ST. PAUL, MN [DOM Communications] – After a successful first month of the “Monthly Matching Gift Challenge,” the Mother Maria of Paris Charitable Ministry and donors from around the diocese completed a second campaign. They raised $3,000 to assist FOCUS Minnesota in the purchase of a Beverage-Air Single Door Freezer.
Vera Proctor, the director of FOCUS Minnesota, was enthusiastic in expressing her gratitude to the donors: “This extremely generous and much needed donation allows us to plan better for the nutritional needs in the community. We can plan ahead, buy in advance or in bulk, receive food donations more readily. Everything has improved in our kitchen! We are open during the current lockdown and deemed an essential service because we distribute food to those in need. Now our ability to serve our brothers and sisters in Christ in the best way we are able has greatly increased.”
FOCUS Minnesota is a basic needs assistance agency offering hospitality and hope to those in need in the Twin Cities. The adults and children that they serve live in a dense urban area that lacks adequate access to fresh and nutritional food.
On another front, the Mother Maria Ministry successfully raised $2,500 for a children’s creative arts area for children served by Orthodox Detroit Outreach. The Ministry will hold future “Monthly Matching Grant Campaigns” by offering $1,000 each month to an Orthodox ministry in Midwest America and asking for matching funds from individuals within the Diocese of the Midwest.
