The Hazy Day fundraiser held in September to assist the diocesan mission in Guatemala brought in at least $40,886.

The mission office at the Chancery tallied that sum as of Oct. 6 and anticipated additional giving tied to Hazy Day, held Sept. 12. The annual event is named for Father Jim Hazelton, who has served at the mission for 45 years. Father Hazelton attended the fundraiser, which was at the Cathedral of St. Helena’s Brondel Center and included a silent auction, a marketplace, door prizes, games and food.

Hazy Day dollars help support the mission’s work in education and evangelization, Father Hazelton said in a follow-up interview. Mission outreach includes a school with enrollment of about 600, a health clinic and faith formation with small-group catechesis.

The diocese budgets money for the mission, which also receives some cash through school tuition and clinic fees, but education and health care are free for those unable to pay.

“If we’re not making ends meet, it’s worrisome,” Father Hazelton said. Money from Hazy Day helps to fill in gaps, he said.

“In the diocese, it’s the single largest fundraiser for the mission,” said Mark Frei, mission manager at the Chancery. “I’m grateful to the cathedral and the parishioners of the cathedral for this mainstay fundraiser. It shows the people of Helena have a great heart for missionary work and social justice.”

The $40,886 compares with $35,758 raised at Hazy Day in 2009. This year’s preliminary total includes nearly $6,000 received as scholarship money for students at the mission school. That aid does not reflect gifts by people whose money is anticipated later because they pledged scholarship support and asked to be billed.


Published in The Montana Catholic Online, Volume 26, No. 10, October 15, 2010.