One heart for feeding the hungry

One heart for feeding the hungry

One of the success stories in the Archdiocese of Boston right now is the Cor Unum Meal Center, in Lawrence, Mass., the poorest municipality in the state.

It was started as part of St. Patrick parish at the beginning of the millennium after many homeless, hungry vagrants were seen congregating on a regular basis behind the church. They started fundraising for the center with a “Labels are for Jars” campaign that sends out a jar containing a t-shirt with the slogan and you’re expected to fill the jar with change and send it back.

The center opened in September last year and has already served more than 40,000 meals. It’s an amazing ministry. The other day Detroit Tigers first baseman Sean Casey, who was in town to play the Red Sox, stopped by the center to help out.

“I think it’s important for all of us to be involved in the community, where ever you are, there’s needs,” Casey said, “and for us here at Cor Unum with the need here in Lawrence with feeding people, I think it’s just awesome.”

The center’s director, Father Paul O’Brien, has received celebrity help before.

Brookline native Conan O’Brien [was] his college roommate. He came to the center last September for the grand opening.

The two raised close to half-a-million dollars for the center, much of it through T-shirt sales from Labels Are For Jars. Casey has also used the T-shirts to raise money with his teammates.

There’s a news report video at the last link above about Casey’s visit. A side note: the male anchor for the news broadcast, Scott Wahle, is a devoted Catholic and active member of his parish involved in a well-known lay apostolate.

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