FOX CHASE MANOR, Pa. – The Basilian Volunteer Program has continued Sister Bernarda’s work of visiting and bringing help to the orphans and the needy of Ukraine ever since Sister Bernarda was “retired” at age 90. An element that was added to this program was the weeklong English catechetical camps in various regions of Ukraine for the last five years.
Another spin-off of Sister Bernarda’s work is people who have offered to support the orphanages the sisters visit by sending clothes, disposable diapers, toiletries and various supplies during the year. One such person, Olga Shonk Alvino of Bellerose, N.Y., while battling cancer, has been making quilts for the last 10 years and sending them at her own expense to orphanages in eastern and western Ukraine.
She wrote: “Thank you, Sister, for helping me get these quilts and other items to the needy orphanages. I was fortunate to have met Sister Bernarda at St. George Church on the Lower East Side (New York City). She told me that she goes to Ukraine annually to visit the orphans. At that moment, my mind was made up that I had found my calling to make quilts for the orphans. I promised to use my time well to help the orphans, and so the last 10 years have gone by and I have been blessed. She inspired me.”
For more information on volunteering or supporting the Basilian Volunteer Program, readers may contact Sister Ann Laszok at [email protected] or call 412-260-1607.