ShareLife is the charitable fundraising arm of the Archdiocese of Toronto. Money raised from the annual appeal goes to support ShareLife's 34 agencies, helping more than 100,000 people each year.
There is a wealth of information on their Web site (www.sharelife.org), including a detailed listing of where the funds are used (click on "Who Benefits?" on their Web site).
How to make donations:
- Through OLPH: write a cheque (payable to "ShareLife - Our Lady of Perpetual Help") and drop off in collection basket or with the Parish Secretary at the office.
- Online through the ShareLife Web site: www.sharelife.org
Our goal for 2008 is $130,000.
As of late April, the ShareLife collection stands at $75,100. The third collection is on Sunday June 1st. It's not known how much has been donated on-line through the ShareLife website, and will not know until after June 30th.
Note: the final total for 2007 was $128,653. exceeding our 2007 goal ($115,000). The pastor thanks everyone who contributed to ShareLife and whose generosity enabled us to exceed our goal.
Youth Zone: there is a section in the ShareLife Web site (click on Youth Zone) that invites young people to make a difference in the lives of others, invite a friend to get involved, and finally, provide all sorts of cool ideas that will help ShareLife help you help others!
MESSAGE FOR 2008 SHARELIFE CAMPAIGN, FEBRUARY 2-3, 2008
Good morning. My name is Debra Rolph, and I am Chairman of this parish's ShareLife Committee. At our Pancake Breakfast today, after the 9:30 and 11:00 masses, we will kick off this year’s ShareLife Campaign. Admission is free.
ShareLife is the Archdiocese of Toronto’s annual appeal to support 34 Catholic charities Some of ShareLife’s charities are very well known – like Providence Villa and Covenant House. Other agencies you probably never heard of. ShareLife supports our seminary. It provides services for the old, and services for the young. It supports the sick; it supports the disabled. It helps alcoholics; it helps drug addicts. It helps single parents; it helps families in difficulty. It helps immigrants; it helps refugees. It helps the homeless; it helps impoverished people living overseas.
During the ShareLife campaign, we will invite speakers to talk to you about the work of some of these organizations.
We know that many worthy causes compete for your charity dollar. Why support ShareLife? There are three reasons, aside from the fact that the ShareLife agencies richly deserve your help:
- The first reason is that ShareLife is one of the most efficient charities around. ShareLife spends only eight cents per dollar of revenue on fundraising and overhead. Many ShareLife agencies are small ones that can ill-afford to do their own fundraising, or, if they did, they would spend a substantial portion of their revenues in the process. ShareLife is an efficient way to raise money for them. ShareLife does not hoard money. What it takes in, it pay out, quickly.
- Second, it's a tough fund raising environment out there. If we don’t support Catholic charities, who will? All charities are obliged to do an annual information filing with Revenue Canada, which are posted on Revenue Canada’s website. According to their most recent filings, the United Jewish Appeal of Metropolitan Toronto and The United Jewish Welfare Fund of Toronto had annual revenues of $190,000,000 between them. ShareLife had total revenues of $15,000,000. If Jews are so generous to their own charities, why shouldn’t Catholics support Catholic charities?
- Third, maybe you or someone you know will need to turn to a ShareLife agency for help. Father Jim told us that he would be in trouble if Catholic Family Services were not available to provide marriage counseling to those needing it in this parish. There are thousands of needy people within a ten mile radius of this building.
Our parish goal this year is $130,000. This is the same amount we raised last year. This was the best result in recent memory. It put us ahead of St. Anselms and Holy Rosary, which have larger congregations. In one respect, though, the 2007 campaign was disappointing. We have 775 registered families in this parish, and only about a third of them donated. The rest gave nothing. We hope to do better this year.
The key to a successful campaign is not that everyone gives a large donation. The important thing is that everyone gives something. If all of those who gave nothing last year were to contribute the price of one pizza, or one bottle of wine, or even one cup of coffee for every week of the ShareLife campaign, our results would be spectacular.
We do not intend to canvass your homes, but instead we would be most grateful if you would use the envelope you will receive with Archbishop Collin’s letter, or an envelope which will be available in your pew. ShareLife Sunday is March 9. If it is more convenient for you to spread your donations over three months, additional collections will be taken up on April 13 and June1. Post dated cheques over a four or even twelve month period are perfectly acceptable, and indeed welcome. You could go to the ShareLife website and donate on-line. If you identify yourself as our parishioner, we will get the credit for your donation. The theme of the 2008 Campaign is: because you give. . .. Please reflect on these verses from the Gospel of St. Matthew, and respond accordingly:
Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me.