Health and Wellness Ministry

*God doesn't look at how much we do, but with how much love we do it. - Mother Teresa*
Mission Statement
	We are a ministry working with the parish of Our Lady of Guadalupe, to promote health and wellness services to our parish community. We will minister to the body, mind, and spirit of the faithful of the parish. Through acts of service to others, we will respond to community based needs.
What is the Health& Wellness Ministry?
	We are a group of parish health care professionals and non-professional volunteers with the desire to promote health and wellness in our community, and to provide practical assistance to parishioners in need. We have a varied program, and we are exploring ways to expand our ministry. We welcome anyone with an interest in our activities. Those who are good listeners, are empathetic, and have time available during the day to sit with our parishioners, are also encouraged to become part of the ministry.
The Role of the Health & Wellness Ministry Team
	l Provide education on health matters l Conduct health screenings (such as blood pressure screenings) l Offer referrals for community resources l Give emotional and family support l Provide companionship to the homebound and elderly l Provide respite time for caregivers l Respond to community needs (food drives, clothing drives, baby product drives, Back to School drives, sponsor a family at the homeless shelter, provide birthday gifts to shelter children)
For Additional Information on the Health & Wellness Ministry
	Please contact Maureen Sapelli at maureenm23@gmail.com

Members of the H&W Ministry go into the homes of the home bound who request our services, and we provide companionship and help out with simple chores around the house. If you are interested in having one of us visit, or if you are interested in visiting, please contact Maureen Sapelli at 215-794-5764 or maureenm23@gmail.com

Members of the H&W Ministry are able to provide some time to sit with loved ones while the caregiver takes a break. If you are interested contact Maureen Sapelli.

Twice a year the ministry holds a blood pressure screening in the cafeteria of the school after all of the Masses. This is a great time to get this vital sign checked. We check children, as well as adults, to get them used to having it done, as well as to find out how they are doing. These sessions are also time for fellowship, and we provide refreshments. The last screening was May 22 and 23, and it was very successful. We screened 84 people, which are the most we have ever done. This was our sixth screening. We do sometimes pick up significant abnormalities that need to be followed up. Our next screening will be in October.

Thank you for your very generous contributions to the July food drive. We collected 368 pounds of food for the Doylestown Food Pantry. The August food drive is being done for The Lord’s Pantry at St John the Baptist Catholic Church in Ottsville. Food is in very short supply as it always is in the summer, and your help is very much needed. For this drive we will be distributing the manna bags in which to collect food at the Masses on August 21 and 22. Please put some items in the bags and return them to the Masses on August 28 and 29 or to the parish office. Items that are particularly in need are: tuna fish, veggies, soups, jelly, canned fruit, coffee, pasta and noodles, toilet paper and paper towels and canned juices, but any non-perishable food is helpful. If there are any questions, please contact Maureen Sapelli at 215-794-5764 or maureenm23@gmail.com

PREP food drives are over for this school year. The PREP students collected 2164 pounds of food from November to April. This is a very impressive effort on the part of our kids! Many local hungry people were fed because of the PREP students, and they deserve a big THANK YOU! We will resume the drives in the Fall when PREP classes begin.

Our new adopted family moved into the shelter in April. There was a delay because of repairs that needed to be done at the shelter. The apartment was cleaned and set up by members of the ministry. All of the linens, pillows, towels, cleaning products, personal care products, etc., that the parishioners so generously donated, were put to good use. Our new family consists of a Dad, Mom and 3 children…..a boy age 9, a girl age 11 and a boy age 14. Dad is undergoing radiation therapy for cancer in his neck. Please pray for his recovery. The children are adapting very well to the shelter.

The H&W Ministry is planning a picnic for the shelter residents on Saturday, August 21. It will be at Pavilion 2 at Lake Galena, and we will have paddle boat rides available for the residents. If anyone would care to donate any food for the picnic or help out in other ways, please contact Maureen Sapelli.

The H&W Ministry has a list of all of the children who live at the shelter and their birthdays. We take a cake and a present to each child on their special day. If anyone would like to contribute a present or a cake please contact Maureen Sapelli at 215-794-5764 or maureenm23@gmail.com

Members of OLG help out at the BCHG Food Pantry and Shelter. Help is always needed in the pantry in addition to help being needed with baby sitting and giving rides to residents. If anyone is interested in helping, please contact Kate Bianchini at 215-345-1492.

People often contact the H&W Ministry asking about donating used furniture and household goods. The shelters in Bucks County, including the Doylestown one where we have our adopted family, are furnished almost completely by donations. The shelters themselves do not have much storage space. There is a not-for- profit group called Deserving Décor that has storage space and collects furniture and furnishes all of the shelters in the county. They also make the apartments attractive with curtains, bedspreads, wall hangings and decorations. In addition, they supply dishes and other household goods. Deserving Décor also recently opened a Thrift shop to sell their extras. They will pick up furniture from your home. Their phone number is 215-550-5674. You can call and leave a message, and they will get back to you. They are a very respectable organization. They were featured on the Martha Stewart Show and in one of the Doylestown magazines.

Members of OLMC and OLG have been helping Father Andrew Labatorio’s Saint Jude parish in Port-au-Prince for several years by going to Saint Jude and conducting medical missions. We have supported those missions by collecting vitamins and over the counter medicines. Since the earthquake, the situation in Haiti is much more desperate, and we would like to help Father Andrew’s parish in additional ways. Even though Haiti is not in the news very much anymore, conditions there are still very bad. OLMC has obtained a large shipping container that they would like to fill and send down to Father Andrew’s Parish. They have asked our help to fill the container. The container will be packed on September 11 & 12. We are doing a drive the weekend before, September 4 & 5. This is Labor Day weekend, but arrangements can be made to collect items from you before or after Labor Day if you won’t be home that weekend. The following is a list of requested items (these can be new or gently used):

Please bring any of the requested items to the Masses on September 4 & 5. If you would like to have items picked up before or after Labor Day weekend, please contact Maureen Sapelli at 215-794-5764 or maureenm23@gmail.com

The Health and Wellness Ministry is interested in starting a prayer shawl ministry at OLG. We could meet once a week or so and work on making lap robes or shawls or small blankets for the sick and elderly. It could be a good time for fellowship, prayer and refreshments in addition to making the shawls. Anyone with any interest in these crafts who would like to help form the group, or is interested in joining, can contact Maureen Sapelli at 215-794-5764 or maureenm23@gmail.com This project is still in the planning stages, so all suggestions are welcome.

The next meeting of the Health and Wellness Ministry is Wednesday, August 18 at 7:00 pm in the parish office conference room. All are welcome to attend. You do not have to have a medical back ground to participate in our projects.

If you have any questions about any of the projects that the Health and Wellness Ministry is doing, please contact Maureen Sapelli at 215-794-5764 or maureenm23@gmail.com