengage with friends and socialize in the community room. They won’t need to constantly ask people to repeat themselves or turn up the TV, which can be frustrating, embarrassing, and often depressing. It hardly seems possible that so much good could come from such a tiny hearing aid – but it’s true.
Here’s something else I believe to be true. I believe you’ll help our elderly Brothers, so I went ahead and tucked a thank you gift in with this letter. The prayer card is a small token of our appreciation for you being a Guardian Angel to our Brothers.
You’ll also see one nickel traveling with this letter. It’s a reminder that we’re working toward something very important – one gift at a time.
Every Marist Brother looks forward to expressing hisgratitude for your kindness. In addition to thanking God foryour gift during our daily prayers, we also want to include your intentions in a special Mass, held on the first Monday
of each month and dedicated to our devoted donors. So,please…take a moment to write your intentions on the enclosed response slip and send it back to me along with
your gift.
In closing, I thank you for your support. As spring unfolds, every Marist Brother wishes you gentle days filled with the season’s most beautiful sights – and of course sounds – right outside
your window.
