Five year's ago, on Valentine's Day, a promise was made. 

And that promise has grown and the lesson spread through the halls of Marian High School, St. Joseph High School, Clay High School, and many other Catholic grade schools throughout the community.

The Promise?  To be more giving.

Eric Henry died in a car crash on February 14, 2002.  The evening before he died, Ash Wednesday, he made the Lenten promise "to be more giving" by collecting several bags of clothing to donate to St. Vincent de Paul Society.  Eric's mother, Mary Molnar fulfilled Eric's Promise, as did his friends at Marian High School, who collected a truck load and a half of items to donate in Eric's memory that very first year. 

How does a mother deal with such profound loss?  By creating a legacy.  "I decided that this would be a beautiful way to honor Eric by creating a legacy of love and kindness to others in our community," explains Mary Molnar.  "I wanted his promise to live on."  And indeed it has, for five years now Eric's Promise has been fulfilled a thousand times over.

To learn more about Eric's Promise, go to www.ericspromise.org.