This article was originally printed in the Hospitallers Newsletter Volume 20 Fall 2020, Page 20.

In this newsletter, you will find a summary of the grants which have already been approved this year across the American Association. We are humbled by the magnitude of the impact made by all of you serving the sick and the poor. The work you do is inspiring and supports our decision to lead the Association’s Capital Campaign – to further the work that you do every day when you reach out to a homebound person, serve soup to a hungry family, help a woman bring her baby into the world, happy and healthy, or send a child home from school with food for the weekend. More than anything else, the variety of ways our members serve the sick and the poor is a testament to your commitment and to your selfless observations – you see a need and you endeavor to address it.

The Capital Campaign is another service project – creating an opportunity for each of us to participate in the works being done across the Association today and the works that will be done decades from now. From the Lourdes Pilgrimage to stuffing backpacks for victims of human trafficking, from giving a small “goody bag” coupled with a sincere love to a homeless person, singing songs to handicapped children, writing a letter to a prisoner who has no one else who cares – we find a way to use our hands and hearts in meeting the challenge, “Whatever you do to the least of these, you do to Me.”

We all made a commitment when we joined the Order to follow the path of Blessed Gerard. We had no idea that our commitment would have such a profound impact on our own lives as we reach out to help those in need. What you do touches lives in big and small ways but every act of kindness reflects your commitment to live the charism, “Tuitio Fidei et Obsequium Pauperum.”  

Your commitment buoys our optimism about the potential success of the Capital Campaign. What we do today in service leads us to want to build a financial legacy to enable current and future Knights and Dames to continue our works.

At a time when so the lives of so many sick and poor lives have been terribly disrupted by the Coronavirus, many of us have been fortunate to be able to work remotely, immune from the devastating impact the pandemic has had on many lives and to enjoy reasonable and, in some cases, outsized returns to investment portfolios in the “recovery phase”.   Of those who have much, much is expected.

The fourth quarter of 2020 will be the quiet phase of our campaign. During this period, we are engaged with the Board of Councillors, the Malta Human Services Foundation Board and the Pilgrimage Foundation Board and they are providing substantial financial support for the campaign as well as sharing their ideas and experiences with us. Joe and Gail would enjoy hearing from you. 

This article was contributed by Gail and Joseph Berardino, Co-Chairs of the Capital Campaign.