FaithWorks February 2010 Issue
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February, 2010
The best thing about new beginnings is the kind of subtle permission, at least temporarily, to file away the past and look ahead. There are certainly plenty of reasons to want to put 2009 behind us. From paralyzing snow storms to a troubled economy, it was a tough year. However, there is always a certain amount of sunlight even in the darkest days. For many of our clients at Catholic Charities, even in the worst moments of struggle or in the deepest times of chaos, there is some small sliver of good news or some small moment of hope to hold onto.
So it was with Catholic Charities. In many ways, 2009 was the most difficult year I've seen in my ten years with Catholic Charities. But in other ways, it was also a year of profound grace and miraculous victories to celebrate. Even in the deepest days of chaos, there were slivers of great hope for us.
The Catholic Charities Family Services Center - we finished renovations, moved into and opened our new Family Services Center in early 2009. In consolidating the majority of our programs under one roof, we continue to reap the benefits. The bright, clean, "LEED" friendly building is providing such a positive and synergistic work place for our programs and for our 60 staff members housed here. With "one-stop shopping" for our clients, we are already experiencing an increase in client visits, enabling us to more easily and better serve the community at hand.
The House of Charity -We managed to find a way to keep the House of Charity Sleeping Program open for the 2009 summer months even though that prospect looked dismal.
Farm-Worker Housing - We were awarded a tax credit project to begin work on Bishop Topel Haven, our third farm-worker housing unit located in Pasco. Ground-breaking is set for March.
St. Anne's Children and Family Center and St. Margaret's Shelter - We were able to keep these programs open and fully operational despite massive shortfalls of dollars in those programs.
This past Christmas provided additional good news in that 51 diocesan parishes (more than double 2008's visits) said "yes," inviting Catholic Charities staff and directors to visit and speak at their Masses about our Christmas Collection. The results are in, and those visits have translated into some wonderful news. Our 2009 Christmas Collection has brought in $701,455 thus far. We are not yet at our goal of $750,000, but the collection is already dramatically better than last year.
Memorable experiences in life seem to trump all challenges. We are certainly in a new beginning here at Catholic Charities; that new beginning comes to us thanks to all of you. Thank you for being part of all of those experiences that we never want to forget; here's hoping for continued grace as 2010 moves ahead!
Many prayers,
Rob
Rob McCann
Executive Director
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Christmas 2009 
Catholic Charities Childbirth and Parenting Assistance hosted their annual Christmas party on December 11th at Sacred Heart Parish. It was a magical day for 41 families and 58 children who enjoyed crafts, a hot turkey lunch, a Christmas play, and a visit from Santa with presents. A special thank you to all who helped make this a warm and wonderful Christmas for our families including the Cataldo Catholic School community who helped with crafts, put on a play and helped purchase presents for the event. In addition we'd like to thank Raelene Albinson, Cindy Cote, Karen Hare, Margaret Moran, and Allison Moran for a delicious lunch, Fr. Mark Pautler and Sacred Heart Parish for hosting the event, Mary Terharr for her beautiful piano playing, the Cheney Knights of Columbus for their support, and the many other generous people from the community who helped make this day so special for our young CAPA families. Thank you for allowing our CAPA families to experience the compassion and love of Christ at Christmas.
God bless you!
Libby Hein, CAPA Director
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 32 West Pacific
P.O. Box 2253
Spokane, WA 99202
509.624.7821
It's a new year at the House of Charity. Thankfully, we have started 2010 with quite a bit less snow than we had in 2009. We have been busy during the few cold snaps when the city activates the warming centers alert, and we provide overflow sleeping. On these especially cold nights when the temperature falls below 15 degrees, the city allows us to take in more clients than our fire code occupancy of 109 guests would normally permit. The result is extra laundry, extra staff, and extra volunteer hours, as well as dozens of extra guys sleeping on the floors and in hallways on cots and mats. It's a bit chaotic for sure, but it's chaos with compassion, so it always seems to work out just fine. It's certainly better than having to tell our 110th client that he has to stay outside and walk the streets in freezing temperatures.
Often times, when faced with chaos (even chaos with compassion), we take lessons from our very own clients. The resilience of the men and women who walk through our doors at the House of Charity has a great deal to teach us, and it does just that. The skills that the homeless use to survive each and every day are some of the same skills that we have used to survive this past year. What are these skills you may ask? They are having faith when there may be no logical reason to do so, knowing when to ask for help and knowing when to try and figure out answers on your own, along with perseverance, unjustified enthusiasm, optimism and rolling with the punches.
As the New Year begins, we are energized and committed to fighting our good fight. The 2010 budget for the House of Charity does not include keeping the Sleeping Program open during the 2010 summer months. Even in the face of that reality, we stand with resilience and faith. We are organizing a special House of Charity Advisory Committee whose one and only focus and purpose is to find a way to keep the Sleeping Program open this summer. It will involve part public relations work in building awareness in the community; part fund raising; part strategizing; and a whole lot of prayer. Even though there are no mathematical or logical reasons to assume we will find the dollars necessary to keep the program open...I still have faith. I invite any of you who are interested in diving into this challenge with us to join this special HOC Advisory Committee. If you are interested, please call or email me so that you can join us for our first meeting. I promise at the very least that you will be well-fed, both spiritually and from the kitchen!
It's the House of Charity - Chaos with Compassion in a year filled with new challenges but with renewed hope as well. Thank you to each of you for joining us on our path. It is your compassion that keeps us afloat and prayerfully faithful!
Ed McCarron
624-7821
emccarron@ccspokane.org
Your donation to the House of Charity will help us secure a matching grant of $10,000 awarded
by the Raskob Foundation for Catholic Activities of Wilmington, Delaware.
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Christmas Bureau By the Numbers  
18,632 bags of candy
35,883 total people served
5,202 total volunteer hours
11,350 food vouchers given out
272 volunteers
112 different zip codes served
17,887 children who received gifts
$331,460.00 total voucher amount paid out5,202 total volunteer hours | |
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During the month of November, St. Anne's
pre-school children in
Miss Terry & Miss Mandy's
classrooms collected food & basic needs for the
families at St. Margaret's Shelter. The children learned about sharing,
caring, being good friends, and how to be a community helper.
We are so proud and
grateful to our young stewards!
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Thank you to all who have given to those in need through the Catholic Charities
Christmas Collection.
We have currently raised $701,455.00 towards our goal of $750,000
Donations are accepted throughout the year, online at www.CatholicCharitiesSpokane.org
or by mail to
Catholic Charities Spokane
P.O. Box 2253
Spokane, WA. 99210-2253
Ann Marie Byrd
Director of Development
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Save the Date for the biggest event of the yearCatholic Charities"A Show...of Support!"April 30thDavenport HotelContact Theresa Dryden for more information:tdryden@ccspsokane.org
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 The Gift Of Time
Recently, an elderly woman called the Catholic Charities Spokane volunteer office and left a message stating, "I have made it my New Year's resolution to give some of my time to those who are in need. Can you help me do this?"
We have received numerous calls just like this one, inquiring how to volunteer and learn more about our programs. Because the need is always great, we value these calls and try our best to process and place volunteers as soon as possible. One of the ways we accomplish this is by holding Volunteer Information Sessions. These sessions help to educate prospective volunteers about the various programs and their volunteer needs. As well, the attendees watch our Catholic Charities informational video and are given an opportunity to fill out a volunteer application and take a tour of the Catholic Charities Spokane headquarters.
These sessions have become increasingly popular, so are now being scheduled monthly rather than quarterly. Anyone is welcome, and attendees leave with a sense of feeling well educated in the mission of the agency.
The elderly women mentioned above attended our latest session. She shared that she never realized that Catholic Charities helped so many people in so many stages of life. "I know there is a place for me in one of these programs; they need my help, and I am looking forward to being able to give it!"
If you would like to attend one of our monthly sessions, please call Brigid Krause, Volunteer Services Manager at 358-4270 or email bkrause@ccspokane.org to RSVP. Space is limited.
All sessions run from 10:00-11:15 a.m.
Coffee and pastries will be served.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2010
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2010
Dates are also listed on our website at www.CatholicCharitiesSpokane.org
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Follow Your HeartThe Last Will and Testament of Mary Alice Conlin (d. May 9, 2009) listed thirty charitable causes to receive a share of her estate. "Mom had her list for years." said her daughter, Joan Leeds. The list included Catholic Charities' House of Charity program. "Mom's last wishes were a reflection of how she and Dad (Francis) lived; always connected to their church and community." She volunteered at Martin Luther King Jr. Family Center, Our Place, Immaculate Heart Retreat Center,
and All Saints School. She knitted hats and gloves for the House of Charity.
Thank you, Mary Alice. Your gifts followed your heart.
Mary Ann Heskett, Foundation Director509-358-4255 mheskett@ccspokane.org |
To find out more about Catholic Charities Spokane, please view our new
Catholic Charities video on our website at CatholicCharitiesSpokane.org or on YouTube.
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Haiti Relief
Responding to the devastating January 12th earthquake in Haiti, Catholic Relief Services has pledged $5 million in initial aid, with a mobilization of food, emergency shelters and hygiene kits to the capital, Port-au-Prince. You can support this effort with a donation to Catholic Relief Services, care of Catholic Charities, P.O. Box 2253, Spokane WA 99210-2253, memo: Haiti earthquake. We will forward 100% of your donation to CRS.
Operation Rice Bowl
Operation Rice Bowl, the Lenten practice of prayer, education and alms giving from Catholic Relief Services, begins on February 17th, Ash Wednesday. Look in your parish for free rice bowls and Lenten calendars to journey through the countries of Lesotho, Bolivia, Afghanistan, Ethiopia and Nicaragua, learning how CRS helps uphold the life and dignity of people in more than 100 countries through projects in agriculture, water systems, micro finance, mother and child health, peace building, and HIV/AIDS. Solidarity will transform the world. Visit www.orb.crs.org or call (509) 358-4273 to learn more and sign up to receive a prayer reflection each Monday of Lent.
Immigration Reform
The American Bishops have approved a postcard effort to advocate for comprehensive immigration reform, a long-standing public policy goal of the Catholic Church in the U.S. Call your Representative and Senators to urge reform of our broken immigration system, which serves neither the immigrants nor our economy well. For postcard sets in your parish, call Catholic Charities at (509) 358-4273 or (509) 455-4960.
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