April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
PERSPECTIVE
Catholic Charities needs you this Lent
Catholic Charities once served primarily Catholic families, referred to us from parish offices. In the 1970s, our model expanded to provide services to all people, regardless of religion or background. For the last 30 years, Catholic Charities has been proud to provide necessary social services in our communities with financial support from government grants, social service agency contracts and corporate, church and private donations.
These days, as government funding becomes tighter, Catholic Charities is looking to new and innovative sources to fund the services that help our neighbors. Finding the right revenue sources is critical to our mission.
Private donations are becoming a larger part of our income stream - and necessary to run some of our services to meet basic needs. Food pantries, soup kitchens and heating assistance, for example, get the vast majority of their funding from private donations.
Programs like the Feeding Our Neighbors campaign and the National Grid Foundation Emergency Assistance Challenge (which are still ongoing; visit www.ccrcda.org">www.ccrcda.org for information) are critical to make sure that we have our programs well-stocked, appropriately-staffed and open to help clients who may have nowhere else to turn.
Without the private donations of ordinary people, we can't be there to make sure the people who seek help can get the help they need. We also need your prayers for our work and for the people we serve. Prayer is a powerful tool for good.
Christian charity is more than just a writing a check, though that is a critical part. Charity is seeing the ones who need help as our equals, our sisters and brothers, and helping them with the same generosity, dignity and respect we'd give our good friends or family members if they came to us for help.
This Lent, as we deepen our connection to help our brothers and sisters in need, consider the words of Pope Francis concerning charity: "Charity cannot be neutral, antiseptic, indifferent, lukewarm or impartial! Charity is infectious; it excites, it risks and it engages! For true charity is always unmerited, unconditional and gratuitous (I Cor 13)! Charity is creative in finding the right words to speak to all those considered incurable and hence untouchable."
Charity that connects people to one another is the kind that truly changes lives - the lives of the giver and the receiver. Catholic Charities, through our volunteer programs and philanthropic opportunities, seeks to make these connections and to show Jesus' love in a way that is real and tangible.
Your donations and gifts make a real difference to those we serve. This Lent, reflect on the good you're able to do with your prayers and your donations of time and talent. From helping in your community to making philanthropy a part of your life and budget, you are making an impact on our communities and on your neighbors in need.
(Mr. Colonno is the CEO of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Albany.)[[In-content Ad]]
250 X 250 AD
250 X 250 AD
Events
250 X 250 AD
Comments:
You must login to comment.