My sabbatical began on a grand note. The very next day of
my arrival, i.e. 17th July, an American Foundation, called
Rauenhorst Foundation, who had visited us in Kalwa last
month, invited me to dinner. I expected their visit would
result in a grant as they were very impressed with our work,
but it turned out to be much more than I could have ever
dreamt of. Incidentally, their visit was out of the blue, they
just wrote introducing themselves and that they had heard of
REAP’s work and would like to visit us.
At the dinner was the Foundation’s Founder and Chairman
(who flew in specially to meet me), his son and
daughter-in-law and the Executive Director of the Foundation.
More than 50 years ago, Gerry Rauenhorst founded a successful
real estate development / construction company based in
Minneapolis, Minnesota with offices in 28 other cities. The
company’s name is Opus.
The family is a prominent Catholic family in this country
that has made substantial contributions of its time, talent
and financial resources in support of the Catholic Church.
Gerry Rauenhorst serves on the board of directors of the
Papal Foundation, and has been the longest serving trustee at
both the Univ. of St. Thomas in Minnesota and Marquette
University in Milwaukee. Three of his sons are presently
trustees at Creighton University, Marquette University, and
Catholic University of America.
The foundations support a wide variety of Catholic causes
including a Catholic Univ. in rural Bolivia, the work of
missionaries in Mexico and Jamaica, and support for the work
of the Ugandan bishops serving AIDS orphans and vulnerable
children. Sizable investments have been made to support
Catholic education in this country, particularly at
University level. More recently, the family has begun to
invest in Microcredit programs in Third World countries.
The Opus Prize is an annual, million-dollar gift
awarded to an individual or organization – anywhere in the
world – whose faith-based, entrepreneurial leadership helps
people in need to transform their lives. The Prize is given to
not only further the humanitarian efforts of the recipient,
but also to inspire people to pursue service to others.
The Opus prize is inspired by the following values:
Social Entrepreneurship: Recognizing faith-based social entrepreneurs who go beyond
the immediate problem to fundamentally change individuals,
families, and communities.
Transformational Leadership : Supports “agents” of change, who inspire a shared vision
focused on results, and who transform the status quo by
fostering innovation, risk-taking, and the utilization of each
person’s strengths.
Teaching One to Fish: Focusing beyond direct services to solve the root causes
of social problems.
Faith that is lived each day the judgments we make, the
hierarchy of values we hold, our daily conduct, and our life’s
work emanates from a lived faith that is at the heart of the
Opus Prize recipient’s entrepreneurial efforts.
Service to Others: An Opus Prize recipient believes that every person is
precious, that people are more important than things, and that
the measure of a person’s faith is witnessed by their
commitment to justice and compassionate service to others,
especially those in society who are vulnerable. This must be
backed up by sound business principles:
An entrepreneurial approach that
allows one or more individuals to trans-form their personal
vision into reality through innovation, a willingness to
take calculated risks, and a life-long personal commitment.
A commitment to integrity that
emboldens and attracts supporters through open and honest
communication, shared responsibility, meticulously honoring
commitments, and modeling one’s values and faith.
A focus on excellence and results,
accomplished with little fanfare, which transforms the lives
of the people who are served by efficiently working as the
steward of God’s resources to achieve the best possible
outcome.
This is the second year that the Opus Prize Foundation is
awarding the million dollar prize, and the first year that a
Catholic University is facilitating the entire process. And the million dollar prize has been awarded to REAP.
Two other finalists will be receiving $100,000 awards at the
dinner on the Marquette University campus on November 7, 2005.
In the words of the Exec. Director, “I speak for everyone at
the Foundation when I say that we’re delighted with your
selection as this year’s Opus Prize recipient, and it is our
belief that you and your staff embody the values inherent in
this faith-based humanitarian award”
At the dinner, the Chairman held my hand and announced the
award which will be publicly announced in September. You can
imagine, I was speechless and filled with emotion. I look at
it as a reward for our years of hard work, commitment and
excellent team work of a dedicated band of workers to whom I
dedicate this award. The Foundation has also invited three
of my staff to be present at the awards function on 7th
November at their cost. I share this honour with all of you
for the trust and support you have given me all these years.
Now for a footnote: Can you believe, I go to this very
formal dinner in an elite club with a T-shirt!! Gerry
Rauenhorst saved the embarrassment by sending his shoes and
coat down in a brief case so that I could come up!! And to
think at this dinner that I would be awarded one million!!!
Events
Million Dollar Baby (REAP) Trevor Miranda
My sabbatical began on a grand note. The very next day of
my arrival, i.e. 17th July, an American Foundation, called
Rauenhorst Foundation, who had visited us in Kalwa last
month, invited me to dinner. I expected their visit would
result in a grant as they were very impressed with our work,
but it turned out to be much more than I could have ever
dreamt of. Incidentally, their visit was out of the blue, they
just wrote introducing themselves and that they had heard of
REAP’s work and would like to visit us.