Grant Impact Story
As the world becomes more technology-reliant, not keeping up means losing out on opportunities for education and community. For Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Mercer, upgrading their wi-fi network and other technology was no longer a want, but a necessity.
“We wish to step into the next century,” pastor Father Andrew Boyd wrote in his grant application. “As members of the Catholic-Christian global community, we have a responsibility to spread the Gospel. By updating and upgrading our technology in the parish, we will have the ability to continue this mission without delays due to outdated technology, loss of data, or any other issues utilizing modern technology.”
Those who would benefit from this new technology include parish staff, lifelong faith formation classes, confirmation students, volunteer faith sharing groups, and anonymous groups that use their building for meetings.
Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish was awarded a grant from the Catholic Foundation and got to work right away ordering the necessary items to upgrade their technology. Besides their wi-fi networking spread across the three buildings of their campus, the physical components of the upgrade were a new projector, screen, and speakers for the faith formation conference room.
These upgrades not only helped short-term goals but facilitated a new milestone: adult faith formation sessions, bringing in over 40 participants in each of the spring and fall sessions. This grant was nothing short of transformational in creating an “enriched environment” for these faith formation sessions and demonstrated the importance of technology in bringing the community together while advancing their faithful mission.
Father Boyd shared that “the success of the adult faith formation sessions has inspired us to expand and diversify our outreach using technology, with a focus on fostering community engagement. We extend heartfelt thanks to the donors for their role in enhancing our mission. Your impact resonates, inspiring further support for our shared vision of enrichment through faith.”
This project was supported by a grant from the Education Endowment of the Catholic Foundation. Your gift to the Foundation in any amount designated for this endowment increases our capacity to award grants for impactful projects and programming throughout northwest Pennsylvania.
“We extend heartfelt thanks to the donors for their role in enhancing our mission. Your impact resonates, inspiring further support for our shared vision of enrichment through faith.”