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Welcome to our monthly Enews
August 2008 - Issue 8
Welcome Our 13 New St. Joseph Workers
You are invited to the Welcoming Ceremony of the 2008 St. Joseph Workers on Friday, August 22 at 7 p.m. in The Presentation of Our Lady Chapel, followed by a reception in Carondelet Center.
In its seventh year, the St. Joseph Worker Program provides women much more than a year-long volunteer opportunity. Every step of the way, these women are guided by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet to become leaders, living out the values of simplicity, spirituality, community-building and social justice.
"I hope you will join me and our Workers for this celebration. They are filled with optimism, hope and a desire to change themselves and their world," says Suzanne Herder, CSJ, Director, St. Joseph Worker Program.
POWER Summit Empowers High School Students
 Thirty-five high school students know they have the power to make a difference because they participated in the 2008 POWER Summit sponsored by Celeste's Dream, a ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. "The POWER Summit changed my life. One activity involved organizing ourselves based on how powerful we felt on a scale of one to ten. By the end of the week I could confidently place myself at a ten because I had come to realize the immense power I have to affect positive change both now and in the future," says Andi Seikaly, a high school student from San Diego, California.
She wasn't alone. The participants, arriving from three states and 14 different high schools, inspired each other. They discovered new ways of thinking from Youth Ventures, Wellstone Action, Friends for a Nonviolent World and Dot Maver, executive director of Peace Partnership International. Maver spoke on peace and posed the question, "If we have the power to eradicate diseases like polio, then where is the vaccine for violence?"
On the final day, students developed their own individual action steps. One student will talk to war veterans and offer support. Another student wants to create a memorial for children killed in the Iraqi war. Others will start a chaper of the Student Peace Alliance and work on conflict resolution in their lives. "As I make plans to carry out my action step I am thankful for the opportunity to have been a part of such an amazing endeavor to promote peace," says Andi.
Planned Giving
by Lisse Regehr
I can't bequeath to my favorite charities because I need to provide
for my loved ones.
When we ask donors, “What is holding you back from making a bequest to the Ministries Foundation?” we often hear, “I have children and grandchildren that I need to support through my estate when I am gone.” But what if there was a way to provide for your loved ones while still being able to make a gift to your favorite charity in the process?
Many people don’t know that there are great ways to provide for both your loved ones and your favorite charity. The most common tool is a Charitable Gift Annuity (CGA), which is a contract between you and a charity where you transfer property (cash, securities or even real property if applicable) in exchange for a guaranteed fixed dollar payment to you or another beneficiary during you or your beneficiary’s lifetime.
One of the great things about a CGA is that you can set up an income stream for a loved one (or two) and have it begin to pay out right away or defer it until a set date. When the CGA is created
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