Saint Francis Ministries’ donors don’t come in one size, shape or color. They aren’t all former foster children and many have never had any connection with the child welfare system. They aren’t one religion, or one profession, and they certainly don’t all agree on politics.
It’s difficult to enumerate all of the gifts that have impacted Saint Francis during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are grateful and honored by community support that makes it possible for us to continue to provide the best, most supportive care for children and families. For instance, McCormick Distillery, like many distilleries, switched their production, and then donated 15 gallons of hand sanitizer. Great Plains Manufacturing in Salina also donated hand sanitizer.
Darlene Miller will be 85 years old in August. She has spent much of the last few months of her 84th year tucked in behind her sewing machine, making more than 1,300 masks for the Grand Island, Nebraska, community where she lives. In fact, her masks have been shipped throughout the state, and some landed at Saint Francis offices where they were gratefully received for children, families, and employees.
They began teaching their children at an early age, with a 50-cent weekly allowance paid in nickels. One nickel always went to the church, the rest to spend as they pleased. As each child grew older, the allowance – and the tithe – increased. Their hope was that their children would carry the spirit of stewardship into adulthood.
The idea was Sylvia’s. Driving home to Austin after a day trip to Comfort, Texas, she turned to her husband and said, “When one of us passes on, the other should see that it goes to Saint Francis.” That was in 1995, and Sylvia passed in 2007. A few months later retired Air Force Colonel Joe Brown donated the 18-inch tall bronze statue “Dancing Saint Francis” to Saint Francis Community Services, the ministry Sylvia and he have supported since 1969.
Sometime in 1961, Geoffrey and Grace Noakes of Fresno, California, traveled to Manhattan, KS, to visit their daughter and son-in-law, Rosemary and Albert Burroughs. It was the Noakes’ first visit to Kansas; their daughter had only recently moved to Manhattan where she and Al had accepted positions on the faculty and staff of Kansas State University.