St. Mary’s Health System
According to Cindy Cronkite of the Human Resources Department of St. Mary’s Health System in Lewiston, Maine, “St. Mary’s has sent fifteen Work Retreat teams down to Haiti over the last decade or so. St. Mary's is an organization that lives by its mission and upholds its values of Respect, Excellence, Compassion and Stewardship. Those values fit nicely into the work that we do in the greater Lewiston-Auburn area and in Haiti.”
Cronkite explained that St. Mary’s helps to support three places -St. Boniface Haiti Foundation in Fond des Blancs, Pwoje Espwa in Les Cayes, and the Sisters of Charity in Port-au-Prince.
Cronkite discussed how “We have had a variety of employees and community members participate, from clinical people - physicians, nurses, and pharmacy techs, to lay people like secretaries and computer folks.”
When asked how Mainers can assist with the work of St. Mary’s in Haiti, Cronkite
responded, “Mainers can primarily help by donating funds. St Mary's has a Disaster Recovery fund set up to provide money to these organizations. We also can take some medical supplies, but those donations should be cleared with me first for appropriateness and expiration dates. We usually have a team going once per year, but are limited in what we can carry with us. We also welcome participation in our fund-raising events for Haiti , as well as on our Work Retreat teams. We have had bake sales, spaghetti suppers, a yard sale, and have a Haiti Marketplace every October. An on-going fund raiser is our H-earrings project, "earrings that hear the cry of the poor.” Earrings are hand made by volunteers and are for sale in our gift shop and are beginning to be available at various shops in the Lewiston/Auburn area.
Monetary donations can be sent to:
St Mary's Development Office
c/o Haiti Disaster Recovery
272 Sabattus Street
Lewiston Maine 04240
or on our website:
click on "ways to give"
Haiti Disaster Relief Fund
St. Mary's Health System (SMHS) has a long-term relationship with St. Boniface Hospital in Fond des Blancs, Pwoje Espwa (Father Marc Boisvert’s orphanage) in Les Cayes, and the Sisters of Charity in Port au Prince. We are pleased the hospital and the orphanage did not suffer extensive damage from the quake.
The Sisters are safe but their home and chapel were destroyed. Many of their ‘programs’ rely on external aid including food and supplies shipped via Port au Prince the epicenter of the quake. You may send your donation directly to the St. Mary’s Development Office or donate on line at the SMHS website at “Ways to Give”. If you chose to pay by check please make it out to St. Mary’s Health System with a note or reference to: Disaster Relief Fund – Haiti.
You may make a direct donation to St. Boniface Foundation. Or you may make a direct donation to Pwoje Espwa. 100% of your donation will go directly to Haiti in support of the efforts provided by our partners on the ground.
If you have any questions, please call the Development Office at 777-8863, email Mary or mail to:
SMHS Development Office
PO Box 7291
Leiwston, ME 04243-7291
