BVM Sister’s Photo Cards Fight Hunger
Mary Janine Wolff, BVM uses her nature photographs to make greeting cards, with proceeds going to the BVM Hunger Fund because “I’ve never been hungry.”
Just outside the Caritas dining room at Mount Carmel in Dubuque, Iowa, rests a full display of colorful greeting cards, each boasting a photograph of a flower, a floral bouquet, or a nature scene. These photograph-cards are the creation of Mary Janine Wolff, BVM, currently a resident at Mount Carmel.
In 1970, Mary Janine’s parents gave her a small camera, and her dad taught her to take pictures. “See, frame, take it—don’t move!” he instructed. And Mary Janine began to take pictures in earnest as she traveled. Now, nearly 50 years later, Mary Janine’s chosen retirement ministry largely focuses on creating “photo-greeting cards.”
The photographs are nearly always of nature—a bench overlooking the Mississippi River, an Iowa sunset, or, most frequently, a lovely flower or bouquet. Prior to these card-flower photos, however, Mary Janine took 30 years’ worth of pictures, mostly nature scenes of places she had travelled to such as Yosemite National Park and the Grand Canyon. Serious preparation for her current delicate work!
Mary Janine’s “art work” began at an early age, at home, with a box of eight crayons and construction paper. She enjoyed “making art” and credits her father “who taught me to see” and her mother who insisted she “use things up.” “I learned to express myself with whatever materials were around,” she explains, “and I am blessed with what my parents taught me.”
Much later, Mary Janine’s interest in and fascination with nature grew as she became facile with her small camera, often taking entire rolls of film on nature scenes. “I’d see something lovely and I couldn’t resist taking the picture!” she exclaims. The variations in nature fascinated her. “I was so interested in the layers of mountains behind the clouds,” she continues, “and their colors reflected in the lake.”
What to do with all these pictures? The idea of making greeting cards became “something I can do to help,” Mary Janine shares. Thus, some 30 years ago, Mary Janine began processing and selling her signature “nature cards.” Her cards are not priced; a donation only is requested for each card. All proceeds are sent to the BVM Hunger Fund, which provides financial assistance to organizations that work abroad to alleviate world hunger.
When asked “Why your choice of the Hunger Fund?” Mary Janine replies quietly, “I’ve never been hungry.” Since 2011, donations from the sale of Mary Janine’s cards have amounted to nearly $9,000.
Recipients of Mary Janine Wolff’s greeting cards will be charmed by the loveliness of her photos. And not only the recipient but the sender of the card will feel the “heart-uplift” that each card offers. Whether a rose, a floral bouquet, or an Iowa sunset, the dual benefit becomes gift indeed.
Recipients of Mary Janine Wolff’s greeting cards will be charmed by the loveliness of her photos. And not only the recipient but the sender of the card will feel the “heart-uplift” that each card offers. Whether a rose, a floral bouquet, or an Iowa sunset, the dual benefit becomes gift indeed.
About the author: Pat (Frederick Mary) Nolan, BVM is a retired faculty member of the Language and Literature Department at Clarke University in Dubuque, Iowa.
Gifts designated to the BVM Hunger Fund provide basic needs of food and water to those struggling to make ends meet. To contribute to the BVM Hunger Fund go to our online donation form or call the Office of Development at 563-585-2864.
This story was featured in:
Fall SALT 2019: ‘Together We Make the Path by Walking’
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