Catholic Extension

This Lenten season at Christ the Redeemer, we are partnering with Catholic Extension to support the Literacy Wagon program and Migrant Ministry in the Diocese of Yakima, WA. Catholic Extension is a fundraising organization that helps ensure that all American Catholics can practice their faith within vibrant faith communities.

Fr. Jesus Mariscal visited CtR to share more about the Literacy Wagon and its impact on migrant families and children. See the video below for his homily from 9 a.m. Mass on Feb. 19, 2023. 

The Literacy Wagon program is fighting summer learning loss among the children of migrant farmworkers in the Pacific Northwest. Each summer, migrant workers come to the Yakima Valley in Washington State to harvest apples and cherries. These workers and their families, most of whom migrate for the summer, live in camps that are isolated from the surrounding communities. Most of the workers' children don’t have access to transportation to the public library to take advantage of their summer programs.

In response, the diocese created the Literacy Wagon, a mobile summer education program that provides:

• A team that brings books and education to the children
• Help with literacy, fluency, and vocabulary while their parents work in the field
• Seminarians from the Diocese of Yakima lead and organize the Literacy Wagon as part of their outreach to migrant workers.

Last summer, Fr. Sean participated in the Mission Immersion Program for Pastors with Catholic Extension to visit Yakima Valley. He saw firsthand the fruits of the Literacy Wagon and its impact on families and children. CtR is excited to partner with Catholic Extension this year and offer our support of this life-changing program.