St. Thomas More Catholic Church Weekly Bulletin 2014-04-13 Palm Sunday | Page 9

Arcadia Outreach St. Thomas More Council #7826 OUTREACH Members of the Arcadia Outreach Ministry visited Catholic Charities in Arcadia to deliver a check from the St. Thomas More parish family in the amount of $6,250 to be used for the purchase of meat for needy families. In addition, approximately $500 worth of frozen hamburg, hot dogs and chicken, donated by the Venice/Nokomis Rotary Club, was also delivered to Catholic Charities. A picture of some of the St. Thomas More family presenting the check and frozen meat to Catholic Charities is include below (Ministry leader George Forcier is on the right.) In addition, the ministry members visited the Casa San Juan Bosco migrant farm workers' housing complex. The complex is looking for two beds, twin, full or queen size, for one of the homes. Finally, the after school program is holding a book fair at the end of April. Book donations that target kindergarten to fifth grade level are requested. If you would like to donate any books for the book fair, drop them off at the Chelsea Center. Thank you St. Thomas More parishioners for your generous donations to the Knights of Columbus Citizens with Disabilities “Tootsie Roll” campaign. With your help, the Knights of Columbus donated $3,500 to Oak Park School for the purchase of a Whisperglide swing. This swing will give medically and physically frail students the opportunity to experience the fun of swinging with their friends without being removed from their wheelchairs. Many thanks again for your generosity. Bob Haas, Grand Knight; St. Thomas More Knights of Columbus [email protected] or 922-2536. Make a Difference for a Lifetime Become a Guardian ad Litem (GAL) A child with a GAL volunteer is more likely to find a safe, permanent home: • More likely to be adopted. • Half as likely to re-enter foster care. • More likely to have a plan for permanency, especially children of color: Children with GAL volunteers spend less time in foster care, • “It is quite remarkable that children without GAL involvement are spending an average of over eight months longer in care, compared to children having GAL involvement.” And are less likely to be bounced home to home. • GAL volunteers improve representation of children and are highly effective in having their recommendations adopted by the court Children with GAL volunteers do better in school: • More likely to pass all courses • Less likely to have poor conduct in school • Less likely to be expelled And score better on nine protective factors: • Neighborhood resources, interested adults, sense of acceptance, controls against deviant behavior, models of conventional behavior, positive attitude towards the future, valuing achievement, ability to work with others and ability to work out conflicts.