Dear Friends,
Several weeks ago I mailed you a letter about our looming 2018 budget dilemma. I explained that our funds fall far short of what’s needed to properly support our elderly and disabled Marist Brothers. However, with your help, I wrote, we can welcome in the new year with a balanced budget.
Many in our extended Marist Family responded to my first letter with a generous donation, and we are so very grateful. Sadly, though, I did not receive the response I prayed for. I’m still $29,842 short of what we need.
With more senior Brothers than ever living in our retirement facilities, needs are increasing and our budget just can’t keep up! Our elderly and disabled Brothers are such a wonderful blessing to us. At the same time, our growing community makes your financial support crucial in order to continue meeting their essential medical needs and to give each man a dignified, safe, and modestly comfortable quality of life
We cannot climb out of this budget hole without your help!
Perhaps in the season’s flurry of activities, my first letter fell behind a stack of holiday catalogs and Christmas cards. Things like that can happen. So, I decided to write again and ask for your support. Every Marist Brother will be so grateful if you could tuck a gift inside the enclosed envelope. If you have already mailed a gift, we will be extremely grateful for any additional support you can send.
So, as I write this second letter, I am praying twice as hard that we will be able to raise what’s needed to balance the budget. It’s officially 2018 and we still have a $29,842 budget shortfall. I can’t say it often enough…your financial support is crucial.
You can help make this a truly happy new year for our elderly Brothers. Please…send your gift as soon as possible!
Today we care for nearly 80 Brothers who need some level of skilled care, and our largest retirement facility is at maximum capacity. That means more doctors’ appointments and medications, larger weekly food bills, higher utility costs…and the list goes on.
To cover these costs, I squeezed and crunched every last nickel. I tightened the budget to the max. Won’t you please help us balance our budget?
I only ask that you send what you can afford. And if you feel that a $25 or $50 gift won’t make a difference, I assure you…it will! Consider the two nickels tucked in with my letter. The coins aren’t worth much on their own, but they have the potential to become thousands of dollars once added to many more nickels. In the same way, your gift, when added to many more gifts from many more Marist Brothers’ friends, will add up to the total we need.
I have faith that together we can meet the goal. I believe that the Lord brought you to us for a reason, and you will answer my prayers with a generous donation.
Just as you are here for our Brothers, we’re here for you, too! So, please remember to write your prayer intentions on the enclosed response slip and send the slip back to me with your donation. Every Marist Brother wants to include your intentions in his daily prayers and as always, thank God for your continued support.
We look forward to hearing from you! Until then, my Brothers and I wish you a blessed 2018, filled with good cheer, health, and happiness for you and your loved ones.
Happy New Year,
Br. Hugh P. Turley, F.M.S.
Director of Development
