HFI Youth and Staff Participate in Phenomenal Women Celebration

In celebration of Women’s History Month, HFI youth and staff participated in the Phenomenal Women Celebration at the August Wilson Center on March 29. Amy DiMichele, art instructor at the HFI Cathy Pelusi Art Studio, organized the collection of original artwork by female students, employees, volunteers and sisters at HFI. In all, 44 pieces were submitted and displayed at the event, 30 of which will be donated to Hospice patients.

The event also included various dance, musical and poetry performances by local youth and women’s organizations. Several of Holy Family’s youth participated by presenting their artwork and short artist statements to the audience during the Chronicles of Girlhood Program. Congratulations and thank you to these participants and to all artists for a job well done!

Artwork by HFI youth and staff is displayed at Phenomenal Women Celebration.

Sister Linda, Miss Liz and Mr. Bart attend Phenomenal Women Event to show support for HFI youth participants.

Make a Difference as an HFI Volunteer!

Holy Family Institute’s volunteers help us make a difference in the lives of children and families in our community. Are you interested in learning more about volunteering with HFI? We will be conducting a Volunteer Information Session to provide an overview of Holy Family Institute’s history, current programming and the ways in which volunteers can serve within those programs.

If you’re interested in attending this information session, please RSVP to Lynn Guerra by Monday, April 9.

For more information, contact:
Lynn M. Guerra
Director of Volunteer Services
Guerra.Lynn@hfi-pgh.org
412.766.4030 x304

HFI Board Member Receives Legacy Award

Congratulations to Dr. Judith R. Griggs, HFI Board Member, for receiving the 2012 Sister Thea Bowman Legacy Award. Dr. Griggs is the Director of Duquesne University’s Robert and Patricia Gussin Spiritan Division of Academic Programs and the Michael P. Weber Learning Skills Center. She also serves as the University’s Affirmative Action Officer.

In addition to Holy Family’s board, Dr. Griggs serves on the Board of Trustees for POWER, an organization for women in recovery, and Sixth Mt. Zion Baptist Church, where she is also a member.

Dr. Griggs will be presented with the award on March 27, 2012 at the Sister Thea Bowman Black Catholic Educational Foundation’s 16th Annual Scholarship Dinner, celebrating 22 years of serving, supporting and educating black youth in America.

26th Annual Drive for HFI Golf Classic

Please join us with Committee Chair John Banaszak and our many friends to support Holy Family’s mission of bringing hope and healing to children and families.

26th Annual Drive for HFI Golf Classic
July 30, 2012
Montour Heights Country Club
9:00 a.m. Shotgun Start

Sponsorship Opportunities

• Title Sponsor $20,000 SOLD
• Clubhouse Sponsor $15,000
• Golfer Gift Sponsor $10,000
• Cart Sponsor $5,000
• Reception Sponsor $3,000
• Hole-In-One Sponsor $3,000
• Foursome Photo Sponsor $2,500
• Silent Auction Sponsor $2,000
• Program Book Sponsor $2,000
• On-Course Refreshment Sponsor $2,000

For a listing of sponsor benefits, please click here.

Foursomes and Individual Golfers

• Foursome $1,500
• Individual Golfer $375

Advertising Opportunities

• Tee Sign & Full-Page Program Ad $450

For more information:
Christa Cardone
Event Coordinator
Holy Family Institute
412-766-9020 x439
cardone.christa@hfi-pgh.org

Adoptions of Haitian Orphans to be Finalized this Thursday

From left, Stanley, Fekens and Kensly have remained great friends after leaving HFI to join their new families.

More happily-ever-afters abound as the adoptions of three Haitian orphans are finalized in Pittsburgh on Thursday. The children had been brought to Holy Family Institute (HFI) after the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti. 

Twelve-year-old Fekens found his forever home in Pittsburgh with parents Michael and Eileen Dusch and siblings Michael, 23, and Danielle, 20. Says Eileen, who works as a case manager at HFI, “I just feel we were blessed with him. He makes us laugh. Even just running across the street, I said, ‘Fekens, put your shoes on!’ He said, ‘We didn’t have shoes in Haiti!’”

Now in sixth grade, Fekens plays soccer and baseball and enjoys going to the movies and shopping with his older siblings. He still keeps in touch with the other Haitian children he met while at HFI, speaking his native language, Creole, on the phone with his friends who were adopted by families in Illinois and Colorado.

Thirteen-year-old Stanley and nine-year-old Kensly will join their adoptive parents Michael and Carmen Owens, as well as new siblings Keenan, 17, Quintin, 15, Melina, 13, Makena, 13, Ayden, 11, and Gavin, 8. Like Fekens, Stanley and Kensly have adjusted well and are excelling both academically and athletically. Both families would like to thank everyone in the Pittsburgh area who has shown the children such kindness and generosity.

 Their adoptions will be finalized the morning of Thursday, March 22, at the Allegheny County Orphans Court, with the Dusch and Owens families hosting a private reception afterwards at Holy Family’s Emsworth facility to celebrate.

These adoptions are the last to be finalized of the 18 children who were placed at HFI on the evening of January 21, 2010. While the Haitian children have moved on to join their new families, HFI still helps countless children and families in Pennsylvania and beyond through the generous support of donors like you. With your help, we can ensure that even more children get the happily-ever-afters they all deserve.