VASJ students raise over $2,000 for City of Children Orphanage in Matamoros, Mexico

VASJ Peer ministers present the check of $2,195.37 to John Shinsky SJ '69 for the City of Children Orphanage in Matamoros, Mexico.
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Each year during Lent, Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School holds a Lenten Mission Collection to raise money for a worthy, charitable cause, a tradition that dates back to 1987. Being a co-sponsored school in the Ursuline and Marianist traditions, VASJ wanted to support two causes with the money raised during the Lenten Mission Collection, one supported by each of the religious orders.

The Lenten Mission Collection kicked off on Ash Wednesday, and collections were taken each day during the second period of class. Meanwhile, Campus Ministry Director, Jill Latkovich was still working hard to find two worthy causes to support with the money. At the suggestion of Coach John Storey SJ ’59, the VASJ Peer Ministers, a group of students who lead the school in Faith development, chose St. Joe's alumnus and former Michigan State football player, Dr. John Shinsky SJ ’69 and his City of Children Orphanage in Matamoros, Mexico as the Marianist Ministry the VASJ Lenten Mission Collection would support. “John Shinsky is an example of another Viking ‘legend.’ He has carried on the spirit of generosity, dedication, and passion to other parts of the world,” Latkovich said.

After selecting Shinsky’s orphanage as one of the recipients, Latkovich was still in search of an Ursuline mission to support with the other half of the money raised. Sr. Martha Mooney, Director of the MUSP program at VASJ suggested Sr. Miriam Fidelis VA ’59. Although Mooney wasn’t sure of the details of Fidelis’ mission, she knew her work was helping children in Texas. After exchanging several emails with Fidelis, Latkovich soon realized that this year’s Lenten Mission Collection was truly meant to be and that God had His hand on the plan. Three weeks into the Lenten Mission Collection, in an email received from Sr. Miriam Fidelis, it was disclosed that although she lives in Texas, she travels on a daily basis over the Texas/Mexico border to Matamoros, Mexico where she teaches English and ministers to the children at the City of Children Orphanage, the same organization. The Ursuline Ministry VASJ would support was the same orphanage Dr. Shinsky helped to build and to operate. “I was shocked, amazed, thrilled, and in awe of this unbelievable one in a million chance occurrence. I felt this was an affirmation that was needed to prove that we were on the right path,” Latkovich said.

The VASJ student body raised $2,195.37 to help John Shinsky and Sr. Miriam Fidelis and the children in Matamoros, Mexico. On Tuesday, May 17, 2011, Shinsky visited VASJ to accept the check from the students for his orphanage. During his visit, Shinsky shared with the VASJ students a presentation about the work he is doing in Mexico and how his life lead him to this mission. Once an orphan himself, Shinsky discussed with the VASJ student body, the way in which the sacrifices his mother had made when giving him up for adoption, taught him some of his most valuable life-lessons. “My mom was just an ordinary person, she wasn’t anybody special. But she taught me what unconditional love was and she also taught me that ordinary people can do extraordinary things,” Shinsky said.

Finally, Shinsky ended his presentation with an explanation about how his time as a Viking at VASJ (then St. Joe’s) helped shape him into the man he is today. “You might fall down,” Shinsky said, “But you will get back up because you’re a Viking and that’s what Vikings do.”