ear Friends,
Thank you for visiting the Mission Advancement page! Our office directly interfaces with all donors, processes all gifts, creates fundraising events, and writes and submits grants.
We are charged with raising the necessary funds to support our sisters’ missions such as educating children and young adults in North and South America, teaching literacy skills to adults in the Philadelphia and South Jersey area, providing advanced education for Sisters in Formation, and offering spiritual opportunities at our retreat centers for others to nourish their relationship with their God.
Our largest fundraising need is for Camilla Hall Nursing Home, which cares for our infirmed and retired sisters who have selflessly given decades of their lives to ministries that have benefited thousands of people of all ages, race, and ethnicities around the world. Camilla Hall currently has nearly 200 sisters in residence, and they remember every single benefactor in their daily prayers.
We are deeply grateful for every donation that comes to our doors. Whether it be through the Annual Appeal, monthly giving, memorial donations, workplace and matching programs, planned giving gifts or being a sponsor to one of our many fundraising events, every gift is as special as the person who gives it.
I leave you with a beautiful Biblical passage that reminds me and all of us of the efficacy and the beauty of giving for the sake of God’s people.
Luke 6:38: “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you”.
Blessings,
Maureen R. Cislo
Director of Mission Advancement
maureen.cislo@ihmimm.org
Contact Us: Office of Mission Advancement
Villa Maria House of Studies
230 IHM Drive
Malvern, PA 19355
610-647-2160 ext 1926
Email – missionadv@ihmimm.org
Director – Maureen Cislo
Maureen Cislo – Director of Mission Advancement
Maureen Cislo is a proud Buffalonian who graduated SUNY Buffalo with a BA in Journalism. She attended graduate school at the University of Groningen, The Netherlands and still speaks a bit of Dutch. She began her career as a Capitol Hill reporter in Washington, DC and was recruited by a publishing company in the Greater Philadelphia region which led to a move to the great City of Brotherly Love in 1998. Maureen’s deep-rooted faith and desire to help others led her into non-profit work. For the last 15+ years, she has enjoyed working at various non-profits in the Philadelphia region, sharing her talents of grant writing, event planning/execution and meeting donors. Several missions have touched her heart, but nothing compares to the honor of working for the Sisters of the IHM. “I was educated by nuns and carry a deep respect for all the ways they help so many people on this planet,” she says. She credits her father for taking her on a Pilgrimage to Fatima at age 13 which instilled her devotion to St. Mary. When not raising funds to support the IHM Sisters, Maureen enjoys traveling, reading and virtually anything outside.
Dan O’Neill – Mission Advancement Coordinator
Dan started his professional career in journalism, then transitioned over to advancement and has been working in that field for over 4 years. He is looking forward to coordinating new fundraising strategies, continuing to build strong relationships with new and existing donors, and seek any additional funding that help us share the IHM story.
Jeanne Rafter – Gift Entry Assistant
I have been engaged with Mission Advancement for 15 years. Working for the IHM community in many roles has been a lifelong joy. Serving the sisters is near and dear to my heart.
Sister Marian Bernadette Chuk – Donor Relations Assistant
Sister Marie Bernadette Chuk is originally from Bethlehem, PA. Inspired by the IHM sisters she had in both grade school and high school, she entered the convent in 1961. After profession of vows, Sister Bernadette taught elementary grades in thirteen different schools locally, in Savannah, GA and Rock Hill, SC. In 2018 Sister was assigned to Villa Maria’s House of Studies and is currently involved in various ministries. One of her favorites is to make thank you phone calls to benefactors.
Sister Regina Plunkett, IHM – Gift Entry Assistant
Sister Regina Plunkett IHM is originally from Exton, PA and attended St. Patrick Parish Elementary School in Malvern and Bishop Shanahan High School in West Chester before entering the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1964. She has been blessed as an IHM with many different apostolic opportunities and adventures throughout these 60+ years. She has served through teaching and administration in various congregational ministries in elementary, secondary, and post-secondary education in our missions in the United States, Peru and Chile. Sister Regina is very pleased to assist in both the Mission Advancement Office and the Business Office at our Motherhouse. “It is a blessing to here every day advancing the mission of the IHM’S along with our wonderful lay staff and sisters. We are blessed indeed!” she says.
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