Haubstadt Daughters Of Isabella Earn Honors
The Daughters of Isabella Haubstadt Circle #151 received two awards at the International Convention of the Daughters of Isabella, held last month in Henderson, Nev. The Circle received the Membership Award (with an 11 percent increase in membership) and the Recruitment Award.
Linda Kissel and Becky Mayer attended the convention representing Circle #151. During its August meeting, they reported that some 178 Circles were represented at the convention. Kissel and Mayer learned that more than 2 million hours of service and more than $1.6 million were donated by these Circles in their communities.
There are 20 Daughters of Isabella Circles in Indiana. In addition to Cricle #151 in Haubstadt, local Circles include Our Lady of Lourdes Circle #157 in Princeton and Assumption Circle #144 in Evansville. The Indiana Daughters of Isabella is a chapter of the International Daughters of Isabella.
Today the international D of I is one of the largest Catholic women’s organizations in the world, with 60,000 members from the U.S. and Canada. The D of I is a charitable organization founded on the motto, “Unity, Friendship, and Charity.” Members come together as a sisterhood to uphold the teachings of the Catholic Church, bring spiritual benefits to members and contribute to the common good of humanity. The chief charity of the D of I in Indiana and its local circles is St. Elizabeth Coleman Pregnancy and Adoption Services.
The Indiana D of I founded St. Elizabeth’s in 1915 to meet the needs of local women and children during World War I. In 1922, the organization purchased a home on 10 acres of land in Indianapolis where “St. Elizabeth Home” began offering adoption services and residential prenatal medical care to young mothers.
St. Elizabeth Home continued to meet the changing needs of women and children throughout the ensuing years. In 2004, St. Elizabeth joined forces with the Coleman Home, which specialized in adoptions of children with special medical needs, to form a full-service agency called “St. Elizabeth/Coleman Pregnancy and Adoption Services.”
St. Elizabeth/Coleman strives to bring hope to pregnant women in need; hope to couples who have longed to hold a child and become a family; and hope to young mothers struggling to find resources to help with parenting needs.
While its chief charity remains St. Elizabeth/Coleman Pregnancy and Adoption Services, the local circles donate to many other worthwhile causes, including The St. Vincent DePaul Society, Right to Life, Visiting Nurse Association, Special Olympics, Cancer Society, American Heart Association, local libraries, vacation bible schools, high-school after-prom events, The Salvation Army and others.
Also, the organization has always maintained a sister/brother relationship with the Knights of Columbus. Locally, this has taken the form of cooperation in many spiritual, charitable and social activities, such as the “Living Rosary,” fundraising dinners, a food booth at the Haubstadt Sommerfest, family picnics and couples’ clabber nights.
Catholic women age 16 or older you are eligible to join the Daughters of Isabella. For more information, contact your local circle. In the Haubstadt area, contact Becky 812-753-4180; in the Princeton area, contact Loretta 812-386-5469; and in the Evansville area, contact Sarah 812-479-1940.
