By Alice Kenny
His Excellency Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan will make his first New York Archdiocesan tour since returning to New York after helping to elect Pope Francis.
Cardinal Dolan has scheduled three events on Thursday, April 4, 2013 that celebrate the work of Catholic Charities Community Services of Orange County. Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York Executive Director Monsignor Kevin Sullivan will join him.
At 3 p.m. on April 4, Cardinal Dolan will bless tour and cut the ribbon at Catholic Charities’ new locations at 305 North Street in Middletown, NY. This location consolidates several programs into a single location: housing an OASAS licensed Substance Abuse Clinic, Case Management staff, Immigration Services, and our Employee Assistance Program (EAP). The Substance Abuse Clinic provides assessments and individual and group counseling to individuals and families to help ensure a lasting recovery from substance abuse. Case Management and Immigration provide a variety of bi-lingual services to individuals in need. The EAP works with businesses, municipalities, organizations, and parishes, providing support and counseling services to over 65,000 covered employees and their family members.
The next stop at 4:15 p.m. will be a tour where Cardinal Dolan will give a special blessing to children that attend Catholic Charities Early Learning Center at 59 St. John Street in the Village of Goshen, NY. The Early Learning Center offers a full-day program for children ages six weeks to five years focused on early childhood learning, socialization skills and kindergarten readiness skills.
Cardinal Dolan’s final destination at 6 p.m. will be a cocktail reception at the 7th Annual Celebration of Charity held at Anthony’s Pier 9, 2975 Route 9W in New Windsor, NY. This annual event also includes a dinner and silent auction. 2013 Caritas Award Honorees include Reverend Jeffrey Maurer, Pastor at St Mary’s Church in Washingtonville, Scott Batulis, President and Chief Executive Officer at Orange Regional Medical Center and the Eva Fini Fund for Rett Syndrome Research.
“We are honored by Cardinal Dolan’s visit and the significant statement it makes,” says Catholic Charities Community Services of Orange County Executive Director Dean Scher. “By opening our new clinic in Middletown, Catholic Charities highlights the value we place on providing a wide range of accessible services to our local community and on providing help and hope for those struggling with substance abuse. In the Early Learning Center, we underline the importance of daycare and early education for preschoolers to ease the minds of working parents. And we gratefully acknowledge the key role of donors whose continuing support enables us to provide help and create hope for those in need.”
For information about purchasing a ticket for the upcoming 7th Annual Celebration of Charity contact Catholic Charities Community Services at 845-294-5124 ext. 303.
About Catholic Charities Community Services of Orange County
Catholic Charities Community Services of Orange County, one of the human service agencies of the Federation of the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York, is committed to building a compassionate and just society. It is dedicated to serving the homeless, the hungry, the emotionally and physically handicapped, immigrants and the marginalized and vulnerable of Orange County regardless of religion. It collaborates with parishes, individuals, government and other agencies.
