Ellicott City VBS raises $1,500 for Haiti parish

By Catholic Review Staff

Nickels and dimes added up to big money at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Ellicott City. Children participating in the parish’s Vacation Bible School July 9-13 raised $1,500 for its sister parish, Our Lady of the Nativity in Verrettes, Haiti.

The 130 VBS participants collected change throughout the week for the cause – pennies on Monday, nickels on Tuesday, dimes on Wednesday, quarters on Thursday and dollars on Friday – adding the donations daily to a “treasure chest” for Haiti. The collected funds far exceeded the goal of $700.

“The children also blew kisses into the treasure chest so we could also send our love with the money,” Judy Gruel, the parish’s director of religious education, told the Catholic Review via email.