Your support for Catholic Charities Emergency Assistance Fund does so much more than meet immediate needsBy Susan Walker
Here are the wonders you support all year long
Every day, mothers like Julia come to the Welcome Center, holding the hand of a shy toddler or carrying an infant in a carrier seat. Despite her best efforts, she just can’t keep up with her bills – rent, utilities, food, infant formula and diapers.
Thanks to you, we’re able to help through the Catholic Charities Emergency Assistance Fund.
Annually, we make an appeal for this fund through direct mail and your local parish (second collection on February 17, 2019). I want to take a few minutes to remind you of the wonders this fund accomplishes all year long, and to ask for your support in the weeks ahead.
Top five Reasons to Support CCEAF: 1. You are providing basic life necessities Food, clothing, hygiene, shelter and care for one’s health are life’s basic building blocks. Without them, it’s difficult to see the promise of a new day, and poverty moves even basic necessities just out of reach.
2. You are providing a pathway out of poverty At Catholic Charities of Kansas City-St. Joseph, emergency assistance is just the first step. It’s never a “one and done” scenario. Our case workers help men and women talk through their whole situation, explore courses of action, and begin to form a plan to move forward.
3. You are restoring dignity – and hope It’s heartbreaking to see the anguish on a parents’ faces when they realize they’re unable to care for their children. Many arrive at our doorstep in despair, wondering if life will ever get better. Catholic Charities Emergency Assistance Fund nourishes the body and the soul by reigniting a spark of hope, reminding the person of their inherent dignity, regardless of life’s circumstance.
4. You are healing anguish and building confidence Every person seeking emergency assistance is in crisis. He is hungry. She is going to be or has been evicted. He is going to lose his job because he can’t get to work. She can’t feed her children or put a clean diaper on her baby. But, they all have the ability to get past these painful situations. They just can’t do it alone!
In 2018, 86 percent of those who came to Catholic Charities of Kansas City-St. Joseph were single, divorced, widowed or separated women, and nearly 50 percent had children at home. Most often, these women have no help in addressing their needs and no mental support. Our case managers, employment specialists and social workers guide them through this tumultuous time by first seeking to alleviate their immediate needs, clearing the way for a rebuilding of self-confidence.
5.You are answering Christ’s call in Matthew 25:31-46. “I was hungry and you gave me food, thirsty and you gave me drink.” Jesus goes on to promise that whatever we do for the least of our brothers, we do for him!
Susan Walker Executive Director, Outreach and Engagement swalker@ccharities.com
