A Heart for our Sisters

In 2015, Rick Pinnell established the Catholic Sisters of the Yakima  Diocese Fund with the Catholic Foundation. Here is his story – “In 1969 In Ving Long, Vietnam, I saw firsthand what Catholic   Sisters can do to change lives. Four Irish Nuns raising 200 orphans in a war torn environment. Their ability to give these children hope, love and a future was my first experience of seeing the positive difference  Sisters make in lives.

Our Sisters meet the needs in our communities – whether they are educating children or serving the homeless, infirm, lonely, and hopeless, they are there for their fellow man. My experience in observing Sisters in their work, is clarified by a saying from Mother Teresa, “In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love”.

The work of the Sisters seems to be undervalued, underappreciated, without pomp and circumstance, and yet impacts those they serve every day. They give hope, help, education, and the most important gift, that of someone caring.

This is why I support the Sisters of the Yakima Diocese with a Fund at the Central Washington Catholic Foundation. This Fund is designed to be used for only their individual personal enjoyment. They use it for retreats, trips home, hobbies, cultural events, and basically whatever they  personally desire. The Fund also sponsors the Annual Sister Luncheon as well as attendance at area Catholic events.

Establishing the Fund during my lifetime has allowed me to personally see how this small amount of recognition is impacting their lives. It has also afforded me the opportunity to adjust how the funding is distributed to best meet their needs.

The Sisters are so appreciative of this recognition and opportunity to participate fully in the faith community. My hope is that moving  forward, others will add their financial support to show the Sisters of the Diocese how much we appreciate what they have done and  continue to do for our faith community.”

– Kathleen Wilmes
Trustee, Central Washington Catholic Foundation