Hurricane Matthew forced thousands of North Carolina residents to put their lives on hold to rebuild what had been lost. A year later, many families still struggle to find safe and stable housing. Sadly, we recently saw devastating storms also impact the areas of Texas, Florida, and the Caribbean. The Catholic Charities Disaster Services Program is assisting families recover from these disasters. Trained Catholic Charities staff continue to assist Hurricane Matthew survivors by helping families find and afford safe and stable housing solutions. The volunteer group NC Catholics Volunteer is… Read More
I have been an intern at Catholic Charities since 2016. I am currently a student at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania working towards a Master’s degree in Social Work. I received my Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from University of Mount Olive and obtained an Associate’s degree in Broadcasting from Lenoir Community College. As a member of the Catholic church, it simply felt right to choose an internship at Catholic Charities. Being a very spiritual person, the Catholic Charities mission statement spoke to me, which is to provide service to people… Read More
I received with sadness today’s announcement in Washington, DC, that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program will be terminated. This program has been of such great assistance to so many in our Diocese who were brought to our country by their parents, often times as infants, having known no other nation. While we must certainly respect our borders and our laws, so we must also be guided in how we are to care for the least among us, including those who, through no fault of their own, have… Read More
25% of NC children under 5 go to bed hungry. YOU CAN HELP! Participate in Catholic Parish Outreach’s H2O for Hunger Challenge as part of National Hunger Action Month. Take the Challenge For one week– September 18-24— drink tap water instead of your preferred beverage. Make a tax-deductible donationto CPO using the money you save (or just make a donation) so that we can buy food for the hungry. Please note H20 for Hunger in the memo line on checks. Our address is: Catholic Parish Outreach 2013 N. Raleigh Blvd., Raleigh, NC 27604… Read More
Maria Zeitler is an Italian immigrant who traveled to the United States with her family when she was only four years old. “My father wanted to come to America first and when he finally saved enough money, he would sent for my mother and my siblings. However, because my mother did not want to break up the family we all came to America together.” Maria recalled. “I remember when we first moved to the United States, we lived in my uncle’s basement for five years.” Maria grew up in New… Read More
On Friday, August 4th, more than 140 members of the Raleigh community attended “Dancing for a Cause: Celebrating 20 Years of Centro para Familias Hispanas”. The event raised over $12,000 to support the work of Centro para Familias Hispanas (CpFH) in serving the Raleigh Hispanic community. Ms. Maty Ferrer, Director of CpFH, spoke about the impact the Hispanic Family Center has on the community before introducing a video highlighting the success stories of two clients. “The support shown by the community tonight means we can strengthen our programs and services… Read More
Kristine is a retired schoolteacher who was born and raised on a small farm in Kansas. She has two children and one grandchild. Kris loves to read, craft, cook, and travel the world. Her husband is a retired Airforce Pilot and together they have traveled the world. One day when taking a break from travel and her other hobbies, Kris noticed a volunteer opportunity with the Catholic Charities Fayetteville Office on the bulletin board at St. Patrick’s church. After calling the number on the flyer and learning more about the… Read More
During the month of August, the Catholic Charities Office in Wilmington will expand food pantry hours. Normally, the food pantry is only open on Fridays. During the month of August, the pantry will be open Tuesday – Friday from 9 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. This temporary service expansion is needed while the Sister Isaac Center temporarily closes. Ms. Emilie Hart, Catholic Charities Cape Fear Regional Director, commented on this change, “The Sister Isaac Center provides a critical service to the community throughout the year. While the clinic is closed for… Read More
On Wednesday, August 2nd, the Consulate of Mexico in Raleigh held a press conference announcing the allocation of funds to support immigration work in North Carolina. Catholic Charities is one of three non-profit agencies the Mexican Consulate is working with to conduct workshops and one-on-one sessions to help Mexican nationals through the complicated legal immigration process. Ms. Consuelo Kwee, Director of Immigration Services for Catholic Charities, expressed gratitude to the Mexican Consulate for this partnership, “I am thankful to Ms. Remedios Gomez Arnau, Consul General, Patricia Perez Galeana, Deputy Consul… Read More
On Saturday, July 29th, fourteen volunteers traveled to Princeville, NC to help repair two homes damaged by Hurricane Matthew. The project was coordinated by NC Catholics Volunteer, a partnership between the Catholic Charities, the Knights of Columbus, and the Diocese of Raleigh. The project was also coordinated with the United Methodist Church, which is the lead agency repairing the homes where volunteers worked. A few volunteers traveled a long distance to participate in this project. A grandfather visiting from the Diocese of Grand Rapids, MI, decided to tag along with… Read More
