August/September Exciting Events
Well, the dog days of summer most certainly were not boring! In August we celebrate St. Jeanne Jugan’s, foundress of the Little Sisters of the Poor, feast day on the 28th. Our Residents put on a play about her life and how she started the work of the Little Sisters of the Poor. Sisters, Residents, and staff thoroughly enjoyed the presentation.
Most exciting of all was that St. Jeanne Jugan’s feast day Mass was the first Mass to be celebrated in our newly renovated Chapel! The Chapel was filled with priests, Sisters, Residents, staff and benefactors. Everyone exclaimed over how bright and open the Chapel is and how convenient it is to push walkers and wheelchairs on the new tile floor. The pews from our now closed Latham home are very comfortable and the altar and lectern are beautiful. We are most grateful for your donations which made this renovation possible.
We then quickly moved on to the next big event, our St. Jeanne Jugan – Pot of Gold Raffle, held on September 13 at Drexelbrook. About 1,785 tickets were sold and over 700 people attended the reception. The attendees enjoyed a delicious buffet meal, placed bids on silent auction items, bought 50-50 raffles, and took a chance on our wine raffle. This year we honored Father Michael Murphy (pictured holding a plaque) and St. Dorothy Parish, and Patricia Miniszak (pictured center of group picture) and St. Mary Magdalen Parish and School, all of whom have supported Holy Family Home in various ways. To see a list of our winners and sponsors, CLICK HERE.
September was also an exciting month for Philadelphia, which hosted the World Meeting of Families and Pope Francis’ visit. The Little Sisters of the Poor had a booth at the Convention Center, where they invited others to write about “things I learned from my grandparents.” Some of the Sisters from our Home helped at the booth (pictured below, second row, three on the left). A number of passersby reminisced about family members who had been Residents at the Home. See more here >>
But the big news was the visit of Pope Francis to our Home in Washington D.C.! What an honor for the Congregation! To see a slideshow of his visit, click here >>
Finally, we celebrate two staff members who have been recently honored. Mary Blue (below, left) is this year’s St. Jeanne Jugan Award winner, an employee who best exemplifies the qualities of St. Jeanne Jugan. She has worked at Holy Family Home for over 27 years as a nurse aide, dietary aide, and hairdresser. Marie Toussaint (below, right) is a nurse aide here for 5 years, and is this year’s recipient of the Ralston Center’s Caregiver Award, given to a CNA who exemplifies the highest standards of compassion, commitment and excellent care for their residents. We are most grateful to Mary and Marie and all our employees for their hard work, dedication, and wonderful care they give to our Residents.
