 There’s
more than 3,000 miles separating Elm Grove from Quito, Ecuador, but
Pat Parks has helped bridge that distance many times over during her
four decades working with Family Unity International, Inc. Family
Unity International is a volunteer-organization that supports The
Working Boys Center. Parks is now president of the state-side part of
the organization.
She became involved in the group during
the early 1970s after her sister, Sister Miguel Conway (called Gadget
by family and friends), joined the center as co-director in 1967.
"I was 1,000 percent against my sister going," says Parks.
"I was angry at her. I told her she had no business taking off
like that to work in a foreign country."
Parks says she could never have
imagined the impact the Working Boys Center would have on her own
life. What began with reading her sister’s letters and a visit to
Ecuador, soon blossomed into a labor of love. "Gadgy kept writing
me these letters. I couldn’t sleep thinking about it, and I realized
I had to do something," Parks says.
The Working Boys Center was founded in
1964 by the Rev. John Halligan and has served more than 5,000 families
over the years. The center is a social work of the Jesuits and the
Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Through job training,
work and education, the families of Ecuador are shown a different way
to lift themselves out of poverty and create a new future for
themselves.
Parks, who at the time was working as a
high school math teacher and raising her own family, began a serious
fund-raising effort. "We had these parties at our house. We
called them "give-ins," sort of a take on the TV show
"Laugh In," Parks says. Her kids collected money at the
door, and the donations started coming in.
She decided to ask others to host
parties too. "Soon, I evolved into approaching foundations and
corporations. I was always thinking up new things." Over the
years, she’s also planned annual events and speaking opportunities
for Halligan when he visited.
Not only did Parks raise money for the
organization, she also helped increase awareness and recruit an army
of volunteers, both young and old, from the Milwaukee area and around
the country.
A petite 71-year old, Parks is more
than a dreamy visionary; she’s a worker bee with a no-nonsense
approach to getting the job done. Her voluntary work for Family United
International is the true mission of her life. She and her husband,
Jim, just returned from Ecuador, clearly energized about the Working
Boys Center.
Each of the seven Parks’ birth
children has contributed in some way to the success of the center, as
volunteers, fundraisers or more. "I told my kids a long time ago
that we’re like Olympic torch bearers," Parks says.
"Someday this concept will spill all over Latin America. The
program empowers people to escape poverty by using their God-given
talents."
From humble beginnings in the attic of
a church in Quito, the Working Boys Center now has 98 teachers, a team
of health care professionals, a day care center, vocational and
educational training and an entire campus of activity. According to a
study conducted by the organization in 2007, 75 percent of graduates
have moved beyond poverty to bring hope to their families and their
country.
"To see the center where it is
today and to see how you can change the world person by person, it’s
thrilling," Parks says. "I believe this movement will change
the world."
And Parks has certainly done her part
to inspire that change
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