By Don Glynn
Confident that its $10.5 million goal is realistic — despite the generally hard-pressed economy — the annual Catholic Charities Appeal moves into high gear this month with many parishes expected to report their returns between March 21 and March 28.
Some parishes within the eight-county Buffalo Catholic Diocese have already started the process as part of their Lenten observance. In Youngstown, St. Bernard’s parish volunteers were soliciting donations after the weekend Masses.
“This year’s reduced goal reflects the local and national economies and the necessities of Catholic Charities’ programs in mind,” said Bishop Edward U. Kmiec, as he addressed community leaders, drive officials, the agency’s staff and volunteer workers during the January opening of the new offices on Genesee Street in downtown Buffalo. The 2010 goal is a half million less than a year ago.
In 2009, Catholic Charities served 17,214 area residents through its programs in the county, ranging from children’s clinics in Niagara Falls, Lockport and North Tonawanda to a domestic violence program for men, employee assistance, counseling, family therapy and Women, Infants and Children (WIC), guidance and help for better nutrition.
Earlier this year, Sister Mary McCarrick, OSF, a native of Niagara Falls, assumed her duties as the interim director of Catholic Charities, the first woman religious to serve in that post. Kmiec appointed her to the full-time position while Monsignor Joseph J. Sicari is away on medical leave.
McCarrick also is involved with mission integration, board development and social policy advocacy.
Kmiec noted that McCarrick’s life has been one of service to those in need. “Through her experience in the Perry Project (in Buffalo) and in the First Ward in Lackawanna for Catholic Charities, she has developed a deep understanding of the pressing community needs we face in all of Western New York,” the bishop said.
At present, Catholic Charities operates four offices in Niagara County: In the Seneca Office Building (the former Carborundum Center); at the former convent of St. Joseph’s Church, Tronolone Place; a Family Therapy Center on Park Place; and in the Bewley Building, Lockport.
McCarrick said an easy way to make donations to the Catholic Charities of Western New York is to log onto the Web site: ccwny.org
The 2010 drive is under the patronage of St. Damien of Molokai, canonized by Pope Benedict XVI last October.
Damien spent 16 years in Hawaii looking after the physical, medical and spiritual needs of people with leprosy. He died from the same disease.
When this year’s campaign was launched, Kmiec praised the saint for setting a splendid example through his own dedicated work, even at the cost of losing his life.
