St. Thomas Aquinas Church is holding a fundraiser on Oct. 11 and 12 to help educate Honduran children.

Any donation amount is welcome at the fundraiser. For an entire year, it costs $40 to assist one student, $160 to assist a family and $400 to assist a class.

These donations may be accepted in person this weekend at St. Thomas Aquinas church, mailed to the church at 2210 Lincoln way, Ames IA 50014CQ, or even through their website https://staparish.weshareonline.org/.

Honduras is a country in which thousands of children have fled to U.S. borders, unaccompanied, in search of safety and a better life.

The Honduras Ministry, and all who donate, are able to help children who desire an education. 

St. Thomas Aquinas has a sister parish relation with the Dulce Nombre de Maria Parish in the Copan region of Honduras. St. Thomas Aquinas has a room in the church dedicated to Dulce Nombre de Maria, where there are images and goods from Honduras.

Shari Reilly, campus minister for St. Thomas, said the former campus minister became a missionary in Honduras. This started the sister parish relationship.

This relation has allowed the Honduras Committee of St. Thomas Aquinas to offer financial assistance to Honduran students for the last three years. Maintaining this financial assistance is important for allowing Honduran students to gain a full education.

“Only 33 percent of Honduran children receive education past the fifth grade,” Reilly said.

In order to combat this statistic, the church is accepting any and all donations to go toward scholarships for the children.

The scholarships allow students to receive textbooks and daily radio broadcasts of lessons.

This educational delivery system allows students to work toward degrees and diplomas that could help them find jobs in the future.