GENEVA, Switzerland — Franciscans International has launched a fundraising campaign aimed, through publicity of the well-known patron saint, at attracting small donations from a large number of people.
The “Five for Francis — Give 5 Ask 5” fundraiser asks donors to give $5 a month so FI can promote peace and justice, eradicate extreme poverty, stop human trafficking, protect the environment and ensure rights for women and children. It also asks that each donor ask five friends to do the same.
News of the Five for Francis campaign was reported in The Franciscan Voice, the monthly newsletter of Franciscans International. “Just think what our collective effort will achieve,” reported The Voice. “In the words of St. Francis, ‘Start by doing what’s necessary, then do what’s possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.’”
In other FI news, Kenya underwent its first Universal Periodic Review during the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva in May. FI submitted a joint report recommending that the government address and act on the need to resettle internally displaced persons, tackle the huge slum-dwelling population, reform rampant corruption, prosecute perpetrators of domestic violence, and ensure the protection of victims.
The organization also presented the FI Human Rights Award to Br. Dionysius Mintoff, OFM, during a special Eucharist with the board of directors in Geneva. Br. Dionysius founded FI with the late Sister Elizabeth Cameron, OSF, in 1982.
On the local front, the second installment of the “Hear It From the Experts” lecture will take place in New York City on June 3. Gerard Thomas Straub, a documentary filmmaker and award-winning author of five books, will discuss “The Power of Film at the Service of the Poor.”
The lecture takes place from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Province’s San Damiano Hall, 127 West 31st Street, New York.