I'm sure you are familiar with that very famous and inspirational phrase from Martin Luther King, Jr. But, I'm claiming it as my own for the St. Nicholas Project. My vision is to engage the Catholic community in supporting the charitable works at the Kurn Hattin Homes for Children because they do something I am not doing. That is, they are changing the lives of children from troubled homes every day through education, music, sports, counseling, love and support. The value of their work with these boys and girls, ages 5-15, is not only successful, but also preventive. I work with a lot of adult men and women who grew up in troubled homes. Now many of them are drug addicts, alcoholics and homeless. They wander the streets panhandling for money or overdose on the front yard of the church where I work. We provide a temporary homeless shelter for youth ages 18-24 from November to April here in Burlington, VT. And many times I wonder how their lives would have been different if they could have lived at Kurn Hattin when they were children. Would it have prevented them from becoming homeless or addicted to substances or perpetrators of abuse if they had been raised in a loving, structured and secure environment such as the one that Kurn Hattin offers young children from troubled homes?
There are four core values to the formation process at Kurn Hattin which help shape and guide them during the time they are there. These values are the following:
Perseverance
Never give up, always give your best.
Nurturance
Take care of yourself; your body mind and spirit.
Hope
Hope will carry you through the hard times and beyond.
Compassion
Have compassion for yourself and others; it makes the world a better place.
Sense of Worth
You matter, always be true to yourself, be courageous and find, accept and live your passions without regret. (https://kurnhattin.org/kurn-hattin/our-core-values-2 )
My vision is that Catholic men and women will spread the good news that Kurn Hattin Homes can prevent boys and girls who are growing up in troubled homes from becoming troubled adults who perpetuate a lifestyle of dysfunctional behavior. Through material and financial support to the Homes we can keep their legacy in operation and we can change the socio-economic spiraling down of some families by providing their children core values that can lift them back up in order to soar into a brighter future.
