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A Quick Look at Our Program Numbers
With nine unique programs, we help hundreds of people daily. Here are a few highlights from last month that best tell the story of what we do to ease the pain of poverty in our community.
Program Statistics for July 2013:
3:1 - CCNN has a ratio of 3 volunteers to 1 employee
84- Number of bus passes given to clients for job interviews or doctor appointments.
120- Number of donations that were picked up by our donation truck in the month of June.
231,820- Pounds of food distributed from St. Vincent's Food Pantry.
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Galena Veterinarian Hospital Veterinarian Michael Ford checked and treated hundreds of pets owned by local residents at our June 8th Pets of the Homeless Wellness Clinic.
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Local veterinarian treats hundreds of animals at free pet wellness clinic
By 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 8th, more than one hundred local pet owners were already in line outside the St. Vincent's Food Pantry to take part in a free wellness clinic organized by Pets of the Homeless. Local Veterinarian, Dr. Michael Ford from Galena Veterinary Hospital, donated his services to help treat animals owned by people living in poverty or on the streets. The clinic was organized after a similar clinic held last January proved to be highly successful. "Through that event, we discovered that often times, members of the homeless community are taking better care of their pets than themselves. These animals are family members, and we want to do whatever we can to help them while their owners are in transition," said Genevieve Frederick, Founder of Pets of the Homeless.
Dr. Ford teamed up with Pets of the Homeless and Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada to provide pets of local homeless residents with free well-checks, vaccinations, rabies updates/certificates, and free giveaways such as leashes, collars, toys, pet food and blankets. At the last clinic in January, which was held during our Project Homeless Connect at the Reno Events Center, most of the clients who took advantage of the free clinic were people who were living on the streets. But Saturday's clinic drew a different type of crowd. "Many of the faces were familiar," says Scott Cooksley, our St. Vincent's Food Pantry Manager. "The people who came were the working poor. Many of them visit the food pantry every month. They have jobs and transportation, but they don't necessarily have the funds to provide all of the upkeep that comes with having a pet." The clinic was scheduled to run from 8:00 a.m. to noon, but there was such a high demand for services that it continued until about 2:00 p.m. In total, 133 cats and dogs received services, including 107 vaccinations. The St. Vincent's Food Pantry also distributed about 1,300 pounds of pet food to those who asked for it. Pets of the Homeless and Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada plan to hold these types of clinics at least twice each year. For more information about the clinic, please contact Pets of the Homeless at 775-841-7463. A big thank you to Dr. Ford for donating countless hours and dollars toward helping pets in need!
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A young Tom Hanks (bottom left) kneels down before a cot at Holy Child Early Learning Center, formerly known as Holy Child Day Home. Photo taken in 1960's.
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Holy Child Early Learning Center celebrates 70 years of education
On July 20th, Holy Child Early Learning Center will be celebrating a major milestone as the childcare center hits its 70 year anniversary mark. Holy Child Director Rebecca Vizina is planning a community barbecue in recognition of the event, and invites all families, friends, supporters and alumni to attend. Holy Child opened in 1943 as the Holy Child Day Home and was founded by the Sisters of the Holy Family.
Today, Holy Child Early Learning Center is Reno's oldest nationally accredited early learning education program and holds consecutive certificates from the National Accreditation Commission (NAC) for Early Care and Education.
The July 20th celebration will be geared toward fondly remembering Holy Child's rich history, while looking forward to a future of exemplary early childhood education standards for all students enrolled. The event will run from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and will include a free BBQ lunch for children under age five. Family members and guests can purchase lunch for $10. All revenue will go toward educational opportunities at Holy Child.
"Part of what makes Holy Child so special is its incredible list of prominent alumni. Tom Hanks went here as a child, as did several other local community and Catholic leaders. We are proud of that," says Rebecca.
Holy Child would like to ask anyone who attended Holy Child as a young person, or anyone who knows someone who attended there, to please contact her. Rebecca is looking for personal memories and stories from Holy Child to include in a display at the July 20th anniversary celebration.
To contact Rebecca or for more information about the upcoming event, please call 775-329-2979 or email rvizina@ccsnn.org.
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Click these links to stay up to date on the day-to-day happenings, events and changes at CCNN.
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We couldn't do it without our volunteers
Welcome friends of Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada. Thank you for your continued support of our nonprofit organization.
We have to give it to our volunteers. They're passionate, they're dedicated, and they truly care about the people we serve. Each month we have an average of 176 volunteers working at Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada day in and day out. Many of them are here five days a week, others a couple times a month, and some just a few hours here and there when they have the extra time. No matter how much time they give, they do it all out of the kindness of their hearts. They don't get paid, they aren't awarded benefits, and they get nothing in return for their efforts. They are true philanthropists in every sense of the word.
We would like to salute our volunteers for everything they do to help our organization meet the needs of impoverished people living in our community. We thank you for everything that you do!
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Emergency Assistance Manager Virgil Strong presents military dependent Abrunderlon Beary with a check to help pay for a work permit. Beary was hired by a daycare center just hours after her first interview.
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Military widow finds employment, thanks to Emergency Assistance Program
A visit to our Emergency Assistance (EA) Program at was enough to land one local woman a paying job within 24 hours of visiting the Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada campus. Abrunderlon Beary visited our EA Program office on June 11th, asking for help paying for a Nevada identification card. Beary's husband is deceased and had retired as a Command Master Sergeant from the Air Force. Beary came to Reno for a fresh start.
"She had spent all of her money getting housing set up, and then she found out she needed a Nevada ID in order to get a job she had recently interviewed for. Subsequently, she was not hired," explains EA Manager Virgil Strong.
Strong sat down with Beary and learned about her life, her past and her future goals. Like he does with all of the clients, he took the time to get to know her in order to be able to best help her. He says he and Beary had a long discussion about the local job market and the challenges for finding employment, but Beary told him she was determined to find a job. After looking at a few employment websites together, Strong suggested Beary apply for a few of the jobs listed, and gave her the option of a free meal at our St. Vincent's Dining Room. Strong says he was was amazed when she came back on June 12th and told him she had already found work.
"It just goes to show that if you are enthusiastic enough to find work in Reno, you can. All it takes is getting the right information and having a support system. It was an incredibly rewarding moment for me," says Strong.
The EA Program also paid for Beary's Nevada Work Permit, so she could get started in her new position. Her first day of work was June 17th.
The Emergency Assistance Program is located at 500 East Fourth Street in downtown Reno. Their hours are Mondays through Fridays from 8:30a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 to 4:00p.m. For more information, please call (775)322-7073 ext. 230 or email emergassist@ccsnn.org.
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Our Volunteers of the Year for 2013. A big thank you!
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Volunteer Appreciation Lunch recognizes hard work and dedication
Without volunteers, Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada wouldn't be able to feed and assist hundreds of thousands of people each year. The volunteers at CCNN outnumber our full and part-time staff members by three to one, and their presence here makes a difference in the lives of every client who walks through our doors.
"We wanted to have a special celebration, just for volunteers, because we truly can't thank them enough for what they do for this agency," says Peter Vogel, Executive Director for Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada. "We really value the work our volunteers do. They are the backbone of CCNN."
This year's Volunteer of the Year award for the whole agency was a tie between Maintenance Department volunteer Luke Steele and Food Pantry volunteer William Simmons. Both of these men volunteer their time five days a week, and are known as reliable, professional and hard working. "I can always count on Luke to go above and beyond," says Jerry Summers, CCNN Maintenance Manager.
Other Volunteers of the Year for several of our additional programs included Ivy Cucinello from the St. Vincent's Thrift Shop, Nikki Bhardwaj from our Immigration Assistance Program, Louis Valera from the St. Vincent's Dining Room, and Laurie Maloy from our Emergency Assistance Program. Each volunteer took home a certificate of appreciation and a gift certificate.
St. Vincent's Dining Room Manager Ray Trevino provided a barbecue lunch and cake for all of the volunteers from Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada.
"Our volunteers are the core of this organization," says Ray.
If you're interested in volunteering in one of our nine poverty assistance programs, please contact Jim Williams at jwilliams@ccsnn.org or (775)322-7073 ext. 222.
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Sponsorship opportunities still available!
Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada is seeking business owners and community leaders for sponsorship opportunities at our annual "Plates to Ease Poverty" dinner benefit and auction on September 26th, 2013 at the Peppermill Resort & Casino. We need table sponsors, live and silent auction item donations, underwriters to sponsor appetizers, beer and wine tasting stations, and raffle ticket prizes. If you'd like to make a donation or sponsor an item, please contact Auburn Harrison at (775)322-7073 ext 235 or ddirector@ccsnn.org. To purchase tickets or sponsor a table, go to CCNN's home page at
www.ccsnn.org and click on "Upcoming Events," or you can simply follow this link:
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