Gather with Purpose: When Good Counsel’s Mission Comes Home

What if changing a life could begin with something as simple as opening your front door?

That is the heart of Gather with Purpose, Good Counsel’s intimate, grassroots approach to fundraising and community building. These small gatherings bring friends, neighbors, family members, and fellow supporters together around a simple belief: every mother deserves support, and every life has value.

A Gather with Purpose event is not a gala. It does not require a large venue, elaborate planning, or a long guest list. It can happen around a dining room table, in a living room, or anywhere people can come together for meaningful conversation.

The goal is simple: gather people, introduce them to Good Counsel’s mission, and invite them to become part of the work.

At first glance, Gather with Purpose might look like a small fundraising event. And yes, these gatherings provide important financial support for Good Counsel’s homes and programs.

But the impact goes far beyond the funds raised.

Every gathering introduces new people to the women and children Good Counsel serves. Guests hear about mothers who arrived at Good Counsel facing difficult circumstances and discover what can happen when those mothers are met with practical support, encouragement, faith, and the opportunity to build a new future.

They learn that Good Counsel does more than provide a place to stay. Our homes offer mothers a community where they can find stability, prepare for employment, continue their education, receive help caring for their babies, and grow in confidence as they prepare for life beyond the home.

And sometimes, the most powerful part of the evening is simply hearing from a mother whose life has been changed.

As Diane and Christopher Tomasello, longtime Gather with Purpose hosts from Gillette, New Jersey, shared:

“When a young mom gets up and shares how Good Counsel helped change her life and the life of her baby, it is very edifying. You know that partnering with Good Counsel saves a baby’s life and gets a mom back on the path to a better life.”

That personal connection is what makes these gatherings so powerful.

For Stephanie and Xavier Da Costa, their first encounter with Good Counsel came through a Gather with Purpose event. They heard about the challenges facing pregnant women in crisis and learned about the practical support Good Counsel provides.

They also had the opportunity to meet Good Counsel founder Christopher Bell.

The experience stayed with them.

After becoming supporters, Stephanie and Xavier went on to host Gather with Purpose events themselves—more than once.

They describe it as “a truly rewarding experience,” encouraging others who are considering becoming hosts to do so wholeheartedly.

Their story illustrates something essential about Gather with Purpose: the host is not simply raising money. The host is helping Good Counsel find its next generation of supporters.

One gathering can lead to another host. One guest can become a volunteer. Someone who comes to learn can become a donor. A person who has never heard of Good Counsel can leave inspired to tell someone else about the mission.

The circle continues to grow.

For Catherine Foucher of Chatham, New Jersey, that was exactly what happened.

Catherine had admired Good Counsel for decades and had been a donor for more than 20 years. Then, unexpectedly, she received an invitation to attend a Gather with Purpose meeting in her neighborhood.

She went.

What she found was more than an introduction to an organization she already supported. She met “interesting and sincere Catholics” in her own community whom she otherwise might never have encountered.

Her response was to pay it forward by hosting a gathering of her own.

That is one of the beautiful things about Gather with Purpose. It builds community while building support for Good Counsel.

In a world where fundraising can sometimes feel impersonal, these gatherings put relationships back at the center. People sit together. They ask questions. They share stories. They discover a mission they may not have known about. And they leave with an opportunity to do something about what they have learned.

Why Host a Gather with Purpose?

Hosting does not require you to be a professional fundraiser. You simply need to care about the mission and be willing to invite others into it.

A host can:

• Create a meaningful experience for family and friends
• Build community around a mission that matters
• Spark meaningful conversation about motherhood, life, faith, and hope
• Introduce guests to Good Counsel and the life-changing work happening in our homes
• Inspire others to get involved through volunteering, giving, touring a home, or hosting their own gathering
• Support mothers and babies who need a safe place to begin again

The beauty is that there is no single formula. A gathering can be as simple as coffee and conversation or as elaborate as a dinner with friends. What matters is not the size of the event, but the opportunity to connect people with a mission that changes lives.

The impact is real and the impact of that mission is measurable.

Already this year, 29 babies have been born in Good Counsel’s homes.

Since Good Counsel was founded in 1985, the organization has served 8,529 mothers and children and celebrated the births of 1,416 babies.

Behind every number is a mother. A child. A family. A story.

Gather with Purpose gives people a chance to see those stories up close—and then decide how they can help write the next chapter.

Because Good Counsel cannot do this work alone.

It takes donors. Volunteers. Advocates. Prayer. And it takes people willing to say, Come over. I want to tell you about something that matters.

Host a Gathering. Change a Life.

Opening your home may seem like a small thing.

Inviting a handful of friends may seem like a small thing.

Starting a conversation may seem like a small thing.

But when those small things bring people together around a shared commitment to mothers and babies, the impact can be anything but small.

Host a gathering. Gather friends. Spark meaningful conversation. Introduce someone to Good Counsel. And help build a community where every mother knows she is not alone.

Interested in hosting a Gather with Purpose event?

Contact Philomena Pereira, Development Officer, at 941-236-1233 or Philomena_Pereira@GoodCounselHomes.org to learn more.