Good day OneBillionStories.com fans. The video above, and the excerpt below, is a snapshot into the life of Toni Garrett, a hopeful aspirant for the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth. Watch the video and read below to learn about her story and how you can help her follow God’s path of vocation. Click the Labouré Society logo below to learn more about Toni’s story.

A vignette of Toni’s story: “God and I grappled with one another for four years and finally arrived at a fork in the road. My spiritual director asked me a simple question that changed my life – “What do you hope for?” This question launched me into a conversation with God about the future that He and I had never been in before and it honestly never occurred to me that my Lord would have an opinion! I thought I would decide what I wanted to ask God for (I actually made a list) and together we would go get it! I am thankful to God for loving me enough to not let this story end that way.” read more

Financial information: “I am not only an Aspirant to religious life, I am also a fundraiser for these vocations. A recent study confirmed that nearly 1 out of 2 Aspirants have student loans. and thus most communities and dioceses cannot accept them. It is the only thing that prevents many -including me- from entering formation to become a priest, brother, or sister.

I am seeking to raise the average student loan amount of $45,000 before December 31, 2012 for a non-profit that helps Aspirants like me -The Labouré Society. It will be difficult, but if 450 individuals donate $100
or 45 donate $1,000, I will meet my goal. I am blessed to have this opportunity to share my love for God, my vocation story, and to ask hundreds of individuals to support vocations like mine by making a donation and remembering us in prayer.” act now for Toni Garrett

More information about The Labouré Society:
• Works with each Aspirant to ensure all personal means are utilized to mitigate the loan amount
(loan consolidation, asset review, financial counseling, full time employment, etc.) prior to acceptance into the program
• Trains each Aspirant in Biblically based philanthropy
• Forms a semi-annual ‘Class’ of Aspirants
• Mentors each Aspirant building a unified team; each individual works toward the collective goal
• Provides ongoing accountability to ensure proper preparation and completion of personal fundraising plans
• Equips each Aspirant with an online fundraising platform for real time donation processing, reporting,
assessment of goals and class interaction and marketing and communications tools like videos, letters, posters, etc.
• Facilitates ongoing communication and updates between Aspirants and donors after formation entrance
• Manages Aspirant quarterly loan payments while they are in formation
• Completes loan payoff at ordination or vows

Dallas Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth Toni Garrett