St. Catherine’s awarded $17.5K Troy Savings Bank Foundation Grant

Funding supports community outreach and preventative efforts of Pathways to Health program

ALBANY – In advance of the global movement, “Giving Tuesday,” which occurs the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving, the Troy Savings Bank Charitable Foundation held a ceremony to present St. Catherine’s Center for Children with a check for $17,500. This funding, which provides operating support to organizations delivering vital community services, allows St. Catherine’s to continue its Pathways to Health community outreach program.

“We are incredibly grateful to the Troy Savings Bank Charitable Foundation,” said Michele Puleo O’Hare, executive director of the Foundation of St. Catherine’s Center for Children. “This time of year, it is increasingly important to connect community members with essential health-care benefits, primary care, housing, food and more. That is how the Pathways to Health program helps our community. Generous contributions from organizations like the Troy Savings Bank Charitable Foundation ensure St. Catherine’s can continue to provide these services, uninterrupted.”

With its “Care-A-Van” mobile unit, Pathways to Health ventures into local communities and meets with people in need on the street, in parking lots, at parks or wherever they are to connect them to essential resources before their situation reaches a critical state. These resources can include: access to telehealth and telemedicine, assistance with scheduling of and transportation to appointments, food, housing and hygiene products. While it primarily serves as a preventative program, Pathways to Health does encounter individuals and families who have already reached a crisis state and works in conjunction with St. Catherine’s other programs to provide emergency and supportive housing.

“In the spirit of Giving Tuesday, we are proud to present this check to the Pathways to Health program. It is our mission to support organizations that build stronger communities through their programming,” said Sheila Mendleson, board president of the Troy Savings Bank Charitable Foundation. “St. Catherine’s serves as a beacon of hope in our community, providing resources to those in need. Its Pathways to Health program is only one of the many programs it offers. We hope this grant award will inspire others in the community to support St. Catherine’s and other worthy causes.”

“The need for assistance continues to grow and our team will continue to step up to the plate for those who need us,” said Louisa Marra, associate executive director for homeless programs at St. Catherine’s. “Without support from community partners like the Troy Savings Bank Charitable Foundation, our program would not exist and those we serve would have nowhere to turn. We are one of only two programs in the area who offer these services. A single organization cannot handle the overwhelming need that is out there. We’re truly grateful for these funds.”

The Pathways to Health program has served more than 4,000 Capital Region residents in the past four years. The willingness of St. Catherine's Center for Children to embrace change and develop new services is, and will remain, its guiding philosophy as the organization supports human service needs throughout the region by providing a comprehensive range of services designed to offer hope, foster growth and improve the lives of the children, families and adults they serve. 

For more information, head to http://www.st-cath.org.