[Pennsylvania] Nuns make Thanksgiving possible for poor

from Pittsburgh Tribune Review

By Jennifer Reeger
TRIBUNE-REVIEW

Before the men and women lugging boxes and laundry baskets arrive, the nuns and the volunteers join hands and pray.
They stand in a circle, eyes closed but hearts open to what Sister Margaret Tuley has to say:

"Lord, we ask you to bless us. ... We ask you to open our hearts today to the people who will come as we serve them with respect and reverence."

Then those they serve arrive -- filling up their boxes and bags and laundry baskets with bread and frozen meat and cereal and ramen noodles -- enough to help them avoid starving until it's time to return.
In a tiny Dunbar Township home that served as the starting point for the Pechin's discount-retailing empire, the sisters of Rendu Services work to offer the poor of Fayette County not only respect and reverence but a helping hand.

They have been working for the past six years, aiding the underprivileged by working with other agencies in Fayette County to provide food, after-school programs and health care. As Thanksgiving approached, the sisters directed those in need to community meals or places to get a free turkey to make at home, so that each of them would be able to celebrate the holiday.

For many, there would be no Thanksgiving dinner without the sisters' guiding hands.

"If it wasn't for the sisters ... they're miracles -- they are," said Tammy Dailey, 42, of Dunbar Borough, who gets food from the pantry at Rendu Services every month.

In 1999, the Daughters of Charity Northeast Province was looking for ways to serve the poorest communities.

"We were challenged by our province to really dream so this was a dream project," said Tuley, Rendu's executive director.

The nuns went searching for rural areas with high poverty rates.

"The group that came here to Fayette County really studied," Tuley said. "It's one of the poorest in the Northeast. We felt we wanted to try to make a difference in people's lives."

In Fayette County, 18 percent of residents live below the poverty level, and the child poverty rate of 30 percent is the highest in the state, according to the Fayette County Community Action Agency.

In June 2000, four Daughters of Charity arrived in Fayette County to start Rendu Services -- named for a French nun who worked with the poor of Paris -- and it was officially incorporated the following year. Three of the original nuns remain -- Tuley, Sister Mary Fran Bassick, who runs the after-school program, and Sister Ellen McElroy, who is a caseworker.

Others have joined over the years and have come from two other religious orders -- the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill and Vincentian Sisters of Charity. Vincentian sisters Sarah Geier and Alice O'Connell along with Sister of Charity Annette Frey work on health care. The latest nun to join Rendu, Sister of Charity Mary Philip Aaron, is working on fund development.

When they first arrived, the nuns visited 50 agencies, trying to figure out what was being offered and what they could do to fill the gaps.

"We try to collaborate as best we can," Tuley said. "We don't want to duplicate services."

So they serve as a monthly food pantry site for Fayette County Community Action. They offer an after-school program at the Marion Villa Apartments near Belle Vernon for the Fayette County Housing Authority.

They deliver Meals on Wheels in the Brownsville area. They do in-depth case management interviews at the St. Vincent de Paul store in Uniontown -- offering people ideas on where to go for help with utility bills or food. The sisters' health van takes trips across the county, offering health information and free blood pressure screenings.

On a morning earlier this month, Geier and Frey set up shop at the St. Vincent de Paul store in Uniontown.

On a table are placards about diabetes and cards explaining blood pressure. One display shows the effect of plaque build-up on artery walls. Every month, the nuns focus on a different health topic -- from mammograms to diabetes.

When someone says they can't afford a visit to the doctor, the nuns give them help locating free or reduced-cost health care.

"For some people, they're afraid to go there because it's another bill," Frey said. "They get to the point where husband or wife dies and one of the Social Security checks isn't coming in, and they just can't afford to live."

Joe Burnette, 69, of Springhill Township, stopped by the store to check his blood pressure. He used to be on medication but has managed to get off.

"Usually when I come in here, they're here, and I get it checked," Burnette said. "I like to take advantage of it. I think it's a nice thing.

"I think what they do is really an admirable thing," Burnette said. "There's probably a lot of people who don't even go to the doctor."

Volunteers assist the nuns, especially at the food pantry.

"Some of them are actually recipients, but they help us and we encourage that," Tuley said.

Vi Swank, 66, of Dunbar Borough, has been volunteering since the beginning.

"I've only missed one month because I was sick," she said. "Then it came so we needed it."

She and her husband live on Social Security. She volunteers at the pantry and gets help herself. The pantry serves about 100 families; 50 to 70 come on a regular basis. Many bring similar stories, of working lives cut short by the unexpected.

Dailey used to work several jobs to take care of her three boys. Only one is home now. He's 19 and has special needs. Dailey started coming to the pantry after she had to stop working.

"I got sick, had a heart attack," she said. "I left myself go to take care of my mom and kids. It was hard. It was really hard."

Tuley said Dailey's situation is typical. "If you're the breadwinner in the family and you lose your job, what does it do? Your whole budget is off," Tuley said.

Ten children in the community room at Marion Villa Apartments vie for Bassick's attention.

"Sister, I need help," they say. "Sister, I'm done."

She patiently makes the rounds -- offering each of them help on their homework or with the computer.

"One time, I said, 'Do not say sister anymore. I'm changing my name to Sam,'" Bassick said. "About three seconds later someone said 'Sam.' "

The children come here two days a week after school for homework help, board games, time on the computer and snacks. On Fridays, the kids come for a 4-H program. In the summer, they come to camp.

"I like how sister will help me on science, social studies, reading, spelling everything," said 12-year-old Arielle Sisley.

They've had lessons on photography. They've maintained a garden in the summer. They're learning how to save. The kids collect points for attendance and completed homework and other work they do during the program. Then they can spend it on toys or save it up for bigger prizes.

Bassick said the kids have learned to play with each other and not get so angry. Some come from homes where their parents are addicts or dead or in jail.

"I really want them to remember that when they're here, they're in a safe place and they're in a happy place," she said.