Fayetteville Region: Parish Highlight Series Support from local parishes is vital for Catholic Charities offices to meet the many and various needs of individuals and families within the Diocese of Raleigh. Each year, the staff at the Catholic Charities Office in Fayetteville witness the enthusiasm for helping others displayed by local parishes which supports them in providing high quality services to the community. This week, we are featuring the incredible work of Good Shepherd Catholic Church and their local Knights of Columbus Council who have been incredible supporters of the… Read More
In summer 2020, the produce-packing room at the Durham Community Food Pantry filled with the smells of oregano, cilantro, parsley, thyme, and basil. Local organizations such as the Scrap Exchange and churches such as Holy Cross kindly donated bundles of herbs and vegetables every week fresh from their community gardens. Each Tuesday, volunteers marveled at the bright peppers and bulbous tomatoes. Families received boxes filled to the brim with local produce and flavors of North Carolina. As volunteers and staff members discussed the incredible impact of the donations from local… Read More
Generating Resources and Opportunities for Wellness – that is the mission of the GROW project and how the program got its name. Founded by a group of UNC Chapel Hill undergraduates, GROW is “a social innovation project” aiming to “create resources and opportunities centered around mental, physical, and nutritional wellness for those experiencing food insecurity in the Triangle.” The GROW team plans to curate these resources for Durham Community Food Pantry clients through a series of programs throughout the summer. The team will bring in local experts, host demonstrations, and… Read More
Debbie Reed moved to Durham in 2014, after a career as a management consultant for both For-Profit and Non-Profit organizations. Her Non-Profit career took her through various parts of the world including India, Tanzania, and Kenya before arriving in New York as the COO of the National Academy Foundation. At the National Academy Foundation, Reed supported the agencies mission to create specialized programs within public high schools to teach students essential personal and professional skills such as finance. Upon retirement, Reed moved to the Southeast United States to be closer… Read More
Fayetteville Region: Parish Highlight Series Support from local parishes is vital for Catholic Charities offices to meet the many and various needs of individuals and families within the Diocese of Raleigh. Each year, the staff at the Catholic Charities Office in Fayetteville witness the enthusiasm for helping others displayed by local parishes which supports them in providing high quality services to the community. This week, we are featuring the incredible work of Good Shepherd Catholic Church and their local Knights of Columbus Council who have been incredible supporters of the… Read More
Support from local parishes is vital for Catholic Charities offices to meet the many and various needs of individuals and families within the Diocese of Raleigh. Each year, the staff at the Catholic Charities Office in Fayetteville witness the enthusiasm for helping others displayed by local parishes which supports them in providing high quality services to the community. Even in the midst of the pandemic, this collaboration never stopped coming. Without local churches and their constant support, the office would not have been able to do all that they did…. Read More
*For privacy concerns, names were changed in this story. Eviction is a reality that far too many families face when they struggle to pay their bills each month. This is the situation that Diane Lane found herself in before coming to the Durham Community Food Pantry, a program of Catholic Charities. After suffering job related injuries, Lane’s monthly income dwindled down to only $400 a month. As a result, she was struggling to pay her December rent. On top of her financial challenges, Lane was also caring for her elderly… Read More
While all food pantries provide clients with groceries, there exist varying pantry operation models, each with their own benefits and accompanying challenges. Over the past several decades, doctors, nutritionists, sociologists, policy analysts, and other social scientists have studied the methods and operations of different food pantry models. Their work has reviewed the effects of operations on clients’ individual lifestyles, as well as the effects of operations within larger social structures. This research has resulted in the recommendation that the opportunity for client choice be included in the food distribution model…. Read More
At the Catholic Charities offices of the Raleigh, Cape Fear and Tar River Regions, staff and volunteers worked tirelessly over the past few weeks to ensured that dozens of families are able to enjoy the holiday season, through the “Wrapped with Love” Christmas Program. This year has been very difficult for many families. Sharing gifts, despite the new restrictions that limit the organization of large gathering of people in one place, would provide some much needed joy for families. In Raleigh, at Centro para Familias Hispanas, the Wrapped with Love… Read More
The Newman Catholic Student Center Parish at UNC Chapel Hill (NCSCP) is a pivotal and invaluable partner to the Catholic Charities Durham Community Food Pantry (DCFP). Since the inception of the DCFP, the NCSCP has been an ardent supporter in providing food drives, as well as individual donations. This fall, the NCSCP held their annual Thanksgiving Food Drive in support of the DCFP, titled the “Trunk to Truck Thanksgiving Food Drive.” Through this effort, parishioners donated groceries in the week leading up to Thanksgiving. Volunteers representing UNC students, parishioners, which… Read More
