Sister Jerome’s Poor is a new ministry sponsored by The Ursuline Center to help needy working families and college students struggling to pay bills. Sister Jerome Corcoran is the director of our newest ministry which is actively supported by Sister Nancy Dawson, president of the Board of Directors of The Ursuline Center and general superior of the Ursuline Sisters of Youngstown.
      Recently The Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland awarded Sister Jerome’s Poor: Mission College a St. Ann Legacy grant of $5,000.
      “This St. Ann Legacy grant will provide welcome help for our minority college students, who urgently need groceries and shoes, textbooks and gas cards, even repair of their car, if they have one,” states Sister Jerome. “The need is so great and the students work so hard that now they are seeing graduation more surely in their future.”
      Sister Jerome’s Poor: Mission College is a new program to help young-adult students from economically-disadvantaged families overcome hurdles that prevent them from receiving the certifications/degrees necessary to break the cycle of poverty and become productive members of society. This is a major blessing to both the youth and society, Sister Jerome says.
      “Poverty begets poverty, and the only hope to escape it is a good education. I have found this to be true time and again in my decades as an educator and school administrator,” Sister Jerome continues. “Helping college students to stay in school is a prevalent need that responds fabulously to a little help at a critical time.”
      This ministry will utilize the St. Ann Legacy grant to assist 12 young adults from poor families with education-related expenses that could force them to drop-out of school. As needed, they will be supplied with gas cards or bus passes for help getting to and from campus/class, gift cards for or direct donations of proper shoes and clothing, food, books and materials for classes, including technology necessary to produce homework/papers for school.
      For more information or to support the ministry please contact Sister Jerome Corcoran, OSU by phone 330.792.7636, fax: 330.799.4988 or Email Sister Jerome’s Poor.