With Orthodox Easter fast approaching, we hope you are all enjoying Spring weather and have been able to be vaccinated on the road to resuming a more normal lifestyle.

Once again, our sincere thanks to our very generous sustaining contributors — those of you who have contributed since our last Newsletter — Terry K., Adrienne F., Phyllis S., Randall D., Jennifer D., Wendell B., and the AFPVO Board. We welcome first-time donors— James D., Susan T.,and Emma D.. We anticipate disbursing funds to Romania once the construction season begins again.

Exciting news! We have a new Board member, Shelby Stowers. Shelby lives in Los Angeles, is a graduate of St. Stephen and St. Agnes School (SSSAS) and has volunteered at Pro Vita multiple times since being part of the first SSSAS cohort to go to Romania when she was 15 years old. Her continued commitment to Pro Vita and her enthusiasm for the work being done there makes her an ideal addition to the Board. We look forward to her ideas and her West Coast and SSSAS alumnae outreach.

Pro Vita continues to experience a few cases of Covid-19 and vaccinations are very slow in coming.  Schools remain closed although plans to re-open in early-mid May have been announced. We can only assume that the house mothers look forward to sending the children back to the classroom.

Ft. Sean was unable to make his planned trip to Pro Vita last month as the Covid test requirements to re-enter the U.S. were too daunting. He hopes to visit either in May or this summer as international travel regulations permit. Frank and I will visit for a few days in March 2022 as part of a long-postponed trip to Eastern Europe. If conditions permit we may try to do a quick trip in Fall 2021.

It has been a very stressful 18 months at Pro Vita as Mihail and Melanie have kept pace with all the new government regulations regarding congregate living while addressing all the day to day challenges of providing safe and supportive living situations for their diverse community of almost 500 beneficiaries.

We renewed our annual retainer with our tech support guru, Taylor Jensen, who works to keep our website and our mailing list up to date. The Board continues to contribute money to cover this and all other administrative expenses so that 100% of your donation goes to Pro Vita .

We encourage you to support this critical financial lifeline. AFPVO continues to be the largest non-Romanian financial contributor to Pro Vita.

Reminder — our new mailing address:
American Friends of Pro Vita Orphanage (AFPVO)
10518 Rosehaven St.
Apt. 306
Fairfax, VA 22030

We also can receive donations via PayPal which does charge us a small percentage of your donation as a processing fee.

If you have any questions or comments, contact us at: [email protected]

Our best to everyone,

Fr. Sean Cavanaugh
Donna Shelton
Frank Doe
Shelby Stowers