What's Happening

April 14, 2025, Adrian, Michigan – Lunch and Learn sessions for May to August 2025 focus on a variety of topics, from parks in Adrian to the Goodwill organization and the benefits of massage. Lunch and Learn sessions are held monthly on Wednesdays from 12:15 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Weber Retreat and Conference Center at the Adrian Dominican Sisters Motherhouse.

Upcoming sessions are as follows:

•    May 14, 2025 – Let’s Go to the Park: Parks and Recreation Director Jeremiah Davies and Recreation Assistant Cindy Schmucker describe Adrian’s great parks, shelters, ball fields, rentals, playgrounds, and other options. 

•    June 11, 2025 – The Epidemic of Loneliness: Social worker Mindy Rodriguez explores the causes of loneliness, seen as a silent epidemic. She describes how to identify its presence, especially in the young and in the elderly, and describes steps that can foster more meaningful connections.

•    July 16, 2025 – The Amazing Outreach of Goodwill: Rebecca Melina, Mission Engagement Manager of Goodwill Industries of Southeast Michigan, describes the services that Goodwill provides.

•    August 13, 2025 – There’s Nothing Like a Good Massage: Massage therapist Savvy Boyd and Cranial Massage Therapist Kendra Crombez describe these massage therapies and their benefits.

Bring your lunch; drinks and dessert are provided. You can also purchase your lunch for $8 for your choice of egg salad, turkey and cheese, or chicken salad croissant sandwich with chips. To order a meal, register at least two days in advance. Registration is not needed if you bring your own lunch.

To register, visit www.webercenter.org and click on “programs,” call 517-266-4000, or email [email protected]. 

Weber Center is on the campus of the Adrian Dominican Sisters Motherhouse, Adrian, Michigan. On East Siena Heights Drive, turn into the driveway between Adrian Rea Literacy Center and the solar panel-covered carport. Follow the signs to Weber Center. For information, call the Weber Center at 517-266-4000.
 

October 22, 2024, Chicago – During a panel discussion held during the Catholic Social Teaching Investment Summit held in Chicago last month, Sister Corinne Florek, OP, encouraged investors to “redefine risk” and to take a chance on investing in nonprofit community organizations. 

“I’ve given a lot of talks about not defining risk the way Wall Street does,” Sister Corinne said in an interview. “Wall Street doesn’t invest in local communities. You have to redefine risk and realize that these groups are not risky.”

Sister Corinne speaks from experience. She served on the Adrian Dominican Sisters’ Portfolio Advisory Board, which was started in 1975 and made its first community investment in 1978. In 2008 she was one of the founders the Religious Communities Investment Fund (RCIF), and organization that offers communities of women religious the opportunity to pool their money to invest in community organizations. She also started Mercy Partnership Fund for the same purpose. After various congregations of the Sisters of Mercy in the United States merged, they started a successor program, Mercy Investment Services, which also gives low-interest loans to community organizations. 

Sister Corinne spoke to the success of all three organizations, which increased the size of their investment funds, enabling them to offer low-interest loans to more community organizations. The loss of investment is less than 1%. 

Sister Corinne has worked with many grassroots organizations, helping them to create financial statements and get on solid financial ground so that they can receive loans from other organizations. These grassroots organizations are “committed to their work, and they’re so grateful for the loan that they make sure to pay it back.”

The Francesco Collaborative – which co-sponsored the Summit with the Catholic Impact Investors Collaborative – is encouraging professional investment managers to invest in grassroots community organizations, Sister Corinne said. Many of the smaller communities of women religious are also investigating the idea of starting a community impact investment fund with other communities. 

Read an article on the Summit by Michelle Martin in the Chicago Catholic.