Pomerleau Foundation leads funding for orphanage memorial
June 16, 2023 | By the St. Joseph’s Orphanage Development CommitteeIllustration of proposed engraved boulder feature. Courtesy image
Vermonters are invited to contribute to an inspiring community project that will raise $160,000 to honor the former residents of St. Joseph’s Orphanage with a new memorial installation that will be located along a future accessible path connecting the Burlington Greenway to North Avenue. It is on this very same land that some 13,000 former residents of the orphanage roamed and played as children over the 120 years that the facility operated (1854-1974); infants and youth were placed there from across the state of Vermont through the facility’s history.
To galvanize individual giving, the Pomerleau Family Foundation has announced a $25,000 matching challenge to kick off the fundraising campaign, which will continue through the end of 2023. The first wave of donors who participate in reaching the $25K match, no matter the amount they contribute, will be recognized as “founding donors” and memorialized in the ongoing campaign.
This is a one-time opportunity to invest in a memorial project dedicated to emphasizing that childhood is not always ideal for some, but that we as a society have a duty to protect children in need, protect them from harm, and foster their growth and well-being. It will be a space where children, their families, and visitors can walk, play, and enjoy themselves, overlooking the majestic views of Lake Champlain.
The memorial project will be built in Kieslich Park. The design includes glacial boulders etched with the words of former residents, a sculptural arbor woven of natural elements framing the sight line to the former orphanage building, symbolic wildflower plantings, and stone benches for rest and reflection.
The memorial was envisioned by the last surviving generation of former orphans in collaboration with the Burlington Parks, Recreation & Waterfront. A fundraising goal of $160,000 will cover the costs of materials and installation.
“The memorial is about more than just honoring the 13,000 children who went through these orphanage doors,” said Brenda DePalma Hannon, of Williston, who was 6 years old when she was placed at St. Joseph’s from 1959-1968. “It also honors those children around the world who went through similarly traumatic situations. My hope is that it will bring awareness to the public to remember to protect children always and help them to grow strong and healthy.”
The harrowing stories of the children who resided at St. Joseph’s Orphanage are known to many Vermonters. The facility, operated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington when it closed permanently in 1974, was home to thousands of children placed there by families and a myriad of private and public agencies, including the State of Vermont.
The former residents, now a small group of adults in their later years, participated in a Burlington Community Justice Center-led restorative justice inquiry from 2019-2022 to document and understand the tragic history they shared as survivors of neglect and physical and sexual abuse while living at the facility. They named themselves “Voices of St. Joseph Orphanage.” They set about a courageous reckoning of their pasts, adopting as their mission “to ensure the safety of children, both now and in the future, and hold accountable those who abuse them.”
Former orphanage residents as adults today who are Voices of St. Joseph's Orphanage members. Courtesy photo
Their overarching goal was to bring closure to their own traumatic experiences, but also to ensure that future generations of Vermont children would never experience the mistreatment they had. In just three short years, the members of Voices of St. Joseph’s Orphanage have advocated for proactive change and ensured that their voices are finally heard:
They have detailed their own heartbreaking stories of abuse as part of an oral history exhibition created by the Vermont Folklife Center now traveling the state;
They have participated in a weekly writing group that has published an anthology, hosted reading events, and created a theatrical production with acclaimed actors;
They have lobbied the Vermont Legislature to eliminate the statute of limitations on damages for physical abuse in record time (signed into law on May 12, 2021);
They have advised the Department of Children and Families on how to improve processes and treatment of children in state custody.
Proposed arbor design. Courtesy image
The creation of the memorial installation in Burlington is their final act of the restorative inquiry.
The fundraising campaign is overseen by the Children of St. Joseph’s Orphanage Development Committee, which includes representatives from the Vermont Folklife Center, the Burlington Community Justice Center, and Burlington Parks, Recreation & Waterfront, as well as former state legislator Marybeth Redmond of Essex, and former Lt. Gov. Molly Gray. As an assistant attorney general, Gray helped lead the state’s St. Joseph’s Orphanage Task Force and investigation, which was prompted by a 2018 piece authored by Christine Kenneally for BuzzFeed entitled “We Saw Nuns Kill Children: The Ghosts of St. Joseph’s Catholic Orphanage.”
The final, 150-page report assembled by the state task force concluded that it could not bring any criminal charges. At that time, the statute of limitations had expired for both sexual and physical abuse, and it could not find evidence of murder. However, the report states unequivocally: “It is clear that trauma occurred.”
“I feel a deep sense of personal responsibility to do everything that I can do to help make this memorial and healing space a reality,” Gray said about serving on the development committee for the memorial project. “This feels like a small way to give back.”
Redmond, who was raised in the Catholic faith added: “I see my work on this fundraising team and my financial contribution to this memorial as my personal way to make repair and reparations for the great harms caused to some of Vermont’s most vulnerable citizens. It’s time for the institutional church to ask for deep forgiveness with all humility and to become a soothing balm for those whose lives were upended forever.”
Children of St. Joseph's Orphanage Memorial site plan map designed by Burlington Parks, Recreation & Waterfront.
Vermonters statewide, community leaders, and lovers of the Green Mountain State are invited to help forge a new pathway into the future by making a tax-deductible donation of any amount. Contributions from the State of Vermont, the City of Burlington, and the Burlington City Council are in the works.
All donations go to the Parks Foundation of Burlington, a 501(c)(3) organization and fiscal sponsor of the memorial project. To donate by check, indicate “Children of St. Joseph’s Orphanage Memorial” in the check memo line. Mail to: Parks Foundation of Burlington, 645 Pine Street, Suite B, Burlington VT 05401.
Learn more about the project and make online donations at: stjosephsrjinquiry.com/memorialfund.
Members of the Children of St. Joseph’s Orphanage Development Committee are: Molly Gray, former Vermont lieutenant governor; Brenda DePalma Hannon, Voices of St. Joseph Orphanage; Rachel Jolly, Burlington Community Justice Center; Andy Kolovos, Vermont Folklife Center; Marybeth Redmond, former state representative from Essex; Sophie Sauvé, Burlington Parks, Recreation and Waterfront; Christy Swanson, nonprofit fundraising consultant; Marc Wennberg, Voices of St. Joseph Orphanage Restorative Inquiry.