2014 Diocesan Development Drive underway

Karin Hurley

+ Enlarge

Volunteers call for the DDD phone-a-thon at the diocese's Chancery Building on March 31. Courtesy photo/Karin Hurley

SALT LAKE CITY — When Patti Moesinger and her family moved from Denver to Kanab in the 1980s, she experienced something of a culture shock. Her parish in Colorado had been a large congregation; her new home in Utah was "a community with 3,000 people and 97 percent LDS, so we only had 30 families in our parish in Kanab at Saint Christopher’s, and I saw such a need to start a religious education program for the children and bring religious education to the people there. ... It made a difference in my children’s lives and the children of our parish."

With the help of Holy Cross Sister Yvonne Hatt, Moesinger established a religious education program, not only for children but also for adults. "How hungry we were for adult education!" she said. "It was through the DDD campaign that many of our materials and speakers were provided. The DDD fund paid for the speakers to come to Kanab and for the gas mileage."

The Diocesan Development Drive is an annual appeal that raises funds for the Diocese of Salt Lake City’s programs, services and ministries, from Catholic schools to the Marriage Tribunal to Mount Calvary Catholic Cemetery.

Because of Moesinger’s experience with the benefits of the DDD, this year she agreed to chair her parish’s DDD in St. George, where she now lives.

Last year, St. George parishioner Tristan Dillon became a seminarian. Another parishioner, Carlos Mendez, is in the diaconate program.

The DDD supports both the seminarians and the deacon program.

"Our [parish] goal this year is $43,000, and it takes $35,000 a year to pay for the education for one year of the seminarians," Moesinger said.

During the first weekend in March, Moesinger made an appeal at the Masses, and asked people if they or their family had ever benefited from a program supported by the DDD, she said. The response has been positive, she said; last year at this time 89 parishioners had pledged a contribution to the DDD, this year they already have 208.

"I feel like our parish understood that every contribution, no matter how small, will make a difference in someone’s life," Moesinger said.

Like Moesinger, Cherie Gilmore of Holy Family Parish in Ogden is chairing the local DDD at her pastor’s request.

"I think DDD funds stuff that people forget about, like the rural mission outreach and the prison ministry. Especially as Utah Catholics, I think [the DDD] is huge. I think it’s important to have a bigger presence," said Gilmore, who with her husband, Patrick, is heading the drive for the second year.

Last year, the phone-a-thon efforts by parish volunteers were successful, although before Gilmore started she didn’t think it would be.

"I was terrified to do it," she admitted, because she thought people wouldn’t want to be called at home, "but we got really good results from it."

Most parishes will have DDD phone-a-thons this year, said Karin Hurley, the diocese’s DDD director. "The purpose of the phone-a-thon is to reach donors that have yet to respond to the mailed solicitation and to engage them in the process of giving."

Having parish volunteers make the calls allows them to "speak directly to why they are giving and how they are called to follow Jesus," Hurley said. "The whole purpose of this is to help people – to fund these programs, services and ministries that help everyone."

One of the challenges of the phone-a-thon is indicating to the potential donor on the phone how important their gift is, Hurley said. "I think that they don’t appreciate the necessity of their gift. It makes it all possible. Truly every little bit counts."

For example, $25 can cover the training for a parishioner to attend liturgical ministry training, "and enhance the entire worship for your particular parish, so that $25 can make a difference in the lives of 1,600 families," Hurley said. "A not-for-profit can take a dollar and stretch it to $10. A not-for-profit can take $10 and stretch it to $100. No gift is too small."

Hurley said she hopes those receiving the calls from the DDD volunteers accept not only the phone call but also the call of Jesus. Historically, the DDD brings in $1.5 million to $2 million each year.

"About 9,000 donors are making that possible," Hurley said. "Imagine what we could do with 1 percent or 2 percent more. Imagine how many more people we could serve. It would be phenomenal."