To provide for the needs of the aged poor, Saint Jeanne Jugan walked the roads of Brittany seeking alms and knocking on doors. She asked for money and gifts in kind - whatever was needed for her poor. She was recognized by the basket she carried.

The Hospitaller Brothers of Saint John of God had introduced Jeanne to the practice of the collecting, and provided her with her first basket. Like them, her vision of family extended far beyond those with whom she shared her life. She believed that because God is our Father, all men and women are brothers and sisters - members of one family - and thus responsible for one another. She sought to involve people from many walks of life in her mission of hospitality, gratefully accepting whatever they could contribute in time, treasure or talent.

To an impatient benefactor who asked her why she burdened herself with all those old people, Jeanne replied, "We shall share them, Sir. You will provide for them and I will care for their needs."

So trusting was Jeanne in the Providence of God and the goodness of others that, in her old age, she intervened at a decisive moment in its history to ensure that the Congregation would never accept guaranteed forms of income. To do so, she felt, would betray our trust in Providence. That is why, to this day, we do not accept any form of permanent income. To some people this seems insane, but over one hundred and seventy years and more than 200 homes throughout the world, the efficacy of Jeanne's unique form of strategic planning has been proved.