Donation
WHY MAKE A DONATION AND FOR WHAT?
Maintaining our activities costs a bit of money… Of course we need your help for that!
ALREADY REALIZED PROJECTS … THANKS TO OUR BENEFACTORS’ HELP:
2014 – Thanks to a Facebook campaign, we managed to embellish our chapel considerably, which is right in the middle of a drug traffic area, off the main street. Our first project was the Stations of the Cross on stained glass windows. Actually, the chapel is consecrated to the Holy Cross and to Our Lady of Aparecida, the great Marian Shrine in South America (12 millions pilgrims every year: twice as many than in Lourdes or Fátima!)
We ordered original drawings from a famous local artist: they represent Jesus carrying His cross among the most representative buildings of the city of Florianopolis: the bridge, the imperial hospital of Charity (the oldest one), the prison, the public market, …
So when Our Lady appears in a station, she is figured as Our Lady of Aparecida. On entering the church, the beauty of the drawings and the very luminous colors inspire all those who come to pray with a deep desire of contemplation and meditation.
On Saturday night, light inside the Church invites – not only all the inhabitants who are enjoying their week-end in the street but also the drug-dealers and customers to think of God a bit more often… Obviously, they are not genuine stained glass windows but only printed plastic that is glued on the glass, but the result is excellent.
Before and… after!
2015 – The generosity of all those who bought the saint Yves books also allowed us to build a bell-tower. It calls the neighborhood to the services and reminds them of the schedule of our activities.
The 3 bells: St. Christine, St. Yves and St. Sergius
The ringing of the bells is a great help for many who have difficulty organizing and structuring their lives…
2014/2015 – The first two Saint Yves charity concerts (2014 Concert) enabled us to open a music school, thanks to Pianist Pablo Rossi and fiddler Joan Rossi, and singers Masami Ganev, Betina Malisca Ricardo Castro and Alicia Cupani. They are all professional artists and generously offered their great talents. By the way, they generated a large and moving momentum of solidarity (the stage costumes and flight tickets for the artists, flowers, the poster designs, the public auditorium etc. … were donated).
Two pianos, flutes, guitars and one violin were bought and three teachers were hired.
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- 2014
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- 2015
2014/2015 – Thanks to the generosity of the same books buyers and many other benefactors, and with the archbishop’s support, we were able to buy everything we needed for our activities: weekly soup after Thursday mass, catechism classes, liturgical material, knitting, English, cooking and judo classes, …
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- Judo classe
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- Knitting and crochet classe
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- Soup of Tuesdays
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- Musical workshop
TWO OTHER PROJECTS STILL NEED YOUR SUPPORT
Six months ago, we have begun a group for mentally disabled people, their families and friends. Around 40 people have already participated, including 15 people with mental handicaps. Our group Saint John the Baptist and Saint Yves will become members of the international movement Faith and Light (Faith and Light), which the Canadian professor Jean Vanier and the French social assistant Marie Hélène Mathieu created 40 years ago.
We are presently meeting in a very old and shabby-looking room, which urgently needs to be renovated: there is no access for wheel-chairs that have to be carried in, the roof leaks, the rest-rooms are totally inadequate for physically handicapped people, there is no air-conditioned system, not even ventilation fans, the rooms are very old and dirty…
We hope to take a little group of young people to the coming World Youth Days in Cracow at the end of July. So strong an experience for them can become life changing.
They have accepted to study English with a volunteer teacher to be able to communicate with the youth of the world that will participate.
An afternoon raffle
We already begun fundraising: saint Yves book sales in Europe and United States and other activities that the young are beginning such as bingo, charity meals, sales of cakes and other thing they have made, … However, we will need more money, especially because of the collapsing of the Brazilian currency, the Real having caused flight ticket prices to spiked!
Thanks a lot in advance for the material support that you will provide these projects with … and the next ones!
Do not hesitate to get in touch with us (Contact Us) if the spirit of Justice that led saint Yves is still inspiring for you today!
