On April 5, 2023, AOH Division 32 sponsored the weekly Soup Kitchen at St. Mary of the Lake in Chicago's Uptown area. Since St. Mary's has limited kitchen facilities to prepare and serve meals, Division 32 provided the components to hand out meal bags to the hungry. We supplied over 200 sandwiches, 140 drinks, fruit, string cheese, chips and cookies to the Soup Kitchen. Eighteen Brothers met at St. Mary to assemble over 100 meal bags for 70 people that day with the balance distributed the next day (Parishioners at St. Mary also supplied meal bags).
We also sponsored the Soup Kitchen at St. Mary of the Lake on July 12, November 1st and December 20th. In July, 14 of our Brothers purchased, prepared and served 80 cheeseburgers and buns together with drinks, chips and dessert provided by the Parishioners to serve 58 attendees.
In November, with the surge in immigrants in the Chicago area, attendance at the Soup Kitchens increased considerably. We purchased 240 burgers, buns and cheese and our Brothers gathered to cook and serve the meal to 190 attendees (up from 58 in June!).
And on December 20th, we again helped to set up for the Soup Kitchen and cook and serve the meal, supplying 300 burgers and buns. We also provided the components to prepare over 100 meal bags including over 200 sandwiches, chips, drinks, cheese and cookies. We served 208 people and all left with 1 or 2 meal bags. 26 Brothers either attended the Soup Kitchen, supplied components for the meal bags and/or made a monetary donation.
For the second year in a row, AOH Division 32 also made a $1,000 donation from our Charity Committee and an additional $350 in personal donations from individual Brothers for the continued work of St. Mary of the Lake's Soup Kitchen.
Misericordia Home is also a favorite charity for AOH Division 32. Between September 4th and 12th, 11 Brothers helped to set up tents, chairs, banners and signs for Misericordia's Annual Family Fest, lead by long-time supporters John and Bill Resch and Jim Murphy. Misericordia provides housing, education and support for over 600 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities from diverse racial, religious and socio-economic backgrounds. Some are housed in skilled nursing facilities as well as apartments and group homes on the campus and others are housed in Community Integrated Living Arrangements in group homes outside of the main campus. Twenty percent of the residents have no Families or are wards of the state. We also assisted with parking on September 10th, the day of the Fest, and in taking down the many booths, signs, chairs, tables and other components that make up the Fest the following week. In addition, our Charity Committee also made a $1,000 donation to the Family Fest, as we have for at least the last 20 years.
In addition to the donations to Misericordia and St. Mary of the Lake Soup Kitchen, Division 32's Charity Committee made a number of other donations throughout the year to various groups and individuals in need of financial support.
Sponsorships for our annual Golf Outing fund the bulk of the donations of the Charity Committee throughout the year. Our Golf Outing will take place this year at Edgebrook Golf Course on August 23rd. Contact Mike O'Malley (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) to participate in the Golf Outing or to become a sponsor to help fund our Charity Committee's work.
The Ancient Order of Hibernians is the oldest and largest Irish-American Catholic fraternal organization in the U.S. If you are interested in membership, send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and your inquiries will be addressed or an application will be returned to the email supplied for membership.
