Dear Friends of the Dorothy Day

Outreach Center

We all know the feeling of look-

ing forward to special days in the

calendar year. Many times we

anticipate the joy that will be in

our lives on that very important

day. We may even attempt to

plan ahead to see if, when, and

how we can celebrate that mean-

ingful moment; so it is with us

and many others throughout the

world.

On October 3rd we celebrated

the Transitus of St. Francis, a

Latin word defining for us the

Passing of St. Francis from

this life to eternal life. October

4th is the very important feast

day of St. Francis remembered

by millions of people throughout

the world.

Our dear patron, Dorothy Day,

who in her lifetime was likened

to St. Francis, died and went to

her eternal reward on November

29th, the day the Church desig-

nated as a time to remember all

the Franciscan Blesseds and

Saints throughout all of history;

unplanned of course in our sight

but not in the vision of God.

Both St. Francis and Dorothy Day had

a deep conversion of life. Yes, a

turning away of things in the world

that brought outward happiness to a

deeper understanding of what would

bring joy to the inner soul. That

would be a desire to love God above

all by seeing and loving Him in all His

creatures. They saw Christ in the

lepers of their time—the sick, the

poor, the hungry, the unemployed,

and the homeless. They brought

compassion and sympathy and justice

to those who were denied these very

things.

Let us in our daily routine of life not

miss these great opportunities to do

the same—to lift up the down-

trodden, to feed the hungry and love

those who are not loved. Like St.

Francis, Dorothy Day preached by not

only words, but by her example.

May the Lord bless all of you for your

great acts of kindness to us as we

fulfill our mission at Saint Francis

University.

Peace and Blessings

Brother Gabriel M. Amato T.O.R.

Letter From the Director

P A G E 1 F A L L

Br .Gabriel M .Amato T.O.R.

FALL 2017

Saint Francis

University

The Dorothy Day Outreach Center

NEWSLETTER

Letter from the Director 1

Tag Sale 2

Holiday Items 2

Shamus Shuffle 3

Bro Shamus Bike 3

Declining Balance 3

SFU Recognition 4

Upcoming Events 4

Truck Fund 5

Helpful Hints 5

Give Thanks 6

Saints Tour 6

Lottery Ticket Results 6

Work-Study Students 7

FCI Food Drive 7

Donation Form 8

Inside this issue:

TAG SALE The Dorothy Day Outreach Center’s

annual summer tag sale was held on

Saturday, July 29th. The rain came in the

first two hours. Then lo and behold, the

sun arose, and it turned out to be a beau-

tiful day. The parking lot was full of books,

toys, furniture, clothing, purses, shoes,

kitchenware, holiday decorations, home

décor, etc. Shoppers were everywhere. It

was a great day. Monetary donations

amounted to $2,658.00 Thank you so

much to all of the volunteers who worked

so hard to make this day a success and to

our shoppers. It is appreciated.

P A G E 2 FALL 2017

We are in need of the following food

and hygiene items for the holiday

distributions. We normally serve 80-

100 families per holiday.

FOOD ITEMS

Flour

Sugar (granulated and brown)

Jello

Stuffing

Instant potatoes

Pie crust mix

Pumpkin

Cranberry sauce

Canned vegetables (especially string

beans)

Canned fruit

Gravy mix

Canned milk

Noodles

HOLIDAY ITEMS NEEDED Rice

Cake mix

Sweet potatoes

PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS

Body soap

Shampoo

Cream rinse

Toothpaste

Toothbrushes

Laundry detergent

Dish detergent

Razors

Shaving cream

Mouthwash

Deodorant

Toilet paper

Paper towels

Tissues

Baby diapers (all sizes)

SHAMUS SHUFFLE On Saturday, August 26th, area residents were

running, walking, and riding on the Ghost Town

Trail to support the Brother Shamus Shuffle.

$1,600.00 was raised to support the Dorothy

Day Outreach Center. There were hot dogs,

chips, water, and fanny packs for the partici-

pants. The weather was perfect and the turnout

was great. Thank you to all who participated in

this event and a BIG thank you to Melita O’Don-

nell for all her coordinating efforts.

Our bi-annual declining

balance fundraiser was held

on Wednesday, September

20th in Torvian Hall. Through

declining balance, students

are able to donate monies

from their Frankies and Gubio

accounts. This is deducted

directly from their student ID

cities before coming to an

end in Jamestown, Virginia.

His goal is to raise $45,000

for the Dorothy Day

Outreach Center. Already

we have, to date, received

$45,709.00. Well, Brother

Shamus, it looks like you

did it!!!!!!!!

Please pray for him.

On September 8th, Brother

Shamus began his toughest

route in the history of the

annual Brother Shamus

Charity Bike Ride. This is

the seventh year. The

journey began in Bar

Harbor, Maine, and will

cover roughly 1,000 miles

of mountainous terrain,

taking him through 10

states and several major

BROTHER SHAMUS BIKE RIDE

DECLINING BALANCE cards. Student Emilee Fierro is a

work study student at the Center

and had graciously volunteered to

coordinate this event. Emilee did

a super job, $846.87 was raised.

Thank you to all of the students

who helped through their dona-

tion.

P A G E 3

Torvian Dining Hall

FALL 2017

Brother Shamus McGreenra

UPCOMING EVENTS The DDOC has a very busy schedule upcoming in this quarter:

October 27-28—Saints Tour-Campus ministeries

November 4—Tag Sale—Stokes Aux Gym

November 16—Thanksgiving Distribution—DDOC

November 22—Senior Citizen Thanksgiving

Luncheon—Torvian Hall

December 19—Christmas Distribution

SAINT FRANCIS UNIVERSITY RECOGNIZED The Nursing Program at Saint Francis

University has been ranked the 7th best in

Pennsylvania by Registered Nursing.org.

According to Dr. Rita Trofino, DNP, MNEd,

RN, who serves as the Department Chair

and Associate Dean in the School of

Health Sciences, 100% of graduates from

the nursing program who seek profession-

al employment within 3 months of gradua-

tion obtain jobs in the profession. The

program also boasts a 100% first-time

pass rate for the past three graduating

classes. Notably, it is the only BSN

program in Pennsylvania to have that

distinction for the past 3 consecutive

years.

Saint Francis University is honored to have

been named one of the most military-

friendly schools in the country. The

distinction is given to colleges that

embrace military students and dedicate

resources to ensure their success in the

classroom and after graduation.

Based on its excellence in four distinc-

tions: Engaged Students, Great Teach-

ing, Vibrant Community, & Successful

Outcomes. Saint Francis University was

recently honored as both a “Catholic

College of Distinction” and a “College of

Distinction” for the 2017-2018 school year.

High School counselors and educators

nominate colleges and universities for

recognition by Colleges of Distinction, which

then evaluates each school based on both

qualitative and quantitative research.

Congratulations to the University staff and

faculty!

P A G E 4 FALL 2017

DiSepio Institute for Rural Health & Wellness

TRUCK FUND Representative Frank Burns

has informed us that he is

having a food drive at the

Walmart in Ebensburg on

October 16, 2017 to benefit

the Dorothy Day Outreach

Center. Not only is he hav-

ing a food drive, he is going

to park his pickup truck on

the lot to be filled with non-

perishable items. When the

truck is full, he will deliver

the food along with the

truck to the DDOC. This is

great for the Center since

we are in dire need of a

truck to pick up food and

deliver furniture to our

clients. Since the truck is

an older model, it won’t last

long. We need to continue

to collect donations for a

new truck, but in the mean-

time we have this one to

use. We then can use it for

a trade-in. Thank you so

much to those of you who

have donated and to those

who are planning to donate

to our cause. It is so appre-

ciated. Thank you to Repre-

sentative Burns and his

staff.

Salt and lemon juice mixed together remove mildew stains.

Dampen a cloth with white vinegar then sprinkle cream of tar-tar on the cloth to clean porcelain.

To keep down the spread of germs always close the toilet lid before flushing.

Use shaving cream to clean bathroom mirrors. It will keep them from fogging.

To help repel the dust on dashboards between cleaning, wipe with a used dryer sheet.

Soaking window decals with baby wipes will soften the adhesive allowing for easier removal of decals.

REMEMBER: THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS THAT A NEW PARENT WORRIES ABOUT,

BUT ONE OF THE MOST STRESS INDUCING IS SECURING A CHILD SEAT IN A CAR.

THERE IS A RIGHT WAY AND A WRONG WAY. MAKE SURE THAT YOU KNOW WHICH

ONE IS WHICH.

HELPFUL HINTS

P A G E 5 FALL 2017

The upcoming holiday season is a time to

give thanks to all who are so giving and

willing to help those in need. Without your

generosity, the families would not be able

to enjoy the holidays with their loved

ones. The Dorothy Day Outreach Center

would like to give thanks to our donors

who are so gracious. We again, are asking

for monetary help to be able to give local

families a Thanksgiving and Christmas

they can remember. The

cost to feed a family of 4 is

approximately $50.00.

The Candlelight Saints Tour is coming

quickly—Friday and Saturday, October

27th and 28th. This is an event you will

not want to miss. It will give you an

opportunity to take a torch-lit guided

walking tour through the beautiful religious

grounds in Loretto, Pa. as you are intro-

duced to some of the Church’s most

virtuous and courageous saints. Done in

the spirit of Halloween, and honoring All

Saints and All Souls feast days, we believe

this will truly be an experience you won’t

want to miss.

The times are 6:00 P.M. to 10:00 P.M.

Tickets are $9.00 per adult and $7.00 per

child and SFU students with their ID’s.

Food will be available for sale. The best

part of this is the proceeds will be donat-

ed to the Dorothy Day Outreach Center.

FALL 2017 PAGE 6

GIVE THANKS LOTTERY DRAWING

SAINTS TOUR Thank you and looking forward to seeing

all of you on the 27th or the 28th.

The DDOC held their first lottery ticket

drawing as a fundraiser. The lottery

numbers were good for the month of Sep-

tember. Each ticket cost $10.00 and had

two lottery numbers. We were able to

generate $3,250.00! The big winners were:

Patricia Link, Josh White, Marie

Melusky , Erica Kopera

Get Ready! We will be having a second

drawing in April. The tickets will be on sale

beginning January. Thank you to all who

participated.

WORK STUDY STUDENTS

PAGE 7

FCI LORETTO FOOD DRIVE In the month of June 2017, the Federal

Corrections Institution of Loretto, held a

food drive to benefit the Dorothy Day

Outreach Center.

The employees were able to collect 114

pounds of miscellaneous food products.

In August, they held another food drive to

benefit the DDOC. We received 163

pounds of food.

We are so thankful for our friends at FCI.

Our clients will benefit from their efforts.

Thank you so much.

Patrick Sprigler Nick Nale

I am a freshman at SFU, a Nursing major and from Hollidaysburg, Pa. Throughout my life, I’ve always enjoyed helping others and leaving a positive impact on the world. Until I was eighteen, my primary outlets for this were Boy Scouts, local community events, and my church. I feel that I have found a replacement with the DDOC. It is an astounding charitable outlet that leaves a profound impact on the lives of those in need. As a work study student, the center provides me with fulfillment in this area.

FALL 2017

I am a freshman, Physician Assistant

major, and hail from Columbus, Ohio. I

have worked at multiple volunteer cen-

ters, such as food banks and furniture

donation services and have organized

some donation drives in the past. Volun-

teering has always been a large part of

my life. The DDOC was the right fit for

me to work. I look forward to working at

the DDOC in the next eight months and

am excited to continue my service expe-

riences.

Many thanks to all who graciously donated to the Dorothy Day Outreach Center.

Without your kind generosity, we would not be able to provide the types of assistance

that we do for our clients. May God bless you and your families.

Dorothy Day Outreach Center

Name _________________________________________________

Address _______________________________________________

City ____________________________ Zip Code ______________

Phone Number __________________________________________

Email _________________________________________________

Donation Amount

$1000 500 $250 $100 Other

Please make checks payable to:

Dorothy Day Outreach Center

Then attach and mail this form with your check to:

Dorothy Day Outreach Center

PO Box 600

Loretto, PA 15940

Truck Fund General Fund

DONATION FORM

FALL 2017 PAGE 8