Sr. Martha Garcia, DC leaves Give Me A Chance

IC photo/Marie Mischel

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Sr. Martha Garcia, DC, who has served as executive director of Give Me a Chance since 2019, is moving to California to minister there.

OGDEN — After seven years as executive director of Give Me A Chance, Daughter of Charity Sister Martha Garcia has been reassigned by her religious order to a ministry in Daly City, Calif.

The nonprofit Give Me A Chance is a ministry of the Daughters of Charity. It was started in 2010 by Sr. Maria Nguyen, DC, who “began offering sewing classes to low-income women. She saw the skills they would learn as a pathway toward better paying jobs in the workplace, and thus a step closer to self-sufficiency,” according to the organization’s website.

The ministry has grown over the years, and now offers sewing/quilting classes, English as a Second Language and computer literacy. For children, there is an after-school tutoring program, a music program and a summer camp. 

For Sr. Martha, the highlight of the past seven years has been “working at Give Me A Chance with all the wonderful people,” she said in an interview. “They’re absolutely wonderful. I don’t even have to be here. They run the office. They’re just great.”

Another highlight is serving the women and children at the center, she said. 

Under her leadership, renovations were done to the Give Me A Chance building on Grant Street that included upgrading the heating and air conditioning in the sewing/quilting room. Still to come are the creation of classrooms in the upstairs area, Sr. Martha said. 

At a farewell luncheon on May 30, Sr. Martha thanked those gathered “for everything you have done and everything you are going to continue to do to keep this wonderful place” serving its mission.

At the luncheon John Valdez, who volunteers at GMAC through his affiliation with the Knights of Columbus, read a letter from Ogden Mayor Benjamin Nadolski. Valdez is a chaplain for the Ogden City Police Department and works with Mayor Nadolski, who asked Valdez to represent him at the farewell for Sr. Martha because he was unable to attend.

In the letter, the mayor offered his thanks to Sr. Martha for her “compassionate leadership as director of Give Me a Chance. … Here at this beautiful center, you have welcomed many people into your doors with love. Many in desperation, not knowing where to turn. Fortunately, by the grace of God, through your help and the help of the other sisters, your staff and your many volunteers, they leave with skills, self-confidence and self-esteem.”

Sr. Martha’s “charisma envelopes each and every one of us,” the mayor added. “The love of Christ comes through you, and we feel that and every day that we meet you and see you is a better day for all of us. Thank you so much for making Ogden a better place.”

Also at the luncheon, Bill Burbridge, vice chairman of GMAC’s advisory board, said “words cannot adequately reflect the sadness in our hearts and how much we are going to miss Sr. Martha,” he said.

GMAC “is a place of hope for so many,” he added, not only because of Sr. Martha but also the staff and volunteers.

Sr. Martha, who is bilingual English/Spanish, served on the GMAC advisory board before coming to Utah. Her previous ministry included working in classrooms and administration in schools run by Daughters of Charity in Colorado, Arizona, California and Nevada, where she primarily served as a principal but also taught.

In Daly City, she will be living in community with other Daughters of Charity and doing social work, she said.  

The new executive director for GMAC is Sr. Frances Vista, DC, who arrived June 2.