College Park Rotary is Champion of St. Ann's

Sr. Mary Bader was the guest speaker at the College Park Rotary's weekly meeting on May 25, where President Gaspar F. Colon presented her with a check for $1,200. Calling the gift "providential", Sr. Mary told the Rotary members that the funds will be used to continue the renovation of St. Ann's that was sparked by the Rotary's own efforts to help St. Ann's update our building.

After being introduced by club member and St. Ann's volunteer Anna Mae Kobbe, Sister Mary thanked the Rotary Club of College Park for its many helpful projects and financial contributions to St. Ann's over the years. In particular, she cited the Rotary's work to refurbish the dining room, construct the outdoor gazebo and create the beauty parlor that the resident teen moms use. She stressed that, beyond their own intrinsic value, these Rotary projects have motivated and led to substantial additional renovation and improvement projects by other organizations that are transforming the St. Ann’s facility from an institutional feel to a “homey” place for its residents.

As other organizations have come to St. Ann’s and asked what they can do to help, "I have shown them your results and they have been inspired to undertake additional projects," said Sr. Mary. These include bathroom renovations, replacing tile walls in halls with new wallboard and paint, new wood-like flooring in halls, room painting, and completely renovating the unit kitchens.

Sr Mary closed her remarks by thanking the Rotary for its contributions and for “igniting the spark” that has motivated others to contribute to making St. Ann’s a more home-like environment.