Time & Treasure: Jane Schreiber
Jane Schreiber, her husband Mark, and son TJ donated a portion of the funds needed to install this new well for a village in Tanzania. Sisters of Charity, BVM matched Jane’s donation.
In January 2022, the BVM Congregation established a Time & Treasure Program, which encourages employees to contribute time and/or money to charitable organizations that serve the marginalized in our world. Employees may take 40 hours of paid leave annually to volunteer their service to persons/organizations consistent with BVM mission and core values. The congregation will also match up to $1,000 for donations given to organizations that align with the BVM core values. In this article, we highlight an employee that has recently benefited from the program.
Jane Schreiber: Tanzania
BVM Personal Services Assistant Jane Schreiber always wanted to go to Africa, but thought of it as “one of those pipe dreams.” An acquaintance had taken a trip to Africa with the Sister Water Project, a program of the Sisters of St. Francis in Dubuque, Iowa, and encouraged Jane and her family to look into participating. Jane, her husband Mark, and son TJ did just that. Soon, this “pipe dream” was a reality. In January, the family left for a 9-day trip to Tanzania. The Sisters of St. Francis, in conjunction with African nonprofit, Safe Water for Life and Dignity, bring safe water to villages in Tanzania and Honduras.
In order for a village to be considered for well placement, it must first apply, form a water committee, and commit to maintaining a working well. Jane’s trip focused on making sure previously installed wells were functioning. In a span of a few days, 37 wells were inspected . . . and all were in working order.
In addition to inspection, Jane and the others on this trip donated the $5,500 needed to dig a new well. They were able to go to the groundbreaking site where the well was being dug by hand. Days later, they were present for the celebration as clean water spouted from the pump. Locals celebrated with singing and clapping. A group member filled a bucket and handed it to a local woman, symbolizing that the clean, healthy water was now theirs.
“Thank you so much! Thank you! Thank you!” was heard all around. In their jubilation, pleas for more wells sprang forth, “Please, we need many, many more!” Jane has learned that once villages have a well, almost 95% of the intestinal issues that plague villagers are gone. Awestruck, Jane remarks, “Clean water is truly life changing.”
For Jane, the Time & Treasure program was “wonderful and very easy to use . . . all I had to do was fill out the paperwork, provide the purpose, and state what we did.” In addition, she was able to give a receipt for her portion of the funds used to purchase the well and received a matching donation from the congregation. “I feel so privileged to be able to go on this trip . . . I especially loved that the BVMs give us the opportunity to use our Paid Time Off (PTO) . . . the villagers were so grateful for what we were able to do, but I feel that we received so much more.”
This story was featured in:
SUMMER 2023: Home: Where Love Resides
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