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Sister Carol Weber, OP, speaks from the heart as she thanks the Flint Jewish Federation on behalf of the people she serves for the Don Riegle Award.

September 27, 2024, Flint, Michigan – Sister Carol Weber, OP, Co-founder and Executive Director of St. Luke N.E.W. Life Center, was one of three recipients of the 33rd Annual Donald Riegle Community Service Award in recognition of her “outstanding leadership in improving the well-being of the Greater Flint Community.” The award was presented by the Flint Jewish Federation during a special program on September 12, 2024, at the Flint Institute of Arts.

The award is named for Donald W. Riegle, Jr., a former senior United States Senator representing Michigan. Known as a “champion of Soviet Jewry,” he retired after serving in the Senate for three terms and 10 years in the U.S. House of Representatives. Also recognized during the evening were David Gibson and Carol Hurand. 

Proceeds from the annual event have been donated to Jewish Community Services to resettle 415 people from the former Soviet Union and Russian-speaking Muslim families from Uzbekistan.

“It was a beautiful experience,” Sister Carol said, noting the program was open to all. The program included talks by a rabbi and a Protestant minister, a performance by a harpist, hors d’oeuvres, and the award presentation. Sister Carol and the other two award recipients received a certificate of special Congressional recognition from U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI) and paintings.

Sister Carol was accompanied that night by family members and by Sisters Mary Priniski, OP, her Chapter Prioress, and Theresa Mayrand, OP, who also is in ministry at St. Luke N.E.W. Life Center. 

“I accepted the award on behalf of the people who trust us with their lives,” Sister Carol said during an interview after the program. “I’m just an instrument. The award was for people who change their lives – for those who do extraordinary things in the community.” She said she thanked her family and her religious community “for being there and for their support – not just that night but always.”

Sister Carol founded N.E.W. Life Center with the late Sister Judy Blake, CSJ, with whom she served for years as Co-director. The N.E.W. Life Center has had a tremendous impact on the lives of the people in Flint, Sister Carol said. Its 2023 impact report stated that the food pantry served 300 families per month; eight literacy learners earned GEDs; 854 people visited the eye clinic; nearly 1,000 people received Christmas gifts and food; and 122 pregnant women or mothers of children six months and younger attended the Center’s baby showers. 

In addition, through the Resilient Communities initiative of the Adrian Dominican Sisters, the Center works with other organizations in the Resilient Women program, which offers “unwavering support” to women who have been in abusive relationships or difficult situations. The program offers counseling, employment preparation, on-the-job training, and services such as childcare that could eliminate barriers to employment for the women.

“Many of them have gotten jobs,” she said. “Many have been able to get housing. But most important is they’ve grown in their own person and their own self-esteem, that they don’t have to take [the abuse] they’ve been receiving. They’re able to go beyond the hurt and the abuse.”

Sister Carol was quick to point out that the Center relies on its partnership with other organizations and individuals to offer its many programs. “We do a lot of partnering,” she said. “We don’t do any of this on our own.” The Center receives about 12 large grants from foundations but also has a “really good, substantial donor base.”    

Whatever programs or services people receive from the Center, they come into a place that offers respect and a sense of welcome. “We train our employees [so] that anyone who walks through that door is received without judgment,” Sister Carol said. “We’re a center of second and sometimes third chances.”

Sister Carol not only respects the people who come from the Center but values the lessons they bring. “I’ve learned from them what it’s like not to have what I have, even family support,” she said. “Everyone’s story is critical to them and I need to listen, not only to what they’re saying but what they’re not saying. I’ve learned that everyone really wants to be heard and they want someone to just spend time with them. Personally, I’ve learned to trust God a lot more.”

 

Left: Sister Carol Weber, OP, displays Shepherdess, a painting she received from the Flint Jewish Federation. Right: From left are Sister Carol Weber, OP, David Gibson, and Carol Hurand, 2024 recipients of the Donald Riegle Community Service Award.