A delegation from St. Vladimir’s Seminary (SVOTS) presented a gift of $13,000 to the Pro Vita Association for the Born and Unborn in Romania Saturday.
The presentation of the gift fulfills a promise the Seminary made to tithe 10% of the total funds raised on #GivingTuesday to Pro Vita, the Seminary’s non-profit #GivingTuesday partner for 2017. Last year’s campaign from September through November yielded a total of $126,000.
President of SVOTS Archpriest Chad Hatfield traveled to Romania along with the Seminary’s Director of Web Services Alexandru Popovici, a native of Romania, to officially present the gift to Pro Vita.
“This is a huge amount of money for our institution,” said Fr. Nicholas Tanase, Pro Vita’s founder. “We are honored to have been chosen by St. Vladimir’s as the 2017 Giving Tuesday partner.”
Pro Vita provides assistance including healthcare and education to families in need. The organization encourages the well-being of family units being torn apart by economic stress, and often prevents the heartbreaking decision by a desperate mother to abort her unborn child. Currently, Pro Vita provides housing and food for 428 people, 312 of whom are children.
According to Fr. Nicholas, the #GivingTuesday money will be used to complete four housing projects.
“Because of the money, we will be able to use these houses three to four months earlier than we initially anticipated,” he added.
Fr. Nicholas greeted the SVOTS delegation at the orphanage in Valea Screzii Village Saturday (Pro Vita also has a presence in the surrounding area and in Valea Plopului). Upon arrival, Fr. Chad and Popovici had lunch with more than 300 children.
“Many of those children were with their mothers who had come to Pro Vita to escape an abusive environment or needed help after electing not to have an abortion,” said Fr. Chad. “It is remarkable to see how many people are positively impacted by the work and vision of one priest,” said Fr. Chad.
In addition to the GivingTuesday partnership, the Seminary’s chapel community has remained in contact with the Pro Vita Association for around a decade. The community has collected clothing and other items to donate to the organization in the past.
Romanian media outlet TRINITAS TV broadcast a story about the SVOTS delegation’s visit and donation to Pro Vita. Watch it below.
