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Working, Praying, and Living in the Spirit of Vincent DePaul
December 2011
Ten freshman from DePaul University recently visited St. Louis for a winter break service trip. The DePaul students stayed with the Vincentian Service Corps (another volunteer program in St. Louis sponsored by the Daughters of Charity) and worked for one week at four GVV work sites: Marian Middle School, Society of St. Vincent DePaul Project PLUS, Places for People, and Peter and Paul Community Services—Positive Directions.
The DePaul students joined the GVVs at their regular Wednesday community night, along with the VSC volunteers and director and a volunteer and director from the St. Joseph Worker volunteer program, also located in St. Louis.
The evening began with a celebration of the Eucharist. After mass, the group enjoyed a pizza dinner followed by a presentation. Our speaker was Dr. Fred Rottnek, who shared many ideas and a lot of helpful information about health care access for people living in poverty. It was a great evening!
I’ve Become a Marian Girl!
by Emily Timm
May the Lord, watch
between me and thee,
While we’re absent
One from another
Amen...sing the four rows of middle school girls, their teachers and me. This ends my day at Marian Middle School, a short prayer that holds so much meaning. Some days the closing prayer brings excitement for leaving the Marian Bubble, other times melancholy that the day is ending, and still other times the words resound in my heart and my head. So often, these words remind me that Marian is more than a school; it is a way of life. Here, your friends become your family, and these 71 girls have become my sisters.
I started this year uncertain if I could once again work in an urban school. The schools I had worked for in the past were draining, upsetting, and above all, unjust. Back then I dreaded going into work because I knew I was not giving the students the best I could and neither was anyone else. The students had been failed many times before, and I was part of this cycle. “We have been doing things this way for twenty years. Why fix something that isn’t broken?” my Clinical Educator told me. All I could think is this system is broken; but I felt helpless, how could I make any real change?
Marian Middle School is proof that most things the public system advocates are the problem. We are not following a strict curriculum at Marian, yet the girls are learning and growing more than what is expected in one year. We do not make the kids have silent lunch or stand in straight lines with their hands crossed in front of them, however bullying rarely happens. Our uniform code is lenient, yet the students dress appropriately. We are a single-gender school, and the middle school girls are still shockingly social (boy crazy). While Marian is not a utopia, as far as middle school goes, it is pretty close.
My time at Marian thus far has been everything I could have asked for. It has given me an unbelievable work ethic because EVERYONE believes in these students. You will see teachers here on Friday nights, Saturdays, even holidays putting together new, creative lessons. They are always willing to help, to listen, and to try something new because their ultimate goal is to end the cycle of poverty through education. Each teacher’s love of the job, the mission, and the students inspires me daily.
Whenever I think, “I am doing enough,” I reconsider. It is never enough. These girls are brilliant, strong leaders who deserve the world. They want the best for themselves which is so apparent by the fact that they come to school for 10 hours five days a week and the occasional Saturday. The least I can do is to give them the ability to learn in a positive environment. Their thirst for knowledge and unfailing willingness to help those around them is what makes these girls different and so deserving.
Every day, I go into work feeling blessed. Blessed, not to have to deal with the problems my students face daily. Blessed, to work in an environment that is positive, challenging, and working for change. Most importantly, I feel blessed that 71 young women have altered my whole life for the better. They have made me more grateful, strong, and confident. In other words, they have molded me into a Marian Girl.
With Grateful Hearts,
We Thank Our Donors!
The names listed below are those donors who made contributions from September 2011 through December 2011. Thank you for helping us spread the mission of St. Vincent DePaul to young adults. This program would not be possible without you!
An anonymous Vincentian
An anonymous Vincentian
James & Linda Backs (Parents of GVV 07-08 Carrie Tucker)
Delbert & Agnes Bohnert
Dennis & Susan Cuddihee
Ewa & Waldemar Debinski (Parents of GVV 10-11 Beata Debinski)
Charles & Nancy Demarest (Parents of GVV 03-04 Stephanie Demarest)
Steven (GVV 09-10) & Katie Falk
Rev. Jerome Fortenberry, C.M.
Paul Heidemann
Christine (GVV 09-10) & Evan Jones
Rev. Jay Jung, C.M.
Br. Nicholas Koenig (GVV 04-05)
Knights of Columbus—St. Catherine Laboure Council
Robert & Emily LaBarge
Jim & Jane Lammers
W. Stephan & Mary Ann Morovitz
Rev. John T. Richardson, C.M.
Bill & Mary Lou Schicker
Society of St. Vincent DePaul—St. Gerard Majella Conference
Rev. Ray Van Dorpe, C.M.
Steve (GVV 00-01) & Sarah (GVV 01-02) Wiederkehr
R. A. Weilbaecher
Gerald & Joan Wentzel
Grace Whalen
Tributes in Honor of:
Fred and Marie Rottnek
from Dr. Fred Rottnek
Tributes in Memory of:
Florence Bachmann
from Eugene Bachmann
Mike and Louise Cucco
from Larry & Amelia Berra
Jim Rice
from William & Susan Phillips
Jim Holt
from Jessica & Mike Werner
We also sincerely thank our donors who have asked to remain anonymous.
If we have inadvertently omitted your name from our donor list,
please accept our sincere apology AND let us know so that we can correct the error!
True charity knows not how to remain idle or shut up within itself. The property of fire is to give forth light and heat, so also the property of love is to communicate itself. We should love God and serve our neighbor at the expense of our goods and even of our lives.
- St. Vincent DePaul
Coming at the end of January to your mailbox...
Our Anuual Matching Gifts Appeal!
The Gateway Vincentian Volunteers program continues to exist because of the generosity
of our donors and of the Western Province of the Congregation of the Mission. Each year we have two large fundraisers: our Matching Gifts Appeal in February and March and our golf tournament in June.
The Matching Gifts Appeal will be mailed at the end of January. We thank you for your generosity!
SAVE THE DATE! Friday, June 1, 2012
9th Annual GVV Golf Tournament
Details to come soon!
Vincentians for Life: GVV Alumni Update
The GVV program is blessed with amazing former volunteers. Here are more updates from our former volunteers. In the last edition of our newsletter we focused on years one through five. Please take a moment to read about years six through eleven, including a few from earlier years that we missed last time! The GVV program is proud of all the great work our former volunteers continue to do. We know you will be too.
GVVs 2001-2002: John Roarick and his wife, Sara, are living in Iowa. Their daughter LuLu is five and has started kindergarten. Their daughter Yaffa is four. John completed his Master’s in Social Work and is now a program manager with an agency in the community that serves people with mental health conditions.
GVVs 2003-2004: Brian Kelly and his wife, Megan, are living in Portland, Oregon. Brian is working as a family therapist with an organization called Catholic Community Services. Megan is in school studying Occupational Therapy and is working at a local veteran’s hospital.
GVVs 2005-2006: Briana Colton is living in Chicago and is currently applying for entrance into the Master’s of Counseling Psychology-Art Therapy program at the Adler School of Professional Psychology. After three years of volunteering with Special Religious Education at St. Vincent DePaul Church in Chicago, Briana is now volunteering at the Chicago Children’s Art Museum. Clare Lassiter has returned from her volunteer service in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Clare and her daughter, Camila, are living in Chicago. Annie McCance is living in St. Louis and is the Webmaster at Swank Motion Pictures, Inc., where she designs and develops Web sites. Annie has joined the blog I Went To A Show.com to promote the St. Louis music community. Annie still donates her considerable design talent to the GVV program! Nelson Perez is living in St. Louis and is working at Guardian Angel Settlement Association at Hosea House as a caseworker. Erica Stacy has moved from St. Louis to Baltimore, where she is studying nursing at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. Suzette Thompson and her husband, Nathan, have moved to Austin, Texas. They are the proud parents of a baby girl, Hannah Day, born in June. Suzette is also doing freelance design work from home. Like Annie, Suzette still donates her considerable talents to the GVV program!
GVVs 2006-2007: Amanda Broussard, now Sr. Peter Louise, made her first profession of vows in July with the Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart in Los Angeles. (She was incorrectly listed in the last newsletter as a member of the GVVs of 04-05.) Christopher Bickhaus and Jennifer Clyne Bickhaus are living in Columbia. Christopher recently graduated from the University of Missouri School of Law. He was initiated into the Order of the Coif, an honorary scholastic society, and he passed the bar exam. Jennifer recently graduated from the University of Missouri School of Medicine. In July she started her residency at the University of Missouri in the OB/GYN department. Heather G’Sell is teaching special education in Rolla, Missouri. She attends St. Patrick’s Catholic Church there. For two years, Heather was in three L’Arche communities—in Kansas City, Florida, and St. Louis. Alicia Euyoque Herold is married to Mike Herold (GVV 04-05). Alicia and Mike live in St. Louis and are the proud parents of a new baby boy, Seth. Adam Brown is living in Washington, D.C., in an intentional community. Adam is the Program Director for the St. Vincent Pallotti Center for Apostolic Development.
GVVs 2007-2008:
Laura Brodhun Aoki and her husband, Justin, are living in Pennsylvania. Laura finished her Master’s in Clinical Psychology and is starting a new job implementing behavioral therapy for children. Laura and Justin are completing the process of becoming foster parents. Danny Lyskowski graduated from the University of Missouri School of Law this past spring. Danny is working as a lawyer with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources in Jefferson City, Missouri. Danny says that his GVV experience brings the all important element of social justice to the discussion of the cost of environmental remediation and on whom the burden should rest. Lisa Mata Martin married Adam Martin in May of 2011. They moved from Brooklyn to Alexandria, Virginia, for Adam's job at the Institute for Humane Studies. While in New York Lisa was working in the Writing Lab/Student Life department at a small college. She is currently looking for new employment. In the meantime, she is catching up on reading, helping her brother with his four- month old son, and enjoying life. Jenny Mohan lives in St. Louis where she works as the Director of Social Ministry for St. Francis Xavier (College) Church. She earned her M.S. in Public Service Management at DePaul University in 2010. Jenny recently returned from Chepnyal, Kenya, where she served with the Vincentian Lay Missionaries program in August 2011. Christine Nordhaus returned from the VIDES volunteer program in Australia and moved back to Wisconsin. She works in inside sales for a local company. She is a volunteer mentor with an organization called Best Friends (similar to Big Brothers, Big Sisters). Christine has become a passionate and enthusiastic biker and is currently planning a Bike Across America trip for the summer of 2012. Karen Schumacher has been living in the mountains of Boone, North Carolina, for the past several years and is managing hotel properties for a local management company. She is a member of St. Elizabeth’s Catholic Church of the Hill Country. Karen says Boone is a great place for exploring the outdoors; she is camping and hiking and learning how to roll kayaks with every free moment she can get! Carrie Tucker is living in St. Louis and is working for Willows Way, assisting people with developmental disabilities in their homes.
GVVs 2008-2009:
Lauren Gulley has been living in Denver for almost two years and has just begun a Child Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program at the University of Denver. Robyn Haas is living in Kansas City. Robyn says she still marvels at how her GVV experiences continue to shape her life. She has just finished a year at the Catholic Worker House in Kansas City, Missouri, and is now a full-time Web developer for the National Catholic Reporter. Mike Laucello is pursuing a Master’s degree in School Psychology at Columbia University. He is currently doing his fieldwork at a Jesuit High School in lower Manhattan. Calli Grimes Rollins and her husband, Ben, are living in Memphis; both are pursuing their Master’s degrees in Urban Education and completing the Memphis Teacher Residency Program. Brooke Southerland recently completed her graduate studies and is a Physician’s Assistant. She moved back to Indianapolis and is working in the ER department of a hospital. Katie Theoktisto completed her Master’s in Public Health at Tulane University and is now in medical school in the West Indies.
GVVs 2009-2010:
Mallori Allen is in her second year at Southern Illinois University School of Law. She is on the law journal staff this year and is working at Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance as a law clerk. Elizabeth Chan is in her second year as a Peace Corps volunteer in China. She is teaching Oral English at Chongqing Industry Polytechnic College. Elizabeth recently helped plan and run the Second Annual Eco Leadership Camp for a large group of young people. Shannon Duffy is living in St. Louis and is a nurse in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at St. Louis Children's Hospital. She volunteers one day a week taking care of Hispanic patients at Casa de Salud clinic.
Steven Falk and is wife, Katie, recently bought a house in Kansas City. Katie is in her second year of medical school, and Steven is working full-time at Overhead Door. Maria Martinez Hernandez is living in Denver and working at Johnson Elementary School, where she is the Paraprofessional for the Gifted and Talented students. She works with small groups of the highest level students to improve their reading skills. Maria spent the summer volunteering in Kenya with the Vincentian Lay Missionary Program. Christine Bentz Jones and her husband, Evan, live in San Francisco. Christine is the Coordinator for Vincentian Formation with the Daughters of Charity. This past summer Christine was the Vincentian Lay Missionaries Coordinator in Kitale, Kenya. Alexa Previti is in her second year of dental school at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark. Alexa says she goes to school, studies, and practices drilling all day everyday! Brady Sones is living in St. Louis and is a caseworker at Places for People, working with people with mental illnesses. Pat Zerkel is living in St. Louis and working as a Research Engineer at the Mallinkrodt Institute of Radiology at Washington University.
GVVs 2010-2011:
Emily Bland is living in St. Louis and working at St. Louis Catholic Academy, her former GVV work site. She coordinates the new Excellence Early program, modeled after the successful Harlem Children's Zone Baby College. Kelly Carlblom is living in St. Louis and has recently started working for the City of St. Louis, Homeless Service Division. She is working with the Continuum of Care agencies, which include some worksites of current and past GVVs. Beata Debinski is living in Baltimore where she is pursuing a MHS in Social Factors in Health at the Bloomberg School of Public Health of Johns Hopkins University. Ellie Hanson is living in St. Louis and working as a Program Assistant at Guardian Angel Settlement at Hosea House, her former GVV work site. Chris Hampson is living in St. Louis and working with Latino clients at Kingdom House, his former GVV worksite. Chris hopes to begin pursuing a Master’s of Social Work in the fall of 2012. Drew Hillier is living in Indiana and is in a Philosophy doctoral program at Purdue University. Anna Kraus is in the Teach for America program, teaching seventh grade social studies in South Carolina. Ashley Peaches is living in Kansas City, Kansas, and is pursuing a Master’s of Social Work degree at the University of Kansas in Kansas City. Rachel Zajicek has moved to Bradley, Illinois, and is working as a hospice social worker.
The Gift of Hope
by Katie Leifer
Last week I went with Marcus, my previously homeless client, to get the keys to his brand new apartment. Not only was this apartment special to him because it helped him successfully leave transitional housing after eleven months of hard work, but it was the very first apartment that was just “his.”
He glowed when the landlord had him sign a lease and declared that he would be a great tenant. His excitement was palpable. As we drove towards his new apartment, Marcus shared various plans for his new place. He would put a picture of orchids in the living room and would keep everything tidy.
This apartment is Marcus’s chance to be independent. It is his chance to decide how he lives. It is my hope that getting this apartment will serve as inspiration for Marcus to continue making positive changes beyond just his address.
Marcus needs to take the steps necessary to get and keep a job that he loves and does not just tolerate. I wish to see him grow and mature into the person that I know he is capable of being. This was an important moment in his life, and in a small way I got to help make it happen.
It was particularly special for me to be there for this important beginning for Marcus. Marcus was the first client for whom I served as the point person, the first client I helped complete a job application or took to the food stamp office. I was glad that he also became the first client that I got to witness achieve independence. These moments of forward motion give me a sense of purpose.
My work site is Peter and Paul Community Services, Positive Directions Program. I serve as
caseworker and education specialist for twenty homeless, HIV-positive clients who have had difficult and crazy lives. Yet despite their past experiences, my clients are largely capable and resilient people full of potential.
Each day when I come to work and witness my clients putting effort into applying for jobs or struggling against addiction, I am given hope.
This hope carries me through the bad days. I am blessed to work with clients like Marcus and know that I am in the absolute best work site for me.
You see a great deal of stress that you are unable to relieve. God sees it also. Bear the pain with them, doing all you can to give them whatever help you can. Then remain in peace.
- St. Vincent DePaul
The Gateway Vincentian Volunteers Program receives a donation from the Knights of Columbus—St. Catherine Laboure Council. Walt Morrow of the Knights presents the check to Jim Ryan, GVV Program Director. Also present are six of the seven GVVs of 2011-2012. Thank you, Knights of Columbus! Your donation pays the personal expense reimbursement for one volunteer for the entire year! We are so grateful to each of you.
The Gateway Vincentian Volunteers
Program Board of Directors
Fr. Ed Murphy, C.M., President
Mr. Rich LaPlume, Vice-President
Ms. Tricia Schicker Thiel, Treasurer
Mr. John Capellupo
Fr. Jim Cormack, C.M.
Sr. Rosalie Digenan, D.C.
Ms. Janel Esker
Mr. Joseph Komadina
Ms. Martha Lane
Jim and Geri Ryan, Directors
The Gateway Vincentian Volunteers Program is sponsored in part by the Western Province of the Congregation of the Mission. Volunteers live in community with the Vincentian Priests and Brothers of the Arsenal Street Community in St. Louis.