I was asked to write a thank you letter to people who had given pledges to an orphanage in the Philippines. Father Bernard wanted me to thank them and to subtly encourage them to continue giving.
Dear ........ This letter is to thank you. Your pledge does more than keep our doors open, or put nourishing vegetables into the soup stock, or provide one more mattress, clean towels, or a book. It keeps alive the kindled sparkle in the once dark and frightened eyes of each youngster, and arouses in them the wits and will to live fully, not just to survive. It gives our volunteers hope, genuine hope, that their efforts have not been in vain -- that the boys and girls who have found refuge with us will not be tossed back to the streets. It promises a new legacy for these children, and for the children of these children -- one filled with a previously unknown trust of the stranger and of the society which seemed only to shun them. It demonstrates love. We thank you, not just for your generous heart, but for your vision, for your ability to gaze into the future of each child here, and not yet here, and see that a difference can be made ... one pledge at a time. Our blessings to you, Father Bernard
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