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The 2011 Bishop's Appeal ended the way it began: better than expected.

The total amount collected, $7,058,231, was an increase of more than $127,000 from the previous year. The number of participating households, which normally drops each year, instead improved by 454. The number of overall gifts and the number of donors returning after an absence from giving also increased.

In addition, only 3 percent of pledges went uncollected - perhaps the lowest ever, said Thomas Prindle, executive director of development for the Albany Diocese.

"Donor attrition has slowed to an incredible low," Mr. Prindle said. It seems "more people... believe in the goals and mission. It's encouraging."

He credited parish leaders and parishioners who continued to give despite a poor U.S. economy: "I find it amazing that even in the darkest days of the recession, we were able to keep the Bishop's Appeal from going off the cliff."

Gifts to the appeal sustain 70 percent of the support for the Diocese's ministries and programs to operate. Education and support services each receive 24 percent of appeal funding. These areas include:

• the Catholic Schools Office and its Covenant to Educate initiative to sustain Catholic education in the Diocese; and

• the Office of Evangelization, Catechesis and Family Life (OECFL), which trains and supports Catholics who provide religious education and the parishes they serve.

Other recipients are pastoral services, religious personnel development, Catholic Charities, vocations and responsibilities beyond the Diocese, like support for the pope, the U.S. bishops' conference and the New York State Catholic Conference, which advocates on public policy concerns.

"There are so many interesting programs that go unheralded and unsung," Mr. Prindle told The Evangelist.

One such program is the Little Flower Intergenerational Child Care Center, a program of Catholic Charities' Community Maternity Services (CMS) agency.

Little Flower is based at Teresian House, an Albany nursing home operated by the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm. Little Flower currently serves 57 children up to five years old. They read with Teresian House residents and interact during other activities.

Teresa Raso, Little Flower program director, remembered one nursing home resident who refused to eat, sleep or participate in activities until she encountered the children: "As soon as she came over, she was like a different person."

Last year, enrollment at Little Flower dropped to under 50 percent. Without help from the Bishop's Appeal, Little Flower would have trouble operating, said Peg Ellette of CMS.

CMS also supports residential programs for pregnant and parenting teenagers, foster care and adoption services in nine counties, parent education, prevention and support for at-risk families.

Several parishes in the Diocese exceeded their Bishop's Appeal assessments - including Corpus Christi in Round Lake, which raised 104 percent of its goal, said Rev. James Clark, pastor.

This is the first time in about a decade the parish met its assessment. "I didn't try to do it by myself," Father Clark said. "I can't."

Instead, a team of six parishioners collaborated on communicating the appeal's message to parishioners, publicizing it in newspapers and keeping track of data. Parishioners wrote articles for the bulletin, hung posters and mailed follow-up letters.

Team members emphasized how the appeal has helped Corpus Christi, highlighting training for catechists and support for technology: Parish computers will soon be updated and the parish website will support online banking. A diocesan staffer will train more volunteers to bring communion and meals to the homebound and elderly.

Father Clark stressed how the appeal helps people in Saratoga County with food, clothing and emergency aid, as well as respite care, residences for people with disabilities, a hotline and shelter for victims of domestic abuse and a mentoring program for teenagers.

The next Bishop's Appeal starts April 21. Mr. Prindle hopes to see more young people participate - 65 percent of current donors are senior citizens - and more of the estimated 100,000 Catholic households in the Diocese participate.

Catholics should prioritize their faith by making the appeal a regular living expense, he said; and "our challenge is to engage those who are not engaged."[[In-content Ad]]

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