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CANTON — Lynette Ambruch of Canton is seeking rosaries from the local community to send to the people of Ukraine.
The word “rosary” means a chain of roses and the roses are prayers. In the Roman Catholic Church, a rosary is a form of devotion in which five (or fifteen) decades of Hail Marys are repeated, each decade preceded by an Our Father and followed by a Glory Be.
“It shows (the Ukrainian people) we love them and unite with them as Catholics around the world pray the rosary with them,” said Ambruch.
Inspired by a recent act of kindness she saw on TV from a food and beverage company in New Jersey, she reached out to Jimmy Unanue, president of Goya Foods, to help with his efforts.
“Goya CEO Bob Unanue and team are on the borders of Ukraine and Poland with a special delivery of faith, prayer and hope for the people of Ukraine. We delivered over 15,000 rosaries that were donated by American people from around the world, along with another food donation of 150,000 pounds. With the help of Global Empowerment Mission (GEM), Goya Foods and our Goya Gives | Goya Cares global initiative, we will continue to distribute hundreds of thousands of pounds of food, water, and supplies as needed,” said a March 18 post by the company.
“I thought ‘Hey, I can make and collect rosaries. I have before,’” said Ambruch. “I wrote (to) him, and he answered. So now the plan is in motion. I just want to help them in anyway I can.”
Ambruch will collect rosaries until Wednesday, April 20. But she isn’t doing this mission alone.
“I have people all over (the country) helping including our local churches,” she said.
The Catholic Churches in Ralston, Troy and Canton, are helping her take donations. She is also offering to fix broken and unwanted rosaries.
To donate a rosary or to get involved in the collection process, there will be boxes available at the Catholic churches in Troy, Ralston and Canton.
Once the local collection process is over, she will send one shipment to the Goya Foods company.
“It is about caring for the Ukrainian people and that we are people helping people,” said Ambruch.
For more information on Goya Foods, go to www.goya.com. Goya Gives is a global program committed to promoting and supporting the overall well-being of our communities through social responsibility, environmental initiatives, and company values.