Nearing 100, Sister Jerome still working for the poor

By DENISE DICK

denise_dick@vindy.com

CANFIELD

Despite her slight stature, quiet demeanor and advanced age, Sister Jerome Corcoran has a way of getting what she wants.

And what she wants is to help people who are less fortunate.

“There are certain people who just have an aura about them,” said George Beelen Sr., who has known Sister Jerome for about 10 years. “You talk to her, and no matter what she’s saying, you find yourself nodding your head and pretty soon getting into your wallet. It’s almost angelic. You just cannot say no to her.”

Beelen was the emcee recently for a centennial celebration for Sister Jerome, who will turn 100 in April. The event drew about 300 people and raised more than $125,000 for Sister Jerome’s Poor, the organization she formed in 2012 to help poor working families in emergencies.

In 2013, she added Sister Jerome’s Mission College to her work. That aspect of the organization provides food, clothing, gas and other assistance to the children of working poor families who are seeking a college education.

Atty. James Pazol, who has known Sister Jerome for about 45 years, organized the celebration dinner.

“She’s just driven, driven to make Youngstown a better place,” he said.

Sister Jerome wants to help people who want an education to have the opportunity to get it, Pazol said.

She honed her dedication to the poor and to education as a young girl. She believes the education problem is an issue in urban areas throughout the country.

“We’re not educating the poor,” Sister Jerome said.

She called her organization a place of last resort for those families. She provides help for those who need groceries as well as those in danger of having their utilities turned off or of being evicted.

Payments are studied, and payment is in gift cards, not cash.

She started Mill Creek Children’s Center, a preschool in Youngstown, and then Youngstown Community School, a public charter school.

“I view it as a national thing,” Sister Jerome said. “The dropout rate for the poor is high because they know their needs are not being met even by very well-intentioned people.”

Ashley Snipes, a senior at Youngstown State University, attended both Mill Creek Children’s Center and Youngstown Community School. For the last two years, she’s been part of the nun’s Mission College.

“The program has been very beneficial,” said Snipes, of Youngstown. “It helps me to be able to buy meals on campus each month as long as I stay in good standing academically and financially by keeping a part-time job and keeping my grades up.”

Snipes is majoring in biology and medical laboratory science with a minor in forensic science.

Without Sister Jerome’s program, Snipes said she would still be in college, but it would be more stressful.

“I like to save money, so I try to pack my lunch, but sometimes I can’t,” she said. “With the gift cards for places on campus, I know I’ll be able to eat lunch that day.”

Sister Jerome was born in 1916 in Chicago.

“President Wilson was in office,” she said. “Things were simpler and moved more slowly then. You weren’t racing everywhere for soccer and swimming.”

Her father was a streetcar conductor, and her mother was a cook in the homes of wealthy people. Both of her parents emigrated from Ireland.

When Sister Jerome was 7, the family moved to Youngstown so her father could work in the steel mills. He worked in the mills for 25 years and then worked for the Youngstown Park and Recreation Department for about 25 years.

Both of her parents lived to be 98.

She credits them for her love of helping others.

“My mother loved to bake cakes, and my father loved to fix plumbing for people who needed it,” Sister Jerome said. “They just loved to help other people.”

She attended St. Columba School and then Ursuline High School. When she was 16, she decided she wanted to become a nun.

She completed her college education, earning her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Catholic University of America and her doctorate from Case Western Reserve University.