Having a Mission, Having an Impact

By Mitch Traphagen

RUSKIN - There must be a special blessing for meeting an Irish accented nun on St. Patrick's Day. Indeed there is if that nun is Sister Maureen Smith, Volunteer Coordinator for the Redlands Christian Migrant Association in Ruskin. RCMA is a non-denominational organization dedicated to serving the children of rural, low-income families.

She would never admit to it but Sister Maureen has had a significant impact on our area. It is an impact so great that few, if any, organizations or companies can compare. Tomorrow alone, nearly 800 children in south Hillsborough County will benefit from her efforts. That is just tomorrow - there are uncounted thousands whose lives have been made better by the efforts of Sister Maureen Smith.

She is a friendly, unassuming woman with a quick smile. She is also a Franciscan Nun who has devoted herself to helping an often ignored yet critically important segment of our population - the farm workers and their families. "There is nothing wrong with field work," she said. "We all love the strawberries, the oranges and the floral arrangements and somebody has to do the work."

Many people, however, don't stop to think about that.

It is likely that Sister Maureen won't like this article. It is likely that she will feel that too much attention was placed on her rather than those who have and are helping her. To be certain, there are many who help.

A quick tour of the RCMA office on U.S. 41 in Ruskin causes one to realize that the staff members aren't there to climb the corporate ladder, they aren't there "looking out for number one." They are there to help people, they are dedicated to making the lives of the less fortunate better.

In the 1970s Sister Maureen was working a project focusing on the health of migrant workers. Her life was spent following the workers up and down the East Coast of the U.S. "Our purpose was to provide or help to meet unmet needs," she said. She followed the farm workers who followed the crops. "I would go to little rural USA," she said. "I grew up with the farm life in Iowa, I like the rural life. But who travels from Miami to Tampa to New York City to Boston, the migrants don't do that. They are in Wimauma, Quincy and who knows where."

As part of this project she spent a winter season in Hillsborough County. "I was working with several farmers. In one case a little boy drowned out in the mangroves, in another case two little ones were poisoned in a pond while their parents were picking strawberries. We needed daycare centers in the rural parts of the county."

That was in the mid-70s and Sister Maureen had found a new mission. "I looked around and there was a building just sitting there on 14th Avenue in Ruskin. It was actually a dressing room for the old amphitheater. I asked the county if I could use it for a daycare center. Some people didn't even know the building existed. The county was very helpful in allowing the use of the building and for getting some community grant money to get it set up."

"Then I needed someone to provide the care," she continued. "I first contacted Catholic Charities but they didn't do that kind of daycare program. But then I happened upon...it's all in God's Plan, I have to tell you...the League of Women Voters were meeting down in Ockachobee. Someone from the Redlands Christian Migrant Association was giving a talk. I went up to him after his talk. They had two daycare centers in Homestead to care for the migrant children. It sounded like a dream. So I asked him, why don't you come to Hillsborough County, we have some migrant children over here."

They ended up coming up and they liked what Sister Maureen was trying to do. It became the first expansion of the RCMA beyond Dade County. Today the organization serves 5,000 children across the state. Today there are seven RCMA centers in Hillsborough County.

"In 1975 we took our first babies in at our daycare center," she said.

That original daycare center still exists and thanks to a $25,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Greater Sun City Center, that location will be renovated and expanded to serve even more children.

Hillsborough County and the residents of South Hillsborough have made great strides in providing decent housing and care for low-income families. Homes for Hillsborough and the recently opened Groves at Wimauma are two large examples. "There are people here, however, that aren't exactly here by the laws of man but by God's laws they are. Many of them can't get into that housing," said Sister Maureen.

RCMA serves everyone in need. "Life is a pilgramage and we're here now but our goal is an eternity with God," she said. "We keep going with that faith in the Lord. The great hope and faith that they have, I think that our ancestors [who started this country] had that also."

The organization depends upon the community to survive. "We open doors to opportunity for the children of the farm workers, to rural, low-income people," she said. "Community involvement is so important - we always welcome donations. One center may need a metal storage building, another may need strollers. I call the strollers big red Cadillacs - they hold six children and the little ones love them. They cost around $1,100. In Wimauma they cut down a tree but left about 12 feet of the trunk. We want to build a roof over that because we lost the shade of the tree. Ralph's Sod Service in Ruskin has donated sod. Different packing houses in the area donate to us, we are always grateful to them. We try to partner with many organizations in the community."

While money is always needed, Sister Maureen is also looking for volunteers from the community. "You can rock a baby who's having a bad hair day - just sit in a rocking chair and rock a baby. Or help a five-year-old who's having trouble with colors and numbers or just read to them. You get to be grandma or grandpa or uncle or auntie for the day. The children are so eager and they are so happy when they see the volunteers come in the door," she said.

Sister Maureen can rattle off a long list of organizations that she has spoken to and a long list of businesses and groups that she would like to thank for their assistance. There is no doubt that they are receiving her best possible gratitude through her prayers.

Her mission remains clear and she does not seem to forget her priorities. At the end of the interview she asked, "So Mitch, do you have an hour a month you'd like to donate?"

In the end I never did find out how Sister Maureen, who hails from the farm country of Iowa, came to speak with an Irish accent. Perhaps that would be a good question to ask when you call her to talk about donating a wee bit of your time or money to one of her many worthwhile and very important causes.

For information about donating or volunteering with the local RCMA office contact Sister Maureen Smith at 671-5264.