The mission of Closer to Heaven is to provide spiritual and material assistance to our Catholic brothers and sisters in the remote regions of the high Tibetan plateau and Southwestern China. Our primary task is to assist in the repair and building of small churches or chapels that have been destroyed during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960’s or neglected over the decades due the lack of funds and general poverty of the area. Religious literature and other materials will also be provided to Catholics in the region. Our non-profit work and financial information will be totally transparent to all donors. We are dedicated to acting with the highest degree of ethical integrity with 100% of all donations being used to directly fund projects that are deemed by the Board of Directors as most critical to achieving the goals of our organization. All administrative work is voluntary and all travel related costs are paid for by the members themselves.
Why does Closer to Heaven need your help? The reason is that, like other Catholic parishes around the world, Chinese parishes need to be self-supporting and yet this is impossible for people who are living in poverty and who are barely able to support their own families. This results in thousands of devoted and fervent Catholics with no place to pray or hold Mass or churches that are literally falling apart. Your donations will help them to rebuild and repair these houses of worship where they can gather in community to worship and strengthen their faith.
In addition to assisting in the spritual well being of those we serve, we are also fully committed to helping with their educational and material needs.
Closer to Heaven is committed to helping bring better education opportunities to these villages through grants and other forms of educational assistance. Since the villages are usually in remote areas without schools, many students need to attend boarding schools that are located miles from their homes. Although for the most part education is free in China, parents must still pay for room and board, school supplies and textbooks for their children. This puts an extremely hard financial burden on them which too many times results in their children not attending middle or high school. A better education is the key to improving the lives of these young people and allows them grow up to be contributing members of their villages and society. Your donations will help ensure that the children of these villages get more than just a primary school education and have the opportunity to attend middle school, high school, and beyond.