FUNDING OUR MISSION

The Xavier Society for the Blind provides all of our services free-of-charge, and our work is supported solely by the generosity of private donations. Other than the postal allowance for material mailed to and in behalf of the blind, we receive no financial assistance from any federal, state, or city agency.

To support our mission and meet the annual operating expenses of over one million dollars, we rely upon the individual donations of many loyal benefactors, corporate participation in matching gifts programs, grants from some charitable foundations and the contributed services of devoted volunteers. A substantial percentage of revenue is also obtained through bequests and estate plans, living memorials of support to a charity such as the Xavier Society that was cherished during a lifetime. An small endowment fund, invested and managed conservatively, adds an additional bit to the annual operating budget.

Gratifying as it is, however, our current level of funding enables us to reach only a small percentage of those who are eligible for our services. Add to this large unserved population the increasing number of persons 65 and over with severe visual impairments, and the gap between what we NEED to do and what we are ABLE to do is very wide indeed. Increased funding will help us lessen that gap, and that in turn will mean more lives touched by the special words and messages the Xavier Society makes possible.

There are several ways you can help the Xavier Society continue its mission in its second century:

- A monetary donation by check or money order payable to "Xavier Society for the Blind"

- Many companies will match or double gifts to a charity made by employees, retirees, board members or their spouses through a Matching Gift Program. Please consult with your human resources office.

- Contribute your time as a volunteer at the XSB offices. Take a look at our page on this web site (Volunteers) or call our office and ask to speak to the Volunteer Coordinator.

- Gifts of appreciated securities may provide certain additional tax benefits.

- Please consider Xavier Society when preparing or revising your estate planning.

Xavier Society for the Blind (our full legal title), located at 154 East 23rd Street, New York, NY 10010, is a 501(c)(3) organization, incorporated in 1904 under the laws of the State of New York, meeting the charitable guidelines of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the National Charities Information Bureau and the Better Business Bureau. It is listed as an agency in the Official Catholic Directory under the Archdiocese of New York.

All donations to XSB are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by the law.

We invite you to become a part of this continuing important and exciting work. Please feel free to write, call or email our development office.

Xavier Society for the Blind Development Office - 154 E. 23rd Street - New York , NY 10010

Phone: 212-473-7800 extension 120

Email: info@xaviersociety.com

OUR CHRISTMAS APPEAL

We send mailings to our friends and benefactors approximately five times a year, to ask for their help in keeping this great work going. If you are on our mailing list, you have already received this. If not, here is the letter we recently sent out. If you would like to be added to our regular mailing list, please contact us and let us know.

                                                                                   

                                                                                    Advent 2008

Dear Friends and Supporters,

 

May the Peace of Christ be with you during this special season!

 

When I was a young boy, the greatest threat in the world was, “If you’re not good, Santa will leave coal in your stocking.” There was an awful moment one Christmas morning, when the things in the stocking had slipped and it didn’t look like there was anything there, except for a lump at the bottom. You can fool your parents, but you know you can’t fool Santa, so Christmas could bring a worried moment.

 

Now there are some who say there is no Santa Claus, that we must be Santa for one another. I’m still in the undecided group on that one. But just in case they’re right, in addition to my annual letter to Santa, this year I’m writing to you as well.

 

If there is no Santa, or if Santa can’t help, then we must turn to you. Because we don’t want to have an empty stocking on Christmas morning, or any morning. We have people all over the U.S. who cannot see, or who have limited sight, and they wait for the arrival of their Braille Mass prayers, their large-print calendars, their recorded versions of the latest issues of Catholic magazines and newspapers. We have a dedicated and highly-trained staff who love their work, but who need to be paid and get medical coverage. We have a building – and the furnace needs to be fed and the windows washed and the floors swept.

 

Coal won’t do it. Nor will an empty stocking.

 

 

These are difficult days, and everyone is suffering from the economic downturn. I am sure that you are feeling the pinch. So are those who depend on our free services.

 

So as you fill out your Christmas list this year – as you think of the people you love and the ones you want to remember – please remember the Xavier Society for the Blind. Send a Christmas card that says, “I don’t know you personally, but I want to help. I can’t give you better eyesight, but I can help you read and hear God’s word.” Fancy Christmas cards are nice, and candy and boxes of fruitcake are always fun, but your gift helps bring God’s Word to people all year long.

You know that. You are already a supporter of the Xavier Society. But this year, in these tough times, as you look at your Christmas spending, I’d hope you would ask yourself the tough questions. What means more – another doll, or magazines for the blind? A fruitcake for the postman or a calendar for a partially-sighted nun in Nebraska? A box of cards sent to people you barely remember or a Braille catechism book for a child in grammar school?

 

We want to be able to provide all these services to all who ask for them. We don’t want to have to choose between the nun in Nebraska and the child in catechism class. We want to continue our 108-year history of providing all our services at no charge.

 

We can only do that if Santa – or you – fills our stocking. And since Santa can sometimes be a question mark, we rely on you.

 

Thank you for whatever you can do. We do not want you to take toys from your children or food from your table – but sometimes a small gesture can have great results. The innkeeper did not find a room for the Holy Family – but he did give them a place in a stable, and helped to create one of the greatest moments in the history of the world. His little gesture of compassion still speaks to millions in our world today. We invite you to help keep that story and all the stories of our Faith alive and vibrant and available to all who need to hear them, especially those who cannot see so well with their eyes.

 

You and all your loved ones will be remembered in the Christmas Novena of Masses I will offer, and as we move toward Christmas Day, I hope that we will remain in your own prayers.

 

And that our stocking will be filled with more than a lump of coal.

 

 

In His Peace,

 

 

 

Fr. John R. Sheehan, SJ

Chairman

 

 

P.S. You can make this Christmas special for your loved ones by making a donation in their name toward the work of Xavier Society for the Blind. We’ll gladly send them a beautiful card telling them of your gift for those we serve.