Cowgirl Teen’S Project Has Church Members ‘Buying’ Cows For Needy Families

Caitlin Labrie has helped buy a whole herd of cows, but has never seen them.

The 14-year-old East Valley High School freshman has raised more than $5,700 in the last two months to purchase 95 cows for needy families in hurricane-ravaged Nicaragua.

The project began with an e-mail from Labrie’s great-aunt, Marie Borden, who is Mother Superior of the Sisters of St. Francis in Philadelphia. The e-mail requested a donation of $60 to send to Sister Caroline Sweeney in Nicaragua so she could buy a cow for a family who had lost everything to Hurricane Mitch.

“It just practically broke my heart,” said Labrie of hearing about the plight of people in the Central American country. “I knew they probably needed more than one cow.”

She asked her parish priest, Rev. Jim Mangan of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Otis Orchards, for permission to make a presentation during Sunday Masses. She wrote a speech and prepared a presentation.

“People were really impressed with the presentation she made,” said Mangan. “People responded very well.”

It was obvious that Labrie had carefully prepared her material and knew what she was talking about, he said. “It wasn’t haphazard.”

People who donated $60 dollars were allowed to name their cow. Labrie sent cameras and film to Nicaragua so the sisters could take a picture of each cow with the family who received it and send it back to each donor.

She designed a T-shirt to be given to each donor that included a picture of a cow and the cow’s name. The design was created on the family computer, printed on special paper and ironed on plain T-shirts.

Labrie also put out a jar at the church for people who wanted to donate smaller amounts. Some people said they didn’t really want the T-shirt, but just wanted to help out, she said.

Still, Labrie thinks the shirts and cow naming got some people more interested in helping.

“I think it helped a bit,” she said. “A lot of people said they wouldn’t have bought them (cows) if I hadn’t made a speech.”

Now, Labrie said, she is waiting to hear if more money for cows is needed.

If it is, she plans to take her presentation on the road to different churches in the area.

Even though she was the driving force behind the fund-raising project, Labrie said it wasn’t a solo effort.

“I don’t think I could do it without my family’s help,” she said. “My dad is a master ironer.”