Rosary Project - Success!

I have my 6th graders make their own Rosaries every year.  They love it because they get to make them their own - they select the colors & string them together.  I make sure there aren't any 9- or 11-bead decades & then crimp them together.  We open every class with the appropriate Scripture reading, then pray a decade of the Rosary (in Latin!), then I give a lesson about the reading & the Mystery of that day.  I'm sure I could teach the entire class for the whole year exclusively by this method, because the Blessed Mother is the best teacher of all. 

This year I decided to expand the program a bit.  After making their own Rosaries, the kids always want to make more for their family & friends.  I decided we would try to make a bunch extra & have a Rosary sale after Mass for a few weekends during Lent to raise money for charity.  We made about 25, but I wasn't too sure how well this would be recieved.  We sold out the first weekend, & I had to dedicate a whole next class to just working on Rosaries!  I made a few myself to throw in the pile, & we had about 20 for the next weekend.  We sold all of those, too. 

When the dust had cleared, we raised $718!!!  We donated $200 to the local Good Samaritan Center.  I dropped by to give the donation & they were astounded at the kids' generosity.  The director told me about what they do there, & showed me the food pantries.  One of the managers there told me they had just come across a few cases of peanut butter for 15 cents a pound (a big jar of Jif Crunchy retails for nearly $7!), so our $200 could buy over 1,300 lb. of food.  I shared this with the kids, but I'm not sure they completely understood how great this was.

We donated $100 to Love INC (in the name of Christ), with whom some of our parishoners are deeply involved.  We gave $100 to the NPH (Nuestros Piquenos Hermanos - "our little brothers & sisters") orphanage in El Salvador that our parish supports. We also plan to give $200 to local pregnancy help centers.  Since this was the kids' project, I asked what other causes they would like to donate to, & one of the kids asked about helping animals, so I will check into that - perhaps the local shelter or perhaps something like Horse Haven.  We will split the remainder between the diocesan seminarians & the Nashville Domincan Sisters.  As you can see, our biggest problem is deciding what to do with the funds, Deo gratias! 

Since we have worked our way through the Creed this year & are now studying the Church, this was a great time to explain how God works through us to accomplish his purpose of bringing about the Kingdom of God.  It is his work, not ours.  Non nobis, Domine...
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P.S.: There are still a few Rosaries left - ones the kids started, but didn't get finished in time for the sale (plus I ran out of crimps!).  If you are interested, please contact Lupe in the St. Thomas church office at (865) 986-9885.  Thanks!
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