Alphonse Gerwing Foundation

A Note From Our President

Dear Relatives and Friends of the Alphonse Gerwing Charitable Foundation,

I want to wish you a blessed and peace-filled Christmas and a happy, healthy and prosperous 2024. As we enter a new year it is time again to give a progress report on the Foundation.

Our Foundation is currently supporting three projects in north-east Brazil that Al was instrumental in forming and funding. These projects are:

- Ambrosina Young Women's Capacitation

- Grota da Alegria Education, and

- The School of Family Agriculture, and

The Ambrosina Young Women’s Capacitation objectives, in part, are to increase their employability through the following:

-continuing with their studies

-family planning advice

-facilitating access to books and readings through storytelling and leadership training

-using theatre as a tool for social development, educational and cultural formation and transformation

-providing psychotherapeutic care for young women experiencing vulnerability, family disruption and oppression

Grota da Alegria was one of Al’s first and most loved projects. It involves going into slum areas and offering support and hope to the people there.

As stated in the latest Nexus newsletter, “100 children from the ages of 6 to 10 years old, and 20 from ages 11-14 participated in the project which aims to improve the literacy rate in the area.

The project focuses on meaningful literacy such as mathematical operations related to real life situations such as cooking and food preparation.

Mothers are involved too so that they can continue working on this at home. The children also participate in carnivals, holiday activities and trips to museums and parks to broaden their experiences.”

The School of Family Agriculture's Dryland Irrigation Training project is coming to its conclusion at the end of 2023. The Rainbow of Hope for Children will be awaiting a proposal for a new project in the new year.

As you know, there are many continuing needs in the projects that Al started. I encourage each of you to consider becoming part of the Foundation. Your donation adds to the principal value of the Foundation. The earnings are used to fund projects each year so all contributons continue to "give" year after year. If you are interested in making a donation please go to the "Donation" section on this (the Alphonse Gerwing Foundation) website.

Foundation highlights from 2023 include:

• At the Lake Lenore High School graduation this spring, the $500.00 Al Gerwing Fine Arts Award was presented to J.C. Cordero. The award was presented by Al's nephew, Dennis Gerwing. Congratulations J.C.!

• Beginning in 2021 the Foundation agreed to donate $750.00 annually to St. Thomas More College in Saskatoon to be used for an emergency student bursary fund. The fund supports foreign students who are having difficulty paying for food and shelter, textbooks and tuition. We thought this was appropriate as STM had a special and enduring place in Al’s heart.

• We still have copies of “No Ordinary Man” and a few of “Joining the Street People”. Both would make excellent Christmas gifts. Both are priced at $20.00 and would make worthwhile stocking stuffers. They can be purchased by contacting Ted (see information below). You can find them on the Foundation website under “Al’s Store”.

In last year’s message, I mentioned that in July, 2022 Lake Lenore marked the 100th anniversary of our beloved St. Anthony’s Church and that Julie Gerwing, Al’s sister-in-law, who celebrated her 100th birthday in 2022 was the parade marshal. Sadly, Julie passed away in early November this year at the age of 101. Her death, along with Laura Berscheid’s (Al’s sister) at the age of 103 in 2022 mark the passing of two remarkable women. Not only did they both live to be over 100 but their lives were inspirations to all who knew them. They were both very giving, caring, talented and positive people, much like Al was.

Once again, best wishes to each of you. Thank you for your support of Al's Foundation. I encourage you to consider the Alphonse Gerwing Charitable Foundation as one of your 'charities of choice' for this coming year.

Steve Buttinger, Chairperson

Alphonse Gerwing Charitable Foundation

Our hope

As you know, the purpose of the Foundation is to keep Al’s projects (and memory) alive long into the future.

You can help

By contributing to the foundation, you can help to ensure that Al’s work will continue to make a difference in people’s lives.

“Remember that when you leave this earth, you can take with you nothing that you received- only what you have given; a full heart enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice and courage.”
- St. Francis of Assisi

You can make a donation by cheque or through any of the options listed on the Donations web page. Another option to consider is a "direct deposit". Direct deposit enables a donor to make a regular donation each month by having the donation transferred to the Foundation automatically. If you are interested in either of these options please contact our treasurer, Ted Gerwing at (306)374-9771 or by email at tedgerwing@sasktel.net.

Or you can use your credit card click the button below. To receive a receipt in the mail, please fill out the shipping address form on PayPal.

Donations can be made out to the Alphonse Gerwing Charitable Foundation and sent to 14 Harvard Cres., Saskatoon, SK., S7H 3R1

Foundation brochures can be downloaded from the Our Brochures pick on the web site. If you would like to receive more information, contact:

Ted Gerwing - Sec. Treasurer
1-306-374-9771 14 Harvard Cres., Saskatoon, SK., S7H 3R1
email tedgerwing@sasktel.net

Steve Buttinger - CEO
(306) 374-3345
e-mail sbuttinger@sasktel.net

Charlie Matt/Vicki Gerwing (Web & Info)
c-matt@shaw.ca

Roberta Hoiness (Social Media Coordinator)
rhoiness@sasktel.net