Wedding Couple's generous act
for Trade School

I, Katie (Meier) Tittmann of State College, Pennsylvania, had the pleasure of making several trips to Haiti between 2005 and 2008 as a member of the student group Project Haiti, which is part of Penn State’s Catholic Campus Ministry.   As others can relate, the people I met at the orphanage, the Azil, and in and around Pandiassou and Hinche and the good work being done there left an indelible imprint on my memory and soul that continues long after the last trip to Haiti.

At a wedding I attended about a year ago, the bride and groom made a donation to a charity in lieu of a favor.  I thought “What a great idea!” because several hundred dollars are “wasted” on those little items, since people often throw them away or even forget to take them.   At the same time, how fitting it is to do a work of charity as one of your first joint acts as a married couple.

So as I was planning my own wedding this past July, I knew I wanted to make a donation to the Maison Fortune Orphanage Foundation in lieu of having party favors.  We chose to donate to the McKenna Technical Institute because it is such an awesome initiative on so many levels. We put a sign on each table using the same stand as the table number, just on the other side:

I would highly recommend making a donation in lieu of a wedding favor because it adds to the joy of the guests and the couple to be part of such a wonderful cause, and it also testifies to the promise you’re making that day which is loving service to each other and together to serve others for the rest of your lives.  Mesi Bondye.

-Katie (Meier) Tittmann

Editor’s Note:  The school may not open until spring 2013 depending on weather, curriculum development and fund raising.   And the prosthesis manufacturing is still under discussion.