Our 45th Share Lent campaign has just come to an end!
That means that every year for the past 45 years, members, partners and employees of Development and Peace across Canada have rallied around this moment of sharing. It also means 45 years of solidarity with our partners in the Global South, who are enhancing human dignity in the world more than ever thanks to your support.
This year's campaign was particularly eventful and full of all kinds of activities! For the first time, campaign's launch was broadcast live on the Internet from Edmonton, in the company of Archbishop Smith, President of the CCCB, and Archbishop Pedro Barreto, a solidarity visitor from Peru.
Six solidarity visitors came to Canada to speak about the work of Development and Peace partner organizations in Afghanistan, Cambodia, Haiti, Peru, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Sahel. Our staff and members organized special activities with these guests in 23 dioceses, including visits with the media, potluck suppers, lectures and other events where people gathered together. Go to the bottom of the page to see photos from various events!
Lent also coincided with the premiere of a new documentary, A New Leaf, which was presented across Canada in the company of Father Isidore of OCADES — Caritas Burkina Faso and with the collaboration of Salt and Light Television.
All of these activities helped raise awareness about issues of injustice in the Global South, but whenever we talk about Share Lent, we're also talking about Development and Peace's annual fundraising drive and there was no shortage of great fundraising events happening Canada-wide.
This year, more than 276 people and 72 teams participated in THINKfast! We'd like to give a warm thanks to all participants! We particularly want to underscore the efforts of the Assistant Directors of the In-Canada Programs Department, Ryan Worms and Luke Stocking, who fasted for 45 days between Ash Wednesday and Holy Saturday, eating only one bowl of soup per day and collecting more than $6,300 in support of their efforts.
We also want to thank all of the young people in schools and parishes who fasted for 25 hours while carrying out activities to raise awareness about issues that affect our partners.
THINKfast enabled us to raise more than $30,000 online, and when we add on all the other online donations made to the Share Lent campaign, $125,000 was collected!
Although the total amount contributed by the Catholic faithful across the country in our Solidarity Sunday collection in the parishes on the Fifth Sunday of Lent is not known yet, what we do know is that many of you demonstrated—as you do every single year—your solidarity with and generosity towards Development and Peace and our partners in the Global South. We thank all of you for your dedication and generosity during this time of sharing. Your generous support enables us to continue our work to enhance human dignity in the world!
Here are pictures of some of the many events that took place during Share Lent.