The Ryan Foundation recently donated $341,794.18 to School Sisters of St. Francis in January of 2023.
The School Sisters of St. Francis are an international community of Catholic sisters who unite with others to build a just and peaceful world. The order was founded in 1874 by three German women who came to America and settled in rural Wisconsin, where they began to teach immigrant children. As hundreds of women joined the community, sisters moved across the United States-and eventually the world-in order to serve where they were needed. The mission of the School Sisters of St. Francis is to live the Good News of Jesus and witness to the presence of God as they enter the lives and needs of people around the world, especially those who are poor. They strive to be a source of new life, new meaning and new hope.
The School Sisters of St. Francis have traditionally served people through education, healthcare, and a broad range of social service programs. The sisters have staffed hundreds of elementary and high schools, and in 1887 founded Alverno College, which they continue to sponsor today, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As time passed, sisters became teachers, school administrators, nurses, social workers, lawyers, and psychologists. Today, more than 400 sisters serve across the country. Internationally, sisters serve tens of thousands of needy people in eleven countries on four continents. The order operates schools, orphanages, health
clinics, hostels, and other missions in Latin America, India, Tanzania, and Europe.
The donation will be used to fund the purchase of many items that their retired sisters need. The COVID pandemic made unexpected changes to their yearly budgets, and they needed to redirect money to PPE equipment, new technology, food service containers, and so many other items to help keep their retired sisters, who live in the community, safe. Additionally, their sisters
continue to age, the median age is now 84 years old, and the cost of their needs is increasing.
For more information about School Sisters of St. Francis, please visit their website.