On Sunday, June 13th, 2010, we delivered 36 laundry baskets filled with your donations to the migrant workers’ families working on the DuRussel Potato Farm near Manchester. The families were very grateful for your generous donations and want to thank you very much. Especially thank you to those who helped sort and deliver the welcome baskets to the farm. They were Meg Falahee, Susanna Brown, Catherine Murau, Robin Gruber, Josephine Gonzalez, Joe Martinez, Rebecca Cornell, Colette and John Hamil, Sandy and Dave Harrison, Wanita and Celia Forgacs, and David Kieras. Thank you so much for everyone’s donations and help with the drive. 

There are other opportunities to volunteer with this ministry, which are listed on the St. Francis web page,  http://stfrancisa2.com/socialministry/migrant.htm. One example is to show our support by helping provide a meal for the families after one or more of their Sunday evening Spanish Masses, thereby giving them time to attend the Mass.
Another example of an opportunity is to help with a field day for the children, happening near the end of July, date not known yet.
And there are more opportunities to work with the children.

Please go to our website http://stfrancisa2.com/socialministry/migrant.htm or contact Rita Kieras to volunteer.

Thanks for the household item donation drive we had in June 2007. No more items are needed this year.  (Questions, contact Barb Pomey at 213-7798).

· Help organize a youth soccer program with the children (contact Ramona at 481-1610).

· Help form a mothers' group to meet the migrant moms. (contact Kate Wolbert at 678-6931).

· Read a book to migrant children on a Saturday afternoon at 3:30PM. (contact Hilary Connors/Givens 316-2633) . 

On 8/2/2007, Hilary  Connors (Givens) wrote:  Wow, what news!  The story hour has been going well.   I found that setting a time and holding it at the trailer was not working.  So when I go (Sat. at 2pm) I stop at the trailer (I still borrow a key), load up my van with a new variety of books and travel to the different camps letting the kids swap the books from the week before for new ones.  I've gotten to know the reading levels and interests of some of the kids so I make recommendations as well.  The kids love it!  Sometimes I read a couple books that are long-time favorites like Dr. Seuss or chapters from a Michigan Chillers book.  That is my report for now.  I will be in Mexico from Aug. 5th through the 13th with my students and my children.  God Bless,  Hilary -------------- Migrant Ministry 2008 Planning Begins On Fri, 8 Feb 2008, Hilary  Connors (Givens) wrote:  Currently I ... want to continue the story hour at DuRussels.  The plan is to work in Manch in conjunction with Cheryl Call, of the public schools to form a complimentary program that helps build literacy skills in migrant kids.         I would like perhaps if 1 or 2 people from St. Francis could help- 1 for snacks and 1 for a craft.          Could you put that request in the church bulletin?

The Migrant Ministry in 2007:  involving St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, Ann Arbor:

Contacts Involved In This Migrant Ministry:

St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, Ann Arbor - During the past two years 2005 + 2007 St. Francis of Assisi Parish has come up with consistently generous donations.  St. Francis Parish is now the main source of household goods and a children's library/story hour for the migrant ministry. Teri Young  and/or Hilary Givens, Barb Pomey, & Ramona, & Kate Wolbert.;
 

Here are three pictures.   The kids are enjoying a snack and story outside the trailer.  Two of them are in the tree.  This summer 2006 has taken the Migrant Ministry into a new direction. In addition to the blankets, sheets, towels and laundry donations, we've added a children's lending library/story hour, thanks to the VBS donations.  The migrant kids benefit from hearing and reading the stories they enjoy to encourage literacy, as well as developing an information and experience base that middle class children from St. Francis have in classic children's stories.  We take for granted the privileges our children have from our bedtime stories of "Little Bear", or "The Very Hungry Caterpillar", or even well-known fairy tales.  These stories make up a very important deposit of knowledge that contributes to success in school.  The migrant children normally would not have such a knowledge base and would not necessarily know references to basic fairy tales or classics that our children often know well.  The donations are blessing the migrant children by helping to level their "playing field" in the academic arena.  Meanwhile, the migrant kids are enjoying the process of sharing stories, playing games, practicing their reading skills, and having fun.  Our Parish volunteers, lead by the good work of Hilary Givens, have enjoyed showing hospitality to and learning about life as migrant workers from the migrant families who come to work late May through late October at the DuRussel Potato Farm in Manchester, Michigan.  During this summer we collected during St. Francis Parish Masses & Vacation Bible School, lots & lots of laundry & bedding items & children’s books (nearly 1000 books), we are organizing a lending library at the camp & we continue to have a book reading time with the children on every Saturday afternoon.   Thanks for the donations, the migrant families really appreciate your generosity.

Please place donations neatly by the stained-glass of St. Francis inside the church. 

Hilary Givens and Cathy Martinez are each leading a team of volunteers who are taking responsibility for the unmet needs of 2 camps/neighborhoods each. (Yes, that's a total of 4.) The camps/neighborhoods are groups of small mobile homes separated by fields.  They share outdoor laundry.  Each camp has roughly 10-15 families, with 6-10 people in each family. 

The Migrant Ministry Needs...
Donations of gently used or new bedding (twin, full and queen sheets, coverlets, bedspreads), towels, and bar soap, laundry soap, shampoo, and fans for the migrant families that come to Manchester each year. 

Good News Report...

• The bulletin request for a washing machine resulted in 3 machines offered, 2 of which were brand-new!!!   Receipts for tax deductions are given for donaitons.

Our first story hour to be held at the Peckins Rd. camp Friday 8/26/2005, at 7pm.