By Betty Collins

I came to learn of ISP through my work co-chairing an outreach committee at my parish with someone who served on ISP’s board. We’re about 43 years into this ministry — we collect food, clothing, and housewares for people in need, serving four communities that rely on parish pantries in the inner city. This ministry is a cornerstone of my life.

But I’ve learned something along the way. What we do at the parish is really important. When we feed you, when we clothe you, we’re meeting deep needs. At the base of Maslow’s pyramid of needs, if you don’t have food, if you don’t have clothing, you’re not going anywhere. But another incredible component that is missing for most people — and not given at a food pantry — is the spirituality piece. The acceptance piece. The love piece, from heaven and earth.

ISP provides that, that window into love from heaven and earth.  I was excited about ISP from the start.

When I first connected with ISP, the ministry was coming off COVID and moving toward daily reflections and the ISP Journey app, because you couldn’t be meeting in groups. And the lightbulb was going off. You put people through these incredible, life-changing experiences on a retreat, and then they come down from the mountain. But if you’re unhoused, you don’t have a community of people you consistently see who can reinforce that for you — remind you of the love, of the forgiveness, and help you continue to heal. Because it doesn’t happen in just a weekend.

Fr. Ted Penton, SJ, described it well in Studies in the Spirituality of Jesuits — the movement from shame to acceptance, from isolation to community. I think about that often. How many people live in shame? I’ve talked to so many people who don’t think they can ever be forgiven. It’s so hard to get through to them: You are forgiven. It’s over. Jesus forgets. You’ll get to heaven and he’ll say, “I don’t remember that.”

That’s what ISP provides. The chance to know that you are accepted, that you are loved, and that the love you receive can flow outward to others.

I support ISP because I know such financial support can fundamentally change the trajectory of someone’s life.  Someone at the lowest part of their life can come to a spiritually sound place. They reconnect with the world, they find housing, reconnect with family, get employment.  

And it’s phenomenal how ISP manages its resources. The potential that each dollar can ignite – knowing how my dollars are managed – is why ISP is one of my top charities.