Archive for the ‘Welcoming and Integrating Immigrants and Refugees’ Category
Tuesday, June 18th, 2013
By Alice Kenny
Join Team Catholic Charities for the ING New York City Marathon.
Race numbers are striking:
- 26.2-mile course winding through all five boroughs in the Greatest City in the World
- 100,000-plus race applicants
- 37,000 racing participants
- 2,000,000 spectators
The need you will be running for is striking as well:
- 40,000 New York school children have no place to call home
- 365,000 people look for work in New York City every day but cannot find it
- One in four families live in poverty
- 1,400,000 New Yorkers – that’s one out of every six of our neighbors – rely daily on emergency food
- Tens of thousands of people left homeless after Hurricane Sandy lost their furniture, clothing and all that they owned.
- Thousands still struggle to recover
Team Catholic Charities runners train for top physical condition to cross the finish line AND cut back on our neighbors’ growing need.
Catholic Charities, partnering with New York Road Runners, is an official Charity partner in this year’s ING New York City Marathon. Our ten-person team plans to raise $30,000 to directly benefit our St. Nicholas Project.
Catholic Charities’ St. Nicholas Project provides:
- job training and computer literacy classes to help New Yorkers find work
- food pantries to make sure hungry New Yorkers have food
- school supplies so children in need can keep up with their classmates
- essential items including towels, sheets, blankets, coats, hats, gloves, scarves and pajamas so that New Yorkers stay warm all year.
Find out more
Join Team Catholic Charities
Tags: computer literacy, emergency food, food pantries, homeless, Hurricane Sandy, ING New York City Marathon, job training, New York Road Runners, St. Nicholas Project, team catholic charities
Posted in Events, Feeding the Hungry and Sheltering the Homeless, ING NYC Marathon, New York City, Protecting and Nurturing Children and Youth, Staten Island, Strengthening Families and Resolving Crises, Supporting the Physically and Emotionally Challenged, Welcoming and Integrating Immigrants and Refugees, What We Do at Catholic Charities | No Comments »
Monday, June 17th, 2013
By Alice Kenny
Several key departments are moving this summer out of the Catholic Center at 1011 First Avenue and into local neighborhoods.
The changes are part of Catholic Charities’ focus to provide localized, streamlined support for persons in need.
Eviction Prevention and Emergency Food Services, for example, moved to the Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Memorial Center at 34 W. 134 St. in Harlem.
This move adds to specialized services Catholic Charities already offers in local neighborhoods stretching from Staten Island to the Catskill Mountains and throughout the Archdiocese of New York.
Stay tuned for information and updates.
Looking for help?
Catholic Charities provides a wide range of specialized assistance.
- Call Catholic Charities Help Line — 888-744-7900 — to find services and support at a location near you.
- Click here for an A-Z Agency Directory
- E-mail us through our contact form
Tags: Catskill Mountains, Emergency Food Services, eviction prevention, local neighborhoods, Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., Memorial Center, specialized assistance, Staten Island
Posted in Agencies, Feeding the Hungry and Sheltering the Homeless, New York City, Protecting and Nurturing Children and Youth, Strengthening Families and Resolving Crises, Supporting the Physically and Emotionally Challenged, Welcoming and Integrating Immigrants and Refugees, What We Do at Catholic Charities | No Comments »
Thursday, June 13th, 2013
By Alice Kenny
Catholic Charities Executive Director Msgr. Kevin Sullivan said the opening prayer yesterday at the United Community Center of Westchester in New Rochelle at a rolling fast held by day laborers, members of the immigrant community, and organizations within the National Day Laborer Organizing Network.
The fast kicked off in California and just reached New York.
Participants’ communal hunger spotlights the immigration debate. Members of Catholic Charities’ Obreros Unidos in Yonkers — along with United Community Center of Westchester in New Rochelle and the Don Bosco Center in Port Chester — are taking their turn in a week-long fast from June 10 through June 14. They are publicly sharing their stories about the toll deportations take on their own lives. And they are chanting “Not One More” to demand that the President suspend the deportations as Congress seeks immigration reform.
Through Obreros Unidos, Catholic Charities educates day laborers in the Yonkers area on employment rights and responsibilities to prevent exploitation and abuse. Catholic Charities also assists in the collection of unpaid wages, helps workers get access to healthcare services, provides emergency food, and offers English language and computer skills instruction.
“I am fasting on behalf of the 300 day laborers of Obreros Unidos de Yonkers and their families, many of whom have personal experiences of family separation because of deportation” said Janet Hernandez, one of the fasters and an organizer with Catholic Charities for Obreros Unidos de Yonkers.
Join us by saying “Not one more” to deportation.
Looking for more information about Obreros Unidos de Yonkers?
- Call (914) 375-6729/48 or visit the office at St. Peter’s Church basement, 91 Ludlow Street, Yonkers, NY 10705
- Call the Catholic Charities Help Line — (888) 744-7900 — to find services you need.
Tags: day laborers, deportations, Don Bosco Center, employment rights, immigrant community, immigration debate, Immigration Reform, Janet Hernandez, National Day Laborer Organizing Network, Not One More, Obreros Unidos, Obreros Unidos De Yonkers, Port Chester, United Community Center of Westchester in New Rochelle
Posted in Events, Hudson Valley, Monsignor Kevin Sullivan, New York City, Policy and Advocacy, Strengthening Families and Resolving Crises, Welcoming and Integrating Immigrants and Refugees, What We Do at Catholic Charities | No Comments »
Monday, June 10th, 2013
By Alice Kenny
We’re proud to announce our interactive 2012 Annual Report.
Check out this easy-access gateway filled with videos and multimedia devices.
Learn firsthand about Catholic Charities services.
Hear directly from our clients, donors and staff.
Listen to their stories.
See and hear for yourself what makes the work we do at Catholic Charities so special. Tell us what you think.
Tags: 2012 Annual Report, cancer, Catholic Charities services, deaf, financial challenges, Hurricane Sandy, illness, multimedia, seniors, teenager
Posted in Feeding the Hungry and Sheltering the Homeless, Protecting and Nurturing Children and Youth, Strengthening Families and Resolving Crises, Supporting the Physically and Emotionally Challenged, Welcoming and Integrating Immigrants and Refugees | No Comments »
Thursday, June 6th, 2013
by Alice Kenny
Profiles of hope. Profiles of courage. Profiles of charity.
For 101 years, the stories of struggle that make up The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund’s annual campaign have inspired readers to help New Yorkers in dire financial need.
Our opportunity at Catholic Charities to partner with The New York Times Foundation provides an occasion to spotlight the strength and dignity of struggling New Yorkers.
It also provides a forum for readers to join us in bringing vital help and hope to those in need.
And it provides an opportunity to underscore our strong partnerships with Catholic Charities affiliated agencies. Seven of these 18 Catholic Charities profiles feature services received at Catholic Charities affiliated agencies. They include Catholic Big Sisters Big Brothers, Covenant House New York, CREATE, Dominican Sisters, Elinor Martin Residence for Mother and Child and Grace Institute.
The 18 individuals and families profiled offer a glimpse of the intense struggles faced by so many New Yorkers. And they demonstrate the support Catholic Charities provides, always with compassion and always with dignity.
Day in and year out, Catholic Charities helps solve the problems of New Yorkers in need – non Catholics and Catholics alike.
We invite you to read their stories.
Tags: affiliated agencies, Catholic Big Sisters Big Brothers, Covenant House New York, CREATE, Dominican Sisters, Elinor Martin Residence for Mother and Child, grace institute, The New York Times Foundation, The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund
Posted in Feeding the Hungry and Sheltering the Homeless, New York City, Parishes, Protecting and Nurturing Children and Youth, Strengthening Families and Resolving Crises, Supporting the Physically and Emotionally Challenged, Welcoming and Integrating Immigrants and Refugees | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 4th, 2013
By Alice Kenny
Looking for a sneak peek inside the lives and work at Catholic Charities?
- Meet Vladimir, a teenager from rural El Salvador who thought he was the only child born without hearing; the Incognitos, a couple married 50 years now struggling to stay together despite illness and Erin, a cancer survivor whose home was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy.
- Meet Julia Schafer and MaryEllen Ferrera, Catholic Charities case managers who helped rebuild their lives.
- Meet Catherine Kinney and Stanley Grayson, leaders on Catholic Charities’ Board of Trustees.
- And listen as Catholic Charities Executive Director Msgr. Kevin Sullivan and His Excellency Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan explain how Catholic Charities bridges the gap between wealth and want in Stories of Help & Hope 2013, the latest of Catholic Charities’ powerful online videos.
“Catholic Charities builds bridges,” Msgr. Sullivan says, “the bridges needed to connect New York’s great resources – public and private – to provide help that creates hope for each person, made in God’s image and likeness, non-Catholic and Catholic alike.”
It builds bridges inside and out.
“Catholic Charities was like family,” Erin says as she describes the hurricane that stole all she owned. “Finally I had a support system behind me that I didn’t get from anyplace else. It’s not just rebuilding our house; it’s rebuilding our lives.”
Watch Stories of Help & Hope 2013 now.
Tags: Board of Trustees, cancer survivor, Catherine Kinney, Catholic Charities case managers, Hurricane Sandy, Incognitos, Julia Schafer, MaryEllen Ferrera, online videos, Stanley Grayson, Stories of Help & Hope 2013, Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan, Vladimir Gongora
Posted in Feeding the Hungry and Sheltering the Homeless, Monsignor Kevin Sullivan, New York City, Protecting and Nurturing Children and Youth, Staten Island, Strengthening Families and Resolving Crises, Supporting the Physically and Emotionally Challenged, Welcoming and Integrating Immigrants and Refugees, What We Do at Catholic Charities | No Comments »
Monday, June 3rd, 2013
By Alice Kenny
The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, where generations of newcomers first set foot on American soil, peaked through a clouded background as the “Nuns on the Bus” kicked off its national tour for immigration reform at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, N.J. on May 29.
This marked the first stop of what is slated to be a 6,500-mile, three-week bus ride that ends at Angel Island, San Francisco. It was organized by the social justice lobby, Network, to give a faith-based push to immigration-reform legislation now being debated in Congress.
They are promoting, say tour organizers, immigration reform that ensures family unity; protects the rights of immigrant workers; acknowledges that U.S. borders are already secure, with only minor changes needed; speeds up processing of already-approved immigrants; enhances the present diversity visa program and provides a clear and direct pathway to citizenship for the 11 million people who are undocumented in the U.S.
While Catholic Sisters head up the tour, the push for immigration reform has united religious groups across political and denominational spectrums.
At this kickoff event, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, joined Catholic Charities Executive Director Msgr. Kevin Sullivan as key speakers. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops and its Justice for Immigrants campaign are participating in events along the route.
Do you need a hand pulling documentation together to prepare for immigration reform?
Click here for help.
Would you like to catch up with – or learn more about – the Nuns on the Bus at one of the 53 events scheduled in 40 cities across the United States?
Click here to find out how.
Tags: Angel Island, Catholic Sisters, citizenship, Congress, Immigration Reform, immigration-reform legislation, Jersey City, Justice for Immigrants, Justice for Immigrants campaign, Liberty State Park, Msgr. Kevin Sullivan, Network, Nuns on the Bus, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, rights of immigrant workers, San Francisco, sisters of charity new york, social justice lobby, tour organizers, Union for Reform Judaism, US Conference of Catholic Bishops, visa program
Posted in Catholic Social Teaching, Events, Policy and Advocacy, Welcoming and Integrating Immigrants and Refugees, What We Do at Catholic Charities | No Comments »
Friday, May 24th, 2013
L-R: Msgr. Kevin Sullivan, Pat Battle, Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan, Eugene M. McQuade, Stephen J. Brogan and Catherine Kinney
May 24, 2013, New York, NY – His Eminence Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan and the Board of Trustees of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York honored Eugene M. McQuade, Chief Executive Officer, Citibank and Stephen J. Brogan, Managing Partner, Jones Day at its Gala Benefit at The Waldorf-Astoria in New York City yesterday, May 23, 2013 at 6:30 p.m.
“The Catholic Charities Annual Gala permits us to create stronger partnerships among New Yorkers,” stated Executive Director Msgr. Kevin Sullivan. “Our outstanding honorees, their colleagues and friends along with generous Catholic Charities donors come together to ensure that New Yorkers in need – non-Catholics and Catholics alike – are helped with meeting basic human needs so that they might live their lives in greater dignity.”
This signature black tie dinner convened a dynamic group of New Yorkers from the worlds of business, philanthropy, culture, fashion, law, media, politics and religion who share a deep concern for the well-being of our fellow New Yorkers in need. It raised close to $2.3 million.
Pat Battle, anchor for NBC 4 New York, served as Mistress of Ceremonies. Award-winning actress, singer and recording artist Liz Calloway, who held leading roles in several Broadway productions including Miss Saigon and Cats, performed live.
Over the course of a career spanning more than three decades, honoree Eugene M. McQuade distinguished himself as a business and industry leader. Before joining Citi as Chief Executive Officer of Citibank in 2009, he served as Vice Chairman and President of Merrill Lynch Banks (U.S.) and previously had been President at Freddie Mac, Bank of America and Fleet Boston Financial. He is a Trustee to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and the American Ireland Fund.
“Tonight is a celebration of the terrific work Catholic Charities does every year to ensure that our neediest New Yorkers, regardless of faith, get the support they need to improve their lives,” said Mr. McQuade. “I’m gratified and humbled to be recognized, but tonight is about shining a spotlight on the enormous positive impact Catholic Charities has on our city.”
Fellow honoree Stephen J. Brogan, Managing Partner of Jones Day since 2002, began his career with the firm while still a student at Notre Dame Law School. He worked as Deputy Assistant Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice from 1981-1983. He serves as Chair of the Academic and Faculty Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees of the University of Notre Dame. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Cleveland Clinic.
“The long history of Catholic Charities’ dedicated and selfless service to people in need in the City of New York is a very important manifestation of the Catholic Church’s commitment to social justice and to the care of the less fortunate,” said Mr. Brogan.
About Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York
Catholic Charities, a federation of approximately 90 agencies and programs located throughout the 10 counties of the Archdiocese of New York, helps solve the problems of New Yorkers in need – non-Catholics and Catholics alike – with services that protect and nurture children, resolve family crises, assist the hungry and homeless, support the physically and emotionally challenged, and integrate immigrants and refugees. For more information on how to donate or volunteer, please visit our website at www.catholiccharitiesny.org.
Tags: American Ireland Fund, Archdiocese of New York, Bank of America, Board of Trustees, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, business, Cats, Chief Executive Officer, Citi, Citibank, Cleveland Clinic, culture, Eugene M. McQuade, fashion, Fleet Boston Financial, Freddie Mac, Gala Benefit, Jones Day, Law, Liz Calloway, Managing Partner, Media, Merrill Lynch Banks, Miss Saigon, Mistress of Ceremonies, NBC4 New York, Notre Dame Law School, Pat Battle, philanthropy, politics, religion, Stephen J. Brogan, Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan, U.S. Department of Justice, Waldorf Astoria
Posted in Archdiocese News, Cardinal Dolan, Events, Feeding the Hungry and Sheltering the Homeless, Monsignor Kevin Sullivan, New York City, Protecting and Nurturing Children and Youth, Strengthening Families and Resolving Crises, Supporting the Physically and Emotionally Challenged, Welcoming and Integrating Immigrants and Refugees, What We Do at Catholic Charities | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013
By Alice Kenny
Day laborers’ children battled to capture bishops, kings and pawns at chess competitions held with Franciscan Friars at a family day celebration on May 19th. For the first time ever, St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers opened its doors to Obreros Unidos and their families on Pentecost Sunday. City of Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano joined in the festivities.
The Catholic Charities-sponsored Family Day brought together more than 150 local day-laborer family members with seminarians, friars and Catholic Charities staff. It was part of Catholic Charities’ ongoing involvement with Obreros Unidos De Yonkers, a group of approximately 300 day laborers in the Yonkers area.
Through this program, Catholic Charities educates workers on employment rights and responsibilities to prevent exploitation and abuse. Catholic Charities also assists in the collection of unpaid wages, helps workers get access to healthcare services, provides emergency food, and offers English language and computer skills instruction.
The midday event began with Pentecost Sunday mass to celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit. Next, at an indoor picnic pulled together in response to the pouring rain outdoors, participants feasted on tacos, churros and flan. Then they partied together as they faced off at chess matches, danced in Zumba exercise classes, painted faces and dabbled with arts and crafts.
Check out our Facebook page for more photos of the event.
Would you like to join Obreros Unidos de Yonkers?
Call (914) 375-6729/48 or visit the office at St. Peter’s Church basement, 91 Ludlow Street, Yonkers, NY 10705
Call the Catholic Charities Help Line — (888) 744-7900 — to find services you need.
Tags: arts and crafts, Catholic Charities Help Line, catholic charities staff, chess competitions, chess matches, day laborers, emergency food, employment rights, exercise classes, family day, family members, Franciscan Friars, friars, healthcare services, mass, Mayor Mike Spano, Obreros Unidos, Obreros Unidos De Yonkers, Pentecost Sunday, seminarians, St. Joseph’s Seminary, St. Peters Church, Yonkers
Posted in Events, Hudson Valley, Parishes, Protecting and Nurturing Children and Youth, Strengthening Families and Resolving Crises, Welcoming and Integrating Immigrants and Refugees | No Comments »
Friday, May 10th, 2013
By Alice Kenny
Accustomed to hard work, scant funds and dreams only of their children’s futures, 15 wives and relatives of day laborers instead received free haircuts, makeovers and all-round pampering on Wednesday, May 8, 2013 in the St. Peter’s Parish gym in Yonkers, in preparation for Mothers Day.
The women belong to a mothers group associated with Obreros Unidos De Yonkers, a group of approximately 300 day laborers in the Yonkers area.
The women received haircuts free of charge provided by two hairstylist/salon owners who are also parishioners of St. Peter’s Parish. They also received a make-up lesson and application by a Mary Kay representative. And two of the recipient moms, far more accustomed to giving than receiving, opted to donate their cut hair to Locks of Love, a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children suffering from medical hair loss.
The Mothers Day celebration was part of Catholic Charities’ ongoing involvement with Obreros Unidos De Yonkers, a group of approximately 300 day laborers in the Yonkers area. Through this program, Catholic Charities educates workers on employment rights and responsibilities in order to prevent exploitation and abuse. Catholic Charities also assists in the collection of unpaid wages, helps workers get access to healthcare services, provides emergency food, and offers English language and computer skills instruction.
Looking for more information about Obreros Unidos de Yonkers?
Call (914) 375-6729/48 or visit the office at St. Peter’s Church basement, 91 Ludlow Street, Yonkers, NY 10705
Call the Catholic Charities Help Line — (888) 744-7900 — for help finding services you need.
Wishing you a wonderful Mothers Day!
Tags: Catholic Charities Help Line, computer skills, emergency food, English language, hairstylist, healthcare services, Locks of Love, Mary Kay, Mothers Day, Obreros Unidos De Yonkers, salon owners, St. Peter’s Parish
Posted in Events, New York City, Parishes, Welcoming and Integrating Immigrants and Refugees | No Comments »
