Dear Village Family,
As I sit down to write this letter to you, I am so humbled by the outpouring of love, prayers and support by the Antiochian Village community, especially over the past several weeks during our Annual Appeal. I cannot put into words my immense gratitude to each and every one of you. As you know, a very generous donor offered to match all donations up to $100,000, which was an exciting challenge for us. You, our Village family, responded to this challenge with enthusiasm, extreme generosity, and excitement for this ministry.
I want to share a few stories with you that I feel truly exemplify how much the Village means to our community. A couple of young children who have attended Family Camp went to their rooms and broke open their piggy banks to donate. A group of extended family members donated the money they would have spent on a Christmas gift exchange. A group of alumni who have a Fantasy Football League donated some of the money from their pool. I am sure there are more examples, but I am truly blown away by the creativity. I am so excited to share with you all that WE HAVE SURPASSED OUR GOAL! As of today, we have raised $109,576, and we continue to receive donations every day. Thanks to our generous matching donor, we have officially raised $209,576! Your generosity helps to ensure this ministry will continue for generations to come!
I sincerely thank His Eminence Metropolitan JOSEPH, His Grace Bishop THOMAS, Mr. Dimitri Zeidan and the Antiochian Village Council, and Mr. Fawaz El Khoury & Mr. Salim Abboud and the Archdiocese Board of Trustees, who continue to offer guidance, support, and love to this ministry. They enable us to continue our work here and grow this ministry.
I also want to thank our amazing staff, many of whom attended a last-minute meeting to help us with fundraising. They independently made Instagram Bingo boards, social media posts, and appealed to their parish communities, families, and friends, to help support the Camp. After raising $40,000 last summer to help sustain AV, they once again answered the call.
Last but certainly not least, I want to extend a huge thank you to our anonymous matching donor from the entire AV Community. We are so humbled by your generosity. You have sparked so much enthusiasm and excitement and inspired so many to give to this life-changing ministry.
It has been a joy to speak and reconnect with so many of you over the past several weeks, and I cannot thank you enough for your generosity, love, and support. Whether you offered a financial donation, shared a social media post, or offered prayers for this ministry, from the bottom of our hearts we thank you. The fact that our Village family came together to ensure this ministry continues bringing people closer to Christ, is so inspiring. I am confident that our Village Family will continue to make AV a better place, and I am beyond excited to see what we will accomplish together in the future. We look forward to the day we welcome you back under our arch!
You are all in our prayers and we ask that you keep us in yours. Thank you again for your love, support, prayers, and generosity. We miss you and love you. God bless you all and may you have a blessed Nativity season!
In Christ,
Fr. Christopher Shadid
Camp Director
