This month’s Mercer Savings Bank Giving Mission recipient is the Daughters of Isabella, Our Lady of Fatima Circle 810, in Fort Recovery. The all-female Catholic non-profit organization sponsors numerous community youth activities and serves those in need.
Founded in November 1949, the Daughters of Isabella in Fort Recovery is currently led by Regent Ginny Fortkamp. She facilitates the monthly member meetings, organizes the agenda, and oversees all of the committees. Learn more about the organization and find out how they’re helping the community.
Serving the Community: Unity, Friendship, and Charity
The Daughters of Isabella’s international mission of unity, friendship, and charity dates back to 1897, when the first circle was founded in New Haven, Connecticut.
The local circle is united in its purpose to help others and support members in their philanthropic endeavors. As an example of the unity virtue, each of Circle 810 members prays a decade of the rosary daily.
“Internationally, each circle is assigned a decade of the rosary, and there are 20 different decades,” said Fortkamp. “If each of us individually prays on our own every day, then we are united with our local and international sisters.”
Members enjoy a social after each monthly meeting to strengthen their friendships and support and encourage one another in times of need.
“We visit our older members who are homebound and bring them gifts at Christmas,” added Fortkamp. “We also help provide food for the luncheons after the funeral Mass for a member who has passed away. We attend the Mass for support as well.”
Circle 810 generously shares its time, funds, and compassion with community organizations, many of which serve youth in the Fort Recovery community.
“We award a $500 scholarship to a graduating senior from our high school,” said Fortkamp. “We also donate to the after-prom committee to help fund the bowling event for the students.”
Here are additional programs, activities, and organizations that the local Daughters of Isabella circle supports:
- Fort Recovery youth summer sports – funding the costs of sports fees
- Fort Recovery Harvest Jubilee – facilitating Big Wheel Race and donate prizes
- Knights of Columbus Advent Christmas Family Fun Night – serving as volunteers and giving donations
- Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) – sharing donations for winter athletic tournaments and games
- Right to Life – donating raffle prizes for local dance events
“We sponsor activities for our circle, like fun bus trips and outings,” said Fortkamp. “We’ve gone to musicals and visited places in northern Indiana, like Shipshewana. We also host birthday and Christmas dinners for our members each year.”
During the annual Christmas dinner, the circle takes a collection for someone in the community who is experiencing hardship, and the local organization matches what was donated by the members.
“For the past two years, our ladies have been so generous that we’ve actually given money to three different charities that are helping the community,” said Fortkamp.
Additionally, the Daughters of Isabella extend their spirituality and kindness beyond the local area by making rosaries that are distributed for various missions all over the world.
“We’ll typically send about 2,000-3,000 rosaries each year. Some of our rosaries go to Africa, Guatemala, and India — others stay within the United States,” said Fortkamp. “For a while, we were sending rosaries to the upper remote areas of Alaska where there is little contact with others.”
Joining the Daughters of Isabella
Our Lady of Fatima Circle 810 in Fort Recovery always welcomes new members. Women ages 16 or older who are practicing Catholics may inquire about applying at the following email address: olof810dofi@gmail.com.
Additional information about the Daughters of Isabella International and other circles can be found on the website noted below.
International Website: https://www.daughtersofisabella.org/wp/
