Friday, May 27, 2011

Reiser Relief keeps wheels turning in Haiti


by Sue Austreng Staff Writer - ABCNEWSPapers.com
Saturday, May 7, 2011

Their hearts beating with boundless compassion and their wallets eager for bountiful harvest, some 500 guests attended the April 26 Bringing Hope to Haiti fund-raising event at the Courtyards of Andover.

The fifth annual Reiser Relief fund-raiser was staged at the Courtyards of Andover and guests did, indeed, to their best to “keep the wheel turning.”

That wheel – the wheel of life fueled by Reiser Relief projects providing fresh water, stocking food centers and funding education and eldercare facilities – is turning in the impoverished country of Haiti.

According to Doris Schulte, vice president of the Reiser Relief board, $55,000 in donations have been collected as a result of the event – and checks are still coming in.

editorial note from Reiser Relief May 14th "Thank you for generously supporting our Keep The Wheel Turning - Haiti Fundraising Event, held April 24. We are pleased to share that we raised $82,000 for Reiser Relief projects that evening. Praise God! We are so grateful for your participation!"


Money was raised at the April 26 event when guests purchased $5 general admission tickets, participated in live and silent auctions, purchased raffle tickets, paid entry fees to play a couple of games and bought copies of Rev. Bernard Reiser’s devotional book, “Reiser’s Ramblings.”
“We are so grateful for the generosity of so many people,” said Schulte.

Reiser, the founder of Reiser Relief and longtime priest at Epiphany Catholic Church, Coon Rapids, echoed Schulte’s sentiment.

“We are so grateful for the support from all of you,” Reiser said. “May God bless each of you most abundantly and know you are in my daily Mass and prayers.”

Fresh water project

In addition to Bringing Hope to Haiti fund-raiser money going to Reiser Relief’s Haitian service projects, a refurbished water truck will be sent to the Caribbean country, as well.

The truck, acquired and refurbished by Harri Rinta, will be used along with a second Reiser Relief water truck to deliver fresh, free water to 24 neighborhoods in one of the poorest slums in the western hemisphere.

Kevin McClellan, coordinator of the Reiser Relief fresh water project, said that the project provides yearly delivery of more than four million gallons of clean water to the poor in the Haitian slum of Cité Soleil.

According to www.ReiserRelief.org, the Reiser Relief water trucks deliver four 3,500-gallon loads of water, six days a week, 52 weeks per year to thousands of people.

That is the equivalent of 800,000 five gallon buckets of water each year.

Birth of Reiser Relief

Reiser Relief was formed by Reiser shortly after he returned from his first trip to Haiti more than a dozen years ago.

Since its beginning, as stated on its website, Reiser Relief has “helped to bestow new hope for many hundreds of God’s needy people through the generosity of a great number of people.”

Reiser Relief monthly expenses include:
• $2,000 to pay salaries for Haitian water truck drivers, maintain the trucks and buy fuel

• $2,500 for teachers’ salaries

• $1,250 to cover the costs of running two schools

Those interested in learning more about Reiser Relief – and those who would like to make a donation – should visit http://www.ReiserRelief.org.

Donations can also be sent to Reiser Relief, Inc., 1800 111th Ave. N.W., #320, Coon Rapids, MN 55433.

All donations to the 501(c)3 non-profit organization are tax deductible.

Sue Austreng is at sue.austreng@ecm-inc.com

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Reiser’s Ramblings by Fr. Bernard Reiser Among Honorees at 2011 Book Festivals




Reiser’s Ramblings by Fr. Bernard Reiser Among Honorees at 2011 Book Festivals

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) May 21, 2011 -- Minneapolis, Minnesota — Reiser Relief Inc announces that Reiser’s Ramblings by Fr. Bernard Reiser has been shortlisted in the Spiritual category nationally and internationally for the 2011 the San Francisco & 2011 Paris Book Festivals. The book was published in 2010 and Reiser's Ramblings won “honorable mention” in Spiritual category at the 2011 San Francisco Book Festival, and “runner-up” at the 2011 Paris Book Festival. In, January 2011, Fr. Reiser was honored by the local NBC affiliate Kare 11 Television with a 2011 “Eleven Who Care award”

All profits from the sale of Reiser’s Ramblings go to Haitian relief efforts sponsored by Reiser Relief Inc.


About the book: Fr. Reiser brings together a wonderful collection of “ramblings” that all of us can take home and take to heart. Father is a master in the art of spiritual storytelling; he engages, entertains, and challenges with undeniable hope. He has a gift and he shares it generously in this lovely book. Included are stories with the deep conviction that our human journey and our spiritual journey are intrinsically linked. He shares observations that are sometimes so wondrously obvious and visible, and he does it in a way that feels like you’re hearing from a close friend.

The book is 268 pages, 6″ x 9″ on white paper and is available in softcover (SRP $16.95) U.S. wholesale distribution is through Reiser Relief Inc Online availability through Reiser Relief and Minnesota retail locations: St. Maximilian Catholic Books, Elk River; Epiphany Catholic Church Gift Center, Coon Rapids; St. George Catholic Books, Blaine; Heaven Bound Catholic Books, St. Michael; and St. Nicholas Church, New Market.; Saint Patrick's Guild St. Paul.

ISBN: 978-0-615-36478-0
Publisher: Reiser Relief Inc.
Author: Fr. Bernard Reiser
Editor: Jacqueline Hilgert
Cover Artist: Mark Sanislo

For more information or to contact the author, visit http://www.reiserrelief.org/


About the author: Fr. Bernard Reiser is a long-time resident of Coon Rapids, Minn. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1949 after attending the St. Paul Seminary. Fr. Reiser was first assigned to Saint Mary of the Lake, White Bear Lake, as Associate Pastor. He served that community for fifteen years. In 1964, Fr. Reiser was selected to start a parish in Coon Rapids. Fr. Reiser bought seventy acres of farmland on which to build this parish and the Church of the Epiphany was formed. Epiphany parish grew from 150 families in 1964 to 5,000 families today. Along the way, Fr. Reiser added to the Epiphany campus an elementary school, a Perpetual Adoration chapel, a senior housing complex, an assisted living facility, a cemetery, and several outdoor shrines. He also led the parish to construct a spacious sanctuary. Epiphany is now one of the largest Catholic communities in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis and in Minnesota.


Reiser Relief Inc. is a volunteer run non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation founded by Father Bernard Reiser, who has been involved with Haiti outreach programs for over 13 years; Bringing Hope To Haiti. Reiser Relief is based in Coon Rapids, MN and its mission is to help the impoverished people of the Caribbean country of Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Operating with the mission statement “to help the impoverished people of Haiti with a focus on children and families – providing clean water, food, housing and education,” “The number one need is food and clean water,” said Fr.Reiser.


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Saturday, May 7, 2011

Reiser Relief keeps wheels turning in Haiti

Reiser Relief keeps wheels turning in Haiti by ABC Newspaper May 7th 2011

by Sue Austreng Staff Writer

Their hearts beating with boundless compassion and their wallets eager for bountiful harvest, some 500 guests attended the April 26 Bringing Hope to Haiti fund-raising event at the Courtyards of Andover.

The fifth annual Reiser Relief fund-raiser was staged at the Courtyards of Andover and guests did, indeed, to their best to “keep the wheel turning.”

That wheel – the wheel of life fueled by Reiser Relief projects providing fresh water, stocking food centers and funding education and eldercare facilities – is turning in the impoverished country of Haiti.

According to Doris Schulte, vice president of the Reiser Relief board, $55,000 in donations have been collected as a result of the event – and checks are still coming in.

Money was raised at the April 26 event when guests purchased $5 general admission tickets, participated in live and silent auctions, purchased raffle tickets, paid entry fees to play a couple of games and bought copies of Rev. Bernard Reiser’s devotional book, “Reiser’s Ramblings.”

“We are so grateful for the generosity of so many people,” said Schulte.

Reiser, the founder of Reiser Relief and longtime priest at Epiphany Catholic Church, Coon Rapids, echoed Schulte’s sentiment.

“We are so grateful for the support from all of you,” Reiser said. “May God bless each of you most abundantly and know you are in my daily Mass and prayers.”

Fresh water project

In addition to Bringing Hope to Haiti fund-raiser money going to Reiser Relief’s Haitian service projects, a refurbished water truck will be sent to the Caribbean country, as well.

The truck, acquired and refurbished by Harri Rinta, will be used along with a second Reiser Relief water truck to deliver fresh, free water to 24 neighborhoods in one of the poorest slums in the western hemisphere.

Kevin McClellan, coordinator of the Reiser Relief fresh water project, said that the project provides yearly delivery of more than four million gallons of clean water to the poor in the Haitian slum of Cité Soleil.

According to www.ReiserRelief.org, the Reiser Relief water trucks deliver four 3,500-gallon loads of water, six days a week, 52 weeks per year to thousands of people.

That is the equivalent of 800,000 five gallon buckets of water each year.

Birth of Reiser Relief

Reiser Relief was formed by Reiser shortly after he returned from his first trip to Haiti more than a dozen years ago.

Since its beginning, as stated on its website, Reiser Relief has “helped to bestow new hope for many hundreds of God’s needy people through the generosity of a great number of people.”

Reiser Relief monthly expenses include:

• $2,000 to pay salaries for Haitian water truck drivers, maintain the trucks and buy fuel

• $2,500 for teachers’ salaries

• $1,250 to cover the costs of running two schools

Those interested in learning more about Reiser Relief – and those who would like to make a donation – should visit www.ReiserRelief.org

Donations can also be sent to Reiser Relief, Inc., 1800 111th Ave. N.W., #320, Coon Rapids, MN 55433.

All donations to the 501(c)3 non-profit organization are tax deductible.

Sue Austreng is at sue.austreng@ecm-inc.com