By Mary Stadnyk | Associate Editor

On a rainy Saturday afternoon in late July, five determined youngsters set up a lemonade stand to raise money for what they considered to be a very important cause. They wanted to contribute toward their parish’s Faith to Move Mountains goal. Their hard work paid off – they raised $500.

The Diocese of Trenton inaugurated the new endowment campaign, Faith to Move Mountains in summer 2014, with the goal of planning for the future and meeting long-term and extraordinary needs. A $75 million goal was set to establish new or increase existing endowments, which would enable a vibrant Church in the Diocese to serve future generations of Catholics. Each of the Diocese’s 107 parishes has been assigned a campaign goal to help the Diocese meet various needs, including those of its parishes, Catholic schools and ordained ministries, among others.

“This is amazing,” Mariann Gilbride, associate director of development for the Diocese, said as she commended Michael Stiers, Cristian and Sarah Berardi and Michael and Max Euker, all of whom are religious education students in Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, Moorestown.

“This says a lot for the parents of these children in teaching them about stewardship and what it means to give back at such a young age,” Gilbride said. “In addition to the parents, it also speaks to the pastor and how he can inspire his parishioners. It goes to show that everyone can participate in some way to the success of the campaign.”

Paola Berardi, mother of first-grader Sarah and fourth-grader Cristian, said the idea for the lemonade stand surfaced after hearing Father Damian McElroy, pastor of Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, speak in early summer about Faith to Move Mountains, and encourage his parishioners to contribute toward the parish’s $1,590,000 goal.

 “After Mass, I asked my kids if they had any ideas on what we could do to help Father Damian,” Berardi said, and they thought about selling lemonade and iced tea. After enlisting additional support from friends Michael Stiers and Michael and Max Euker – and their parents – Berardi said “the kids got to work,” doing all they could to make their project a success.

Showing their business savvy, they handled the publicity by making posters and displaying them around the neighborhood and through posting on social media; they secured all the supplies they needed – lemonade and iced tea mixes, water, ice, beverage jugs, cups, a table and some cash and coins they might need to make change – and helped with making the beverages.

Though the initial plan was to be outdoors, Berardi said the kids were persistent and came up with a “plan B” when the predicted inclement weather prevailed. So, the youngsters moved their project into the Berardis’ garage.

“And people still came,” Berardi said, “even in the rain.”

In the presence of their families, fellow parishioners and a few visitors, the five religious education students proudly presented their $500 earnings in the form of a check to Father McElroy during the 9 a.m. Saturday morning Mass Sept. 3.

Commenting on how “the children worked so hard,” Father McElroy looked to the five smiling children who were seated in the front pew of the crypt chapel. “It’s great to see a new generation stepping up and exercising leadership.”

“In this day and age, children need to experience” what it means to develop a project and carry it through, said Paola Berardi. “My two children didn’t just watch me writing a check; they and their friends had an opportunity to get involved and help out and they were very responsive.”

 “It feels good to help others out,” said Michael Stiers as he reflected on how the $500 contribution can help his parish.

As of early September, Father McElroy noted that Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish exceeded its campaign goal and raised $1,916,000 from 221 pledges. Since parishes will receive 70 percent of those funds collected above their target from the Diocese, Father McElroy said the money has been earmarked for a number of renovations to be made in the church, including installing restrooms and elevators to accommodate disabled parishioners, as well as new lighting and painting.

Money will also be directed toward a fund in Our Lady of Good Counsel School, he said.

Reflecting on the progress of the overall Faith to Move Mountains campaign, Gilbride noted that as of mid-September, $46 million of the $75 million goal has been raised through the generosity of 14,000 donors.

Rollout of the Faith to Move Mountains campaign began in July, 2014, in six parishes. Since then, the remaining 101 parishes in the Diocese have or will conduct their campaigns in four six-to-eight month campaign blocks. The entire Faith to Move Mountains Campaign is anticipated to conclude mid-2017.

“We are on target to reach this mountainous goal,” Gilbride said.