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Today’s missionary hero is Eleanor Josaitis, who did her mission work in the city of Detroit, Michigan.
Eleanor Mary Reed was born on December 17, 1931. When she grew up, she married Donald Josaitis and together, they had four children.
In the 1960’s, Eleanor became enraged at the treatment of African Americans in the civil rights march in Selma, Alabama and in her hometown of Detroit, Michigan.
With a Catholic priest, Fr. William Cunningham, Eleanor co-founded Focus: HOPE, a civil rights organization that was designed to provide practical, needed services to African Americans to succeed in life.
With Fr. Cunningham, she also co-founded Centers of Opportunity education and training programs to help racial minorities gain access to jobs and careers. For example, Fr. Cunningham and Ms. Josaitis started the Machinist Training Institute by buying an unused factory and outfitting it with modern metalworking machines. They also made sure that the people they served had an adequate education – from basic schooling to skills-training. Women and racial minorities were the first to benefit from this work. By the time Eleanor died, she was able to say that over 11,000 men and women had graduated from these programs.
Eleanor Josaitis died on August 9, 2011. In her memory, the Detroit Free Press and the Detroit Metropolitan Affairs Coalition present an annual award – the Eleanor Josaitis Unsung Hero Award – to recognize an individual who may not have yet received the widespread recognition he or she deserves for long-standing efforts to further regional cooperation and understanding.
