Prior to our business meeting, the 31 ladies present enjoyed a meet and greet over delicious snacks presented by Connie Latuszek, Dorothy Kociba, Rita Wernette, Karen Adamcik, Janelle White, and Julie Silvis. President Eileen Foster opened the meeting at 1:30 with a prayer and asked for prayer intentions from the women present. We welcomed to our group Laurie Babinski, Jeane De Martines, and Jo Ellen Strieter.
Many ladies brought personal care items to the meeting which will be donated to The Bridge Food Center located at 1539 Washington St in Midland.
Happy October birthday to Kathie Grzesiak (10/03), Mary Ann Tessin (10/10), Aimee Kopiwoda (10/18), and Janelle White (10/22).
Secretary Elaine White shared the minutes of our September meeting. Minutes have been posted on our LBS FaceBook page.
Anne Boyd passed around worker sign-up sheets for our two fleece blanket-making days in October. The first one will be on Wednesday, October 11th from 9 am to 2 pm and the second one is Wednesday, October 18th from 6 to 9 pm. Fleece for this year’s blankets was purchased from Joanne’s in January. The completed blankets will be donated to local charities in December.
Anne explained the mission of Gateway Family Urgent Care, a medical non-profit, located at 1549 Washington St in Midland.
Rita Wernette asked for additional volunteers for altar care. Please call the parish office if you can help.
Linda Graf led the “new aprons” project and modeled the finished project. Linda, Vickie Briggs, Isabel Viges, and & Kathy Wilds sewed all the aprons. Job well done!
Ramona Lalka passed around worker sign-up sheets for our two Cider and Donut Sundays. Dates are October 15th and October 29th after both Masses. The money raised will be used to buy the fleece for next year’s blankets.
Ramona then introduced our speaker, Jo Ellen Streiter from the Toni and Trish House. The paid staff and volunteers from this facility care for the terminally ill. Care is provided at no charge. This home opened in 2008 with 12 guests (patients). In 2023 they will likely care for 150 people in their six-bedroom home. It takes 40 volunteers & hired staff per week to provide round-the-clock care for the terminally ill. There are also 17 different hospice agencies that provide care for their guests. After Jo Ellen’s presentation, Ramona presented her with a check from the Ladies of Blessed Sacrament to the Toni and Trish House.
Treasurer Tana Zemanek then gave the treasurer’s report and reported a balance of $17,220.67. Next month we will donate $1,000 each to 10 different charities. The nominated charities are the 10 non-profits to which we donated last year, the five that were on the ballot but not selected, and three additional charities suggested at last month’s meeting. Tana asked for any additional recommendations. The 18 charities are:
- 1. Blessed Sacrament Emergency Fund
- 2. Global Compassion
- 3. Shelterhouse
- 4. Toni & Trish House
- 5. Sleep in Heavenly Peace
- 6. Saginaw Emmaus House
- 7. Midland Community Former Offenders Advocacy and Rehab
- 8. Home to Stay
- 9. Wings of Mercy
- 10. Guatemalan Stove Project
- 11. Camp Fish Tales
- 12. Caregiving Network
- 13. Saginaw East Side Soup Kitchen
- 14. Midland County Emergency Food Pantry
- 15. Tall in the Saddle
- 16. The Bridge Food Center
- 17. Gateway Family Urgent Care
- 18. Phoenix Community Farms
Judy Kawiecki then led a team-building game called “Me Too” and read an inspirational message.
Please come to our next meeting on Tuesday, November 7th. Our speaker will be Amy Hovey from MyMichigan Health. Her topic will be “Suicide Prevention and Awareness”.
Respectfully submitted,
Elaine White
Secretary