September 5, 2023
 

Dear Friend of St. Stephens/Friend of Mary’s Meals;

From November 5 - 9, 2023, St. Stephen’s Parish is hosting a secondPickelball Marathon, “Pickleball for Porridge” in support of the international non-profit, Mary’s Meals. Since 2014, St. Stephen’s Parish, along with cooperation of parishioners, the former St. Stephen-St. Edward School families, and the Knights of Columbus Council 4952 have raised $145,000 for Mary’s Meals. Most recently, St. Stephen’s Parish sponsored a 650-student school - Kabale Primary School, in Malawi in 2022. 

The goal of Mary’s Meals is simple; feed a child a nutritious meal in their place of education. Children will come to school, learn, eat, and the cycle of poverty is broken. Mary’s Meals currently serves 2.5 million children a meal in school, each day in 18 of the poorest countries in the world. The cost to feed a child for a year is $25.20. 

In March of this year, St. Stephens hosted the first Pickleball for Porridge Marathon. The event was a huge success, raising more than $13,000 for Mary’s Meals. Our second marathon, planned for November, has been scheduled around a Catholic Conference that St. Stephens is hosting on November 11, which will be attended by Ellen Miller from Iowa, a Volunteer Coordinator for Mary’s Meals USA. The goal of Pickleball for Porridge is to raise more than $10,000 for Mary’s Meals and to raise awareness in the community for this charity that is important to our parish. Each two-hour pickeball session costs participants $25.20 per person, essentially feeding a new child for a year. In addition to pickleball play, we are offering sponsorships, selling tee shirts, holding a tricky tray and selling food concessions. 

Our parish is thrilled to share the mission and outstanding works of Mary’s Meals with our community and Orange County and beyond, and to celebrate and acknowledge the impact we have already had in the lives of our most vulnerable brothers and sisters. We appreciate your consideration of a monetary donation or in-kind gift in support of our event. Won’t you join us?

Best Regards,

Mary Juliano

Pickleball for Porridge Event Chair