This article was originally printed in the Hospitallers Newsletter Volume 22 Summer 22, Page 10.

As we continue through the summer months, we are grateful to be able to report that the Capital Campaign is making great progress, thanks to a lot of hard work by a lot of people and the unprecedented generosity of our members around the country.

What we are finding is a consistent attitude of love toward the spirituality of the Order, a commitment to its charism of serving the sick and the poor and giving witness to the faith, and a sincere appreciation for being able to walk the path of Blessed Gerard with other Knights and Dames committed to the same goals. We also found a pervasive interest in ensuring the legacy of what we are so that what we do will go on long after we do.

With that work completed, in May, we were able to present a case to the Board of Councillors and to the Boards of the Pilgrimage Foundation and the Malta Human Services Foundation that a capital campaign of $20 million could be successful and obtain the authorization to formally begin the public phase of the Capital Campaign. Remember, we are looking to raise $7 million to fund our Pilgrimage Foundation to fully underwrite sending malades and caregivers to Lourdes on Pilgrimage in perpetuity. Further, we are raising $13 million to double our Malta Human Services Foundation which enables the local works in your area.

Most successful capital campaigns begin in earnest with a silent phase, a critical period where the case is refined, the story is told, and key members of the organization are solicited. Our silent phase ran from September 2020 through May 2022 and has yielded remarkable results.

As we continue to transition this summer to the Area Engagement Phase, we will build on the one hundred fifty-four households or Foundations who have contributed pledges totaling over $14.5 million. This is over 70% of our total campaign goal. We are pleased at the level of commitment we have received from families we have met; we are grateful that several Foundations have felt that our story was authentic – we were able to secure significant grants for the campaign from them.

Since we started working on the campaign, it has been our contention that the Association, its collective of dedicated and generous Knights and Dames, has a great story to tell – we have said, with evidence that continues to confirm it, that all we have to do is tell the story. It is a story of lived faith, a story of a dedicated group of people following in the tradition of a nine-hundred-year-old lay religious Order. It is the story of walking the streets to feed the hungry, sheltering the homeless, caring for the sick, proclaiming and protecting the value of life, pulling a Malde in Lourdes or sharing a Bible with a man behind bars. It is your story – the story of Knights and Dames on a journey, reaching out to live the Beatitudes.

 

In the Fall, this campaign will open its public phase.  At that point, we will be formally asking you to make a pledge to the campaign. Generous members have opened their homes or their clubs to have a serious chat with small groups of members, discussing how we can build on what you are doing now and secure your legacy of care for the sick and the poor.

We have been to Long Island, Vero Beach (by Zoom), Green Bay and Connecticut once already and have been at least twice to New York City, New Jersey, Boston, Naples, Saint Louis, Southeast Florida and Detroit. We have spoken to large groups and to small gatherings; on the phone, on Zoom and face to face. We spoke at the Investiture. These conversations are very important. Over the summer, we will continue to have small gatherings with twenty to thirty people. The story is always the same – We Are Called To Serve. It is a simple story of commitment and legacy.

And to be honest, we cannot wait to tell the story to you in your Area. Look for us in a location near you in the Fall!

This article was contributed by Gail and Joseph Berardino, Co-Chairs of the Capital Campaign. Gail can be reached at gtberardino@gmail.com and Joe can be reached at jfberardino@gmail.com. They welcome your comments, questions, and suggestions.