Volunteering - A Family Affair

Although Sue Ralph claims she has never considered opening her own Hallmark store, she certainly has convinced the Rockford community and The Haitian Project that she is capable of doing just that! And it all started while writing a note to Elizabeth O’Connell on Holy Family School’s stationary, the cover of which was designed by Sue’s daughter Morgan.

“As I was writing a note to Elizabeth I thought, ‘Why can’t LCS do this?’ So in the note I included the idea and we went with it.” The idea Sue is referring to is the LCS Greeting Card program, which debuted at the annual THP Big Get Together in Rockford this year. Sue worked with Elizabeth O’Connell, former LCS volunteer and THP staff member, and THP Director of Community Development Mary Jo Dunne, who was an LCS volunteer at at that time. “Mary Jo worked with students at the school to come up with and draw the designs and then Elizabeth and I put the cards together,” Sue says of the program. “It was a great opportunity to let the students use their artistic talents to express their love of LCS and THP.”

This is a love that Sue, her husband George, and their three children understand well. Sue and George became involved with The Haitian Project about five years ago, when the Ralph family was introduced to THP by friends in the Rockford community. Through George’s conversations with the Derry family and Ed Koscak about their recent trip to the school and Sue’s “school mom stuff” with Christina Moynihan, the Ralph’s got more involved with the project and have become an integral part of The Haitian Project family in Rockford, starting with George’s service on the THP Board of Directors from 2004-2007.

Since then, the entire Ralph Family has jumped on board, including Sue and George’s children, Kaylen, Shannon and Morgan. Sue says of their commitment, “My kids have learned compassion from our involvement with THP. They feel compassion for the LCS students and our involvement helps them understand how grateful they should be for their education. They are always happy to help out with THP events.” Sue drafted them to help with the Greeting Card program, and they all took part in the organizing and packaging of the cards.

Equally as important as the artwork by LCS students on the front of the cards is the description of the THP/LCS mission on the reverse side, along with our web address, which help spread awareness of the Project. Sue’s goal is to get the word out about THP: “Hopefully these cards will serve as a way for people to share The Haitian Project with others—so that the mission of the Project and the LCS students will find a way into the hearts of other families like it did ours.”

LCS Greeting Cards come in four different styles: Christmas, Thank You, Birthday, and LCS/Celebrate Women packs. For more information or to purchase the cards, please contact the THP Office of Development at (815) 484-8623; development@haitianproject.org.