The Franciscan Challenge, Franciscan Friars Charities’ flagship fundraising campaign, will launch its Winter 2026 campaign on November 24th with the first of six powerfully themed compilation videos featuring testimonials from Franciscan ministries in the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Jamaica.
Those who receive the Challenge videos via email or social media will have the opportunity to see kindness and faith in action, and how gifts to the Franciscan Friars have meaningful, positive impacts in the lives of those who are: hungry, seeking safety and shelter, looking for kindness and glimmers of hope, willing to accept guidance and counseling, searching for ways to make ends meet, and in desperate need of non-judgmental love.
Guests from Franciscan ministries in major cities, small towns, and isolated communities will share moving testimonials about the presence and care of the friars:
“It’s so needed and the time is so hard right now, especially for low-income people,” says Marie, a frequent guest of the Franciscan Outreach Food Bank in Southfield, MI. “And Social Security is never enough for seniors because we do not get extra money or bonuses because we’re not working. But I appreciate this program so much.”
“I was abused since the age of seven. I started using drugs at the age of nine, started prostituting at the age of eleven, and I just wanted anyone to love me, anybody to be there for me, anybody just to talk to,” shares an unnamed guest of St. Anthony Shrine / Shrine’s Women’s Clinic in Boston, MA. “To have these programs is like it’s really, really awesome because they have a place to go. You know, I had no place to go.”
“I was homeless,” shares Timothy, a guest of the St. Francis Breadline in NY. “I prayed to God to help me. I became a counselor and now I come back, and I’ve helped a lot of people get off this line. The friars, they’re talking to the community and praying with them, and I believe that gives the community hope.”
“We have four kids, and I’m a stay-at-home mom,” says Sandra, a parishioner of St. Mary Mission in Tohatchi, Navajo Nation, NM. “So, we only have one income. I know a lot of families rely on St. Mary’s and their donations because it’s hard for people to be able to cover all their bills.”
“A group of girls comes here, and they usually do not want to go back home,” says Isabel, a Program Evaluator at the Children of a New Hope community center in Sabana Seca, Puerto Rico. “Because here they feel loved.”
Funds raised by The Franciscan Challenge Winter 2026 Campaign will support all Franciscan ministries and the over 7.2 million women, children, and men who come to the friars for help each year. They will also help educate and prepare young friars for ministry and care for retired and elder friars, who have served so many for so long.
To see more powerful testimonials and how donations to the Franciscan Friars support those in desperate need of kindness, care, and accompaniment, take the Franciscan Challenge at https://challenge.franciscanfriarscharities.org.