FAMILIES YOU'VE HELPED

Ivy and Stephanie Piering

Piering Family

Over 1,500 volunteers support Catholic Youth Organization and Camp Howard each year. Stephanie Piering is one of the all-star volunteers and she and her family were featured in the main video at our October 9, 2018 Champions of Faith Benefit Dinner. Jeff and Stephanie Piering and their daughter, Ivy, are active members of Portland’s St. Rose parish, school and CYO club. Stephanie was baptized at the St. Rose Easter Vigil in 2018. When her parish established a CYO swim team, Stephanie signed on as coach. “We say a prayer before and after every practice,” she said. “I am so inspired by the CYO kids.”

Ivy experienced Camp Howard in summer 2018 for the first time as a result of a partial camp scholarship. Sister Krista von Borstel, executive director of CYO/Camp Howard, is thrilled that the organization can fund the requested partial camp scholarship for the Piering family. “Our scholarship program enables people from all walks of life, including people who are sacrificing to send their children to Catholic schools, to participate in CYO Sports and Camp Howard. We want all of our children to enjoy and learn valuable life skills from our programs. I am so grateful to our Champions of Faith Benefit Dinner donors and all of our supporters who fund our life-changing scholarships,” Sister Krista said.

For the whole story go to the CYO/Camp Howard special supplement published by the Catholic Sentinel.

Fergie Bush (Cathedral CYO track and field coach), M’Munga & Asukulu Songolo (left-to right)

Songolo Family

Funds from the annual CYO Champions of Faith dinner made it possible for the Songolo twins to get CYO track and field and Camp Howard scholarships. “Our family survived so much specifically (The Songolo family were refugees sponsored by Catholic Charities), my children did and now Asukulu and M’Munga would like to be given the chance to run track and field, subsequently being able to achieve their running dreams,” Eca-etabo wrote in an appeal to CYO. He asked CYO to help with scholarships so the big family could afford to let their boys compete as runners. Asukulu and M’Munga are more than athletes. They placed high in the annual speech contest at Valley Catholic School and take part in Mass. M’Munga is part of the Multnomah Youth Commission, a regional leadership group. The Songolo twins are now sophomores at Central Catholic High School.

For the whole story go to the CYO/Camp Howard special supplement published by the Catholic Sentinel.