Thursday 10 December 2009

Mother Teresa Missionaries of Charity

Breda and I had a lovely meeting yesterday with Sister Francilene of the Sisters of Charity. The sisters, all English-speaking and from all four corners of the earth, run a soup kitchen and shelter for homeless and recovering alcoholics near the train and bus stations. They are currently housing 16 adults, serving about 150 homeless people in the soup kitchen, and providing takeaway crates of food to 100-150 families in the Vilnius area who do not receive any government assistance. These families are personally monitored by the sisters who have selected them for assistance on the basis of need and absence of anyone in the family who might trade the food for alcohol or drugs.

The sisters have many needs!

Immediate Needs:
* Towels
* Footwear



Food:
We saw the pantry. For a soup kitchen serving hundreds of people, there is not a huge stock of food in there. We will cover some of their needs thru the food drive in January.
But they will also take fresh food leftover from receptions. I have asked our member, Lis, to head up a project of collecting leftover food from embassy receptions. But, please, if you have leftovers from any of your holiday events, please take it down to the Sisters.

Drivers:
The Sisters visit needy families every day. They use public transportation and also visit homes in the suburbs, so these visits are very time-consuming and, probably, tiring for them. If anyone is interested in spending a morning driving one of the sisters around town, please let me know. Again, all of the sisters speak English.

Kitchen Helpers:
Anyone is welcome from 9 am on to help out in the kitchen, peeling, chopping, cleaning, filling up the takeaway food crates, and doing whatever might be helpful.

Christmas Parties:
The Sisters are organizing Christmas events for each of the different groups they serve. There will be a party for the homeless who use the soup kitchen, one for the residents of the shelter, one for the children (we chatted with a lovely sister -- whom I know has been struggling to get used to life in the shelter after working in Calcutta -- who was sewing up gorgeous little puppets for a puppet show.), and one party for the families who receive the crates of food. This party will take place on December 22nd and IWAV Members are invited to whip up some goodies and come help decorate the dining room for this special Christmas event for families in need. Baked goods, candies (I have some candy canes), fruit salad (I doubt these families get a lot of fresh fruit) are all good ideas. Buying stuff is also permitted. There will probably be sandwich fixings available for us to put together starting at 9 am on December 22nd. I think I'll get some of my spiced apple cider going on the stove. And thanks to one of our members, I now have plenty of little goodies to pass out to the children!


Christmas Gifts:
You are also requested to provide a small wrapped gift for the shelter residents (11 men and 5 women, 3 of whom are currently in hospital) at our December 14th Social at the Radisson.


Suggestions for Gifts:


* Combs/hairbrushes
* Shaving supplies
* Soaps/shampoos
* shawls or warm socks
* towels


I thought I'd get a rest after the Christmas Bazaar but I'm glad to stuff more giving into my holiday season!

Quotation of the Month:  
This is the first year that I have honestly, truly, thought more about giving to others and helping those in need than worrying about presents for my family and it feels GREAT.  Very little stress or worry, just good feelings! -- an active member
Shelter/Soup Kitchen Address:
Sv. Stepono g. 35 (corner of Paneriu g. across from Lukoil)
Either go down Mindaugo towards the train station area and turn right on Paneriu (the shelter is on the left, on the corner, diagonal to the Lukoil (there is a courtyard to pull into and park); or from the train station, cross the station square and take the hill down on the right side, turn right and it's the first courtyard on the left.

2 comments:

  1. I will definately bring some presents with me to the social. I was wondering, if I coudl also bring something for the party on the 22nd... maybe sweets? or fruits? (14 dec thou could be too ealry for fruits) Sydney, do you think I could give those to you at Radisson? I won't be able to come by the shelter on 22nd Dec.

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  2. I will not be at the social (I may be able to pop in at the last minute; depends on when I get back from Nida). You can definitely drop sweets with Erin at the social. Thank you!

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