Jeff Chase President
SKAL INTERNATIONAL ORLANDO TAKES PHILANTHROPY TO A GLOBAL LEVEL Club Supports Sri Lanka Orphanage & Girls School Via Joseph T. Neary Memorial Foundation ORLANDO, Florida (Feb. 17, 2014) -- As the second largest Skal Club in the United States and ranked sixth among the top 10 in the world, Skal International Orlando continues its strong tradition of giving back to the community not only locally, but globally. The club donates funds annually to The Joseph T. Neary Memorial Foundation supporting the Carmel Piyuma Convent orphanage and the St. Joseph's Girls' Home in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The Foundation was established in 1990 during the 51st Annual International Skal Congress in Colombo, Sri Lanka, as a permanent memorial to deceased Skalleague Joseph T. Neary, and as a proud source of regular dependable income to the Sri Lankan Community of Apostolic Carmen Sisters in their work caring for the very poor and underprivileged children in Colombo and other areas of the country. Sisters of the Apostolic Carmelite order care for up to 70 poor and homeless children, ages 4 months to five years old, at the orphanage which was established in the 1920s to support needy children in the area with no family support and in dire need of nourishment, medical care and education. At the St. Joseph's Girls' Home, 36 girls ages 12 to 19 currently receive assistance with housing, meals and education in grades 5 to 12, including English, Math, Science and Computer Science. The majority have been displaced as refugees, many with parents killed in war.