Wayne parish reaches out to support young parishioner

KATIE’S KAMP  The Sweet Ice Queen ice cream truck brings an ice cream party to families sponsored by Henry’s Halos. Pictured are Lisa Meric, owner of Sweet Ice Queen (outside the truck) and (inside the truck from left) Jenna Triano, founder of Henry’s Halos; Katie, a child sponsored by Henry’s Halos; and Triano’s daughters — Finley and Peyton.

WAYNE  Last spring, seven-year-old Katie had her life change dramatically — her terminally ill mother could no longer take care of her and was moved into a nursing home. Her uncle, Keith, her mother’s brother who is a high school teacher, had accepted the role of raising Katie even though he had never raised a child before and will be raising her on his own. He did it out of love for his family, especially his little niece and his sister.

Because of Keith’s new role, the parish community at Our Lady of Consolation (OLC) here has reached out to help the family in a project they call Katie’s Kamp. Laura Haftek, youth minister at OLC, has the parish’s youth group reaching out to help the family by hosting fundraisers and collecting donations. They began last spring to help send Katie to a summer day camp.

Haftek said, “Katie is really smart and witty and loves to be active. She’s pretty courageous and she’s adjusting well to her new life.”

Because of Katie’s story, many in the community have reached out to help the young girl, who will begin religious education classes in September to prepare for First Holy Communion at OLC next May. “The overwhelming response has helped tremendously,” said Katie’s uncle. “Laura’s project helped get the word out to the community. Something I would have never had the time to do with work and now, raising Katie.”

One particular organization that has reached out to Katie in a big way is Henry’s Halos, which joined Katie’s cause thanks to Terrianne LoVerde, a parishioner. The non-profit organization began in similar circumstances to Katie’s — a family facing an illness. Last year, Jenna Triano founded Henry’s Halos to help her then 4-year-old nephew, who was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor and had to have surgery to remove it. With medical bills mounting, her family was in need of support. Henry has since recovered and the organization with his namesake has helped 25 families.

Triano, who is a parishioner of Our Lady of the Magnificat in Kinnelon, said, “I didn’t know how I could help my nephew when we learned of his illness. It was very hard at the time but it’s something to be said for the turn of events and I’m grateful my nephew recovered. To see where this started, I’m going to keep raising money to help other families going through the same experience my family did.”

With constant updates on social media, Henry’s Halos has many supporters who follow the organization’s activities. Henry himself participates in the events. “He lights up the room and he is so proud and excited to show up to help the organization,” said Triano.

One person that Henry’s Halos helped was Celine Mancini, who passed away last October from a brain tumor. She was sister in law of Father Marc Mancini, pastor of St. Therese Parish in Succasunna.

“After Henry recovered, we would get donations here and there but when Celine passed her family asked in lieu of flowers that donations be sent to Henry’s Halos. We had many, many people donate in her memory,” said Triano.

Donations from Henry’s Halos paid for Katie’s day camp this past summer allowing Katie to enjoy her summer so her uncle did not have to worry about childcare while he was working. The organization also donated a “rainy day” basket full of goodies for Katie and an ice cream truck visited Katie’s home.

Any other donations from OLC parishioners allowed the youth ministry to purchase summer gear such as bathing suits, towels and beach toys. As Katie begins a new school year, OLC will also help purchase her school wardrobe.

Keith said, “A special thank you to Jenna at Henry’s Halos and Laura and her youth ministry for creating Katie’s Kamp. I honestly don’t know how I could have done this on my own. The time they are taking is making my life easier and Katie can enjoy being a kid. Regardless of all the negatives out there in the world, it’s encouraging to see people still doing positive things for others.”