Dear Friend of the Marist Brothers,
I have an old fashioned clock on my desk. It ticks. Sometimes the ticking of the clock is comforting, but not tonight.
You see, it is very late and my ticking clock reminds me that I am no closer to finishing the yearly budget than I was an hour ago. My numbers just don’t add up!
I believe in budgets no matter how old fashioned it sounds these days. We have expenses we must account for and they grow larger every year. I am responsible for seeing to the needs of our elderly and disabled Brothers and I take this task very seriously. But there are some things out of my control.
For the past several years, I have experienced a significant shortfall in the necessary funds. And while I do my best to keep costs down, I find myself needing $73,412 to balance our 2016 budget.
I am asking for your help today, because I believe you understand my situation, as it may very well be your own.
Are you paying more for health care and medicine? So are we. Is your cost for food shocking? So is ours. How about housing, heating, electricity and home repair? Our costs are through the roof. Are you paying for nursing care for yourself or a loved one? Well, we support 70 Brothers who need some level of skilled care, and I cannot and will not have them suffer because of lack of funds.
Our Brothers will never ask anything for themselves. They have lived lives of sacrifice, mostly without pay, serving in missions, building schools and teaching in some of the most impoverished
neighborhoods.
They do not want to be a burden to their Marist family. But they deserve to live in dignity, safety and comfort just as you do.
My numbers won’t add up until I find $73,412 in additional revenue.
You can help me by sending a gift today. Take the two nickels enclosed and multiply them into a substantial and generous gift to support our Brothers. Truly, I have nowhere else to turn but to friends like you who have supported us in the past.
Because of the state of our economy, we have seen fewer responses and therefore fewer dollars to support these necessary expenses. Please believe me, I have cut programs to the bone and I still cannot get the numbers to add up.
Look into your heart and into your finances and see where you might be able to help us in this dire need. I know the Brothers will be grateful for your kindness. And perhaps with your help, I can whittle away at the $73,412 shortfall and sleep better at night.
May God bless you and yours in the coming year.
With sincere gratitude,
Br. Hugh P. Turley, F.M.S.
Director of Development
