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Growing Community Roots 2021 Holiday Newsletter

Dear Donors, Friends, Family and Colleagues,

Wishing you and your loved ones a Happy Thanksgiving and Blessed Christmas Season.

Many of you know about Growing Community Roots (GCR) - and some of you don’t. GCR is an all-volunteer organization that is inspired and driven by “moving always toward love of God and love of neighbor without distinction”. To date, GCR has enriched the lives of more than 8,500 students, faculty, and staff with safe water, clean sanitation and washrooms, community gardens, and tree farms for schools in this poverty-stricken area of West Kenya.

These critical needs cannot be addressed without you. Help us raise $35,000 for our 2022 Rarua Integrated Primary School Project – a GIFT that will continue to give for many years to come. Each year it will impact the lives of more than 500 students, teachers, staff, and parents.

Current School Environment: The Rarua School does not have a permanent source of water. Water used in the school originates in a pond one kilometer away. There is also a pond nearby that community members use to water their animals. During COVID-19 the children have to fetch water from this pond early in the morning to fill up the hand wash container before they settle for class work. The school does have a small water tank with a capacity of 3,600lts. This water is available during the rainy season and is preserved for drinking. The school only has two toilet blocks – a three-door boys block and a three-door girls block with a changing room.

With your help, we can bring larger water tanks, more sanitary toilets and washrooms, and fencing for a garden and tree farm to the Rarua School. The students will be able to focus on their education when they do not have to spend time retrieving water from contaminated sources, nor stand in long lines to use toilets. Having washrooms to use during their menses exponentially increases the attendance of female students. For many of the boys and girls, their school lunch, utilizing produce from their school-sponsored community gardens, is their main source of nutritious food and a way for them to learn the benefits of healthy meals. Students also learn about the ecological benefits of the tree farms they help maintain. These farms are their effort to restore the extensive deforestation in their homeland. During this season of Thanksgiving and Gift Giving, we are asking you to help these children, who are beginning their journey towards a life that will hold a bright future.

We ask that you partner with us with a contribution that will enable these children to stay healthy, well nourished, and well educated. They need support from all of us. Please click here to donate or send a check to:

Growing Community Roots
3141 Dean Court, Suite 804
Minneapolis, MN 55416

Best Wishes and Abundant Blessings,
Anita S. Duckor, CSJ Consociate, St. Paul Province, President and Co-Founder
Angela Faustina, Vice President, CSJ Sister, Los Angeles Province
Dorothy Hathway, Secretary, CSJ Associate, Albany Province
Ann Shields, Treasurer, CSJ Consociate, St. Paul Province
Anne Hannahan, CSJ Consociate, St. Paul Province, Co-Founder & Board Member
Maureen Freeman, CSJ Sister, St. Louis Province, Board Member
Linda Neil, CSJ Sister, Albany Province, Board Member
Therese Sherlock, CSJ Sister, St Paul Province, Board Member

98% of your gift goes directly to school projects and is fully tax-deductible under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue code. Click here to learn more about GCR and to see some photos of the schools and students our organization has helped.

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