BAY VIEW ACADEMY STUDENTS AND FAMILIES DONATE $1,763 TO SISTERS OF MERCY AFFECTED BY TYPHOON HYAN

Communications        

East Providence, RI –Bay View Academy has been sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy, a Catholic order of women religious, since 1874. Sisters have served in all areas of the Academy, from volunteers to teachers to administrators since Bay View’s doors first opened. That is why when word came of their plight as a result of Hurricane Typhoon in the Philippines, students, faculty, staff and parents quickly banded together to make a donation to Mercy International, the Sisters of Mercy headquarters in Ireland that is handling all aid to the Mercy Sisters in the Philippines.

The Religious Sisters of Mercy Philippines were founded in 1954 and today are 45 in number, operating both a school and hospital in Tacloban City. In a letter to Mercy International, Sister M. Carmela Cabactulan, Sister Superior of Mercy Philippines, wrote of the devastation, destruction and the terrible loss of life. She details the destruction to both the school and hospital, citing that neither can now be opened as a result of the extensive wreckage left in the wake of Hyan.

The Bay View Academy community responded to this need in collections during prayer services and via a fundraising, non-uniform day in which students donated in order to dress down. In total $1,763 was collected between the Lower, Middle and Upper Schools, and has been sent to Mercy International.

Anyone wishing to join in making a donation may do so via the Philippine Mercy Support Fund (PMSF), which has been created for focused long-term help to continue or rebuild Mercy Ministries of health, education, social and pastoral care in the Philippines. Instructions for how to donate, a copy of Sister Carmela’s letter and the link to online giving are available here: http://www.mercyworld.org/e-news/mercy-e-news/302-2013-11-15.html

St. Mary Academy-Bay View is an independent Catholic School for girls open to all faiths, Pre-kindergarten through Grade 12, located in East Providence, Rhode Island. In existence since 1874, Bay View endeavors to provide a quality education preparing girls and young women for the challenges of the global community. St. Mary Academy–Bay View is a college preparatory school accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy. 

The Sisters of Mercy are an international religious community of Roman Catholic women founded by Catherine McAuley in 1827. The sisters commit their lives to service with particular concern for women, children and the Earth. They sponsor and serve in more than 200 organizations that work with those in need in the U.S., Central and South America, Jamaica, Guam and the Philippines.

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