Thank You for Your Support!

The Father Joseph Walijewski Legacy Guild and Rural Life Committee thank you for your support
of Project Milk!  Help us reach our goal of sending 800 bags of Wisconsin milk to Peru each year!

Project Milk Brochure

How the project works:

  • Shipped to Casa Hogar Juan Pablo II in Lurín, Peru; home to 72 children, families and staff
  • Casa Hogar works with other local orphanages and service organizations to trade the powdered milk for resources
  • Casa Hogar also donates milk to local soup kitchens and families across greater Lima.  Last year over 40 sites and hundreds of people received nutritious milk from Wisconsin

    How it began:

    The following is a true story from the late Fr. Joe Walijewski, a Servant of God and beloved priest of the Diocese of La Crosse who in 1986 founded the orphanage Casa Hogar Juan Pablo II inLurin, Peru, where he ministered until his death on April 11, 2006.  Casa Hogar is still served by a priest from the Diocese of La Crosse today and Fr. Joe’s Cause is open for Sainthood.

    When Fr. Walijewski was first stationed at a parish church in Lima, Peru, he saw a little boy playing in the street.  He had been out there all morning, and now it was early afternoon.  Fr. Joe greeted him and asked, “Shouldn’t you be going home?  It’s past lunch time!”  The little boy told him, “It’s not my day to eat.”  That’s right – it’s not my day to eat!  His family was so poor they fed their children on alternate days.

    It was because of this level of hunger and malnutrition, and out of a desire to assist Fr. Walijewski in his service to thousands of poor children in Peru, that the Rural Life Committee of the Diocese of La Crosse started “Project Milk” in 1984. Project Milk has a two-fold purpose: to provide milk for the hungry children at the orphanage and the surrounding Peruvian neighborhoods, and to raise awareness of the economic difficulties of our dairy farmers in western Wisconsin (all the dried milk shipped comes from dairy farms). Since its inception in 1984, Project Milk has collected over $1,000,000 and shipped close to 450 tons of dried milk to Peru, thanks to the generous donations of the people of the Diocese of La Crosse. With groups traveling each year to the orphanage, we are now trying to coordinate the arrival of the powdered milk to occur when we have groups present from the Diocese at Casa Hogar.

    We hope you will find it in your heart to help Project Milk continue to supply nourishing milk to the children of Casa Hogar and the surrounding neighborhoods, so that no child will have to say, “It’s not my day to eat.”  Know that in doing so you will also be supporting Wisconsin’s dairy farmers.

     

    How much do we need?

    • Casa Hogar uses about 1 sack (50 pounds) of powdered milk each week.
    • It costs about $100 to send 1 sack of milk to Lurín, Peru.
    • Our goal is to send 800 sacks of milk to Casa Hogar, or $80,000.
    • Your donation goes straight to the purchase, preparation and shipment of the milk. Administrative costs are covered by the Diocesan Annual Appeal. It is only your continued support that makes these shipments possible.

    How much does it cost?

    • $400 will provide Casa Hogar with 4 sacks milk, enough for one month.
    • $100 will provide 1 sack of powdered milk, enough for one week.

    We wish to thank everyone who has given so generously to Project Milk! Your contributions are not only an act of charity for the orphans of Casa Hogar in Peru, but also a strong show of solidarity for our dairy farmers!

    Please donate to Project Milk.  

    Donate online here: https://frjoesguild.org/donate/

    CLICK HERE for a PDF of the Project Milk Brochure, making your check payable to the Diocese of La Crosse and mailing it to:

    Project Milk, Office of Ministries and Social Concerns
    Diocese of La Crosse
    P.O. Box 4004
    La Crosse, WI 54602-4004

    For questions regarding Project Milk, call or e-mail the Office of Ministries and Social Concerns at (608) 791-0161.