Sisters of the Holy Names believes that education transforms lives and families. In 1994, that belief led to the creation of Next Step Learning Center in Oakland, CA. Sisters Cynthia Canning and Rosemary Delaney, who served as Co-Directors of Next Step for its first 21 years, share how Next Step has helped underserved youth and adults in Oakland build literacy skills, attain diplomas and transform their lives.
When Sister Peggy Kennedy moved to downtown Spokane, WA, she encountered the unmet needs of women experiencing homelessness. There was no support. There was no safe space. With great effort, five women religious communities came together to create a safe space, Miryam’s House, which allowed marginalized women to build stability and grow. As Sister Peggy says, “What we couldn’t do alone, we could do together.”
This week Sisters Mimi and Teresa talk with Sister Lois MacGillivray about her experiences evaluating applied research projects including research in cultural studies, programs that offer more support to youth to reduce crime and improving resources for early care and education workers.
Immigrants – especially women – in dire need of help learning to read, write and speak in English find both a warm welcome and access to basic educational resources at Nuestra Casa in Washington’s lower Yakima Valley. In this episode of “Holy Names Sisters: Women on a Mission,” Sister Mary Rita Rohde and Executive Director Caty Padilla explain how support from the Holy Names Sisters has transformed lives for farmworker families seeking a better future for themselves and their children through education.
Sister Carol Higgins shares the Sisters’ history as educators in Oregon in the early 20th century and their work against the Ku Klux Klan. Oregon’s Compulsory School Act of 1922 led the Sisters to the Supreme Court to defend themselves, parents’ rights and the 14th Amendment in the landmark case Pierce v. Society of Sisters in 1925.
Sister Barbara Raymond tells the story of how she became involved in helping Latina women in rural Oregon overcome limited opportunities for empowerment.