The kitchen is the heart of our homes, and of our parish home as well. And since 1960, the church basement kitchen has served as a hub for celebrations — almost all of which center around food.

But the kitchen has largely not been updated in 60+ years, and boy does it show. It is inefficient at best, and fixtures and appliances are tired or just plain broken beyond repair. Ministries who rely on the kitchen find ways to work around these problems…but think how much more effective they can be when they can direct their energy toward the people and not subpar mechanics.

On Nov. 28, during our #weGiveCatholic giving day campaign, St. Francis Xavier Parish will be raising money to update the kitchen. We envision new cabinets and appliances, new countertops and even a slightly new layout to provide more space for food preparation and make it easier for more people to work in there at a time.

#weGiveCatholic is a one-day giving day throughout the Diocese of Cleveland where everyone is invited to support the parishes, schools and nonprofits that have helped them grow.

We need your help! Every gift of $10 or more made during the 24-hours giving day helps us reach our $100,000 goal!

But there are strategies…

1. Give between 12 midnight and 6 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 28, to help us win a $1,000 bonus! The parish, school or nonprofit with the most “unique” donors during this period will get $1,000 more toward their project. That’s almost one appliance! Consider dividing your gift and giving from each of your email addresses – you can use the same credit card, but each email address must be separate and valid. Last year, the winner (Seton Catholic School) had 191 donors before 6 a.m. to our 120. We can do this! Every gift made before 6 a.m. will be DOUBLED thanks to a matching gift from an anonymous donor in our parish. (Thank you, anonymous donor!)
   
   New! Our Knights of Columbus want to see us win that $1,000 prize and have very generously set aside an incentive gift of $100 for every 10 donations above last year’s 120 for our “Keeping Vigil KNIGHT Owl” challenge.
   
   AND a generous parishioner has set up a $1,500 matching grant for this time block – so all donations made between 12 midnight and 6 a.m. will be matched up to $1,500.
   
   Set your alarm and use ALL your email addresses to make multiple gifts as we want to WIN!!! All donations help us achieve our goals!
   
2. Get yourself ready about 1:55 p.m. and give EXACTLY at 2 p.m. for part of the $15,000 matching grant offered by Boyd Watterson. All online gifts throughout the diocese up to $500 will be DOUBLED. One parish got $4,000 of that pot last year! These gifts do not need to be “unique,” meaning you can give $10 before 6 a.m. and $500 at 2 p.m. 🙂
   As another incentive, another anonymous donor is offering a $5,000 match at 2 p.m. for a “Triple Decker Stewardship Sandwich” — this means your online gifts up to $500 will be matched by our donor AND Boyd Watterson (until this pot is gone, within 2-3 minutes).
   
3. We will have additional raffle prizes and matching grant opportunities during the day – stay tuned to our parish Facebook page and email for updates!

Payment options: You can give online, or drop off a check to the parish office. You have options online as well – not just credit cards, but you can also give from your Venmo or PayPal accounts, or designate a gift from a charitable trust.

Thank you in advance for all of your support! We can’t wait to see our community rally around this cause!