Little Green ThumbsJuly 24th, 2017
Our Room to Grow preschoolers got their hands dirty this month, but not in an art class! The students planted flowers to brighten up the sign in front of St. Thomas the Apostle Church in East Norwalk. Fr. Mirek, the Pastor, was thrilled to have so many ‘little green thumbs’ hard at work. Many thanks to these budding gardeners – they did an amazing job with this project!
Helping the Homeless in DanburyJune 28th, 2017
The Monday, June 26th edition of the Danbury News Times features a very informative article on the work Catholic Charities does in Danbury to help the homeless population. Click here to read the article in its entirety.
PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITYMay 1st, 2017
The Council on Accreditation (COA), a national accrediting entity designated by the US Department of State to provide Hague Accreditation and Approval, invites the public to provide comment on intercountry adoption service providers seeking Hague Accreditation, Approval or Renewal. You are invited to provide comments through COA’s website at: http://coanet.org/accreditation/hague-accreditation-and-approval/public-comment/
New Covenant Center Celebrity Breakfast – A Huge Success!April 21st, 2017
Pictured left to right: Co-Chair Ed Kearns, Catholic Charities President Al Barber, Guest Speaker Donna Shalala, Co-Chair Sarita Hanley, New Covenant Center Board Member Phil Shalala, & New Covenant Center Executive Director John Gutman.
New Covenant Center’s 13th Annual Celebrity Breakfast was the most successful one yet! Nearly 300 people turned out to support the center, with an almost 50% increase in sponsors from last year — it was a truly amazing event!
John Gutman (l) and John Lodato (r).
In recognition of his 20 years of volunteer service at New Covenant Center, we honored John Lodato with The Founder’s Award. John’s humble acceptance speech, which included his heartfelt explanation ofhow he was motivated to live his life helping others, touched everyone in the room. You can watch News 12’s “Hometown Hero” segment featuring John Lodato here.
Donna Shalala, Ph.D., our distinguished keynote speaker, engaged the audience with anecdotes and stories from her experiences in the field of education and human services. Learning more about her current work in social services — and how it relates to our mission — was an inspiration to us all.
Check out more photos of the breakfast here or on our Facebook page.
Due in large part to the commitment and generosity of our supporters, we have grown from a basic soup kitchen into the largest nonprofit food program in Stamford. We’d like to thank all of you who have backed our mission over the years — we deeply appreciate all that you do!
Notre Dame High School Teams with Catholic Charities to Help OthersMarch 24th, 2017
Every year, Notre Dame High School conducts an Annual Day of Service. This activity falls at the end of the school’s 26 Acts of Kindness Campaign which honors those students and teachers lost during the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School. During this day of giving back to the community, approximately 400 Notre Dame Students volunteer at organizations throughout the Diocese.
This year, Catholic Charities of Fairfield County contacted Jessica Medoff, the teacher who coordinates the event, to offer opportunities for students to volunteer within their programs. Students from Notre Dame volunteered at four agency programs throughout the Diocese of Bridgeport: The Thomas Merton Center in Bridgeport, New Covenant Center in Stamford, Morning Glory Breakfast Program in Danbury, and Room to Grow Preschool in Norwalk.
Students from Notre Dame opens cans at Thomas Merton Center in Bridgeport as they prep for lunch.
At the Thomas Merton Center, students were outfitted with aprons and helped out in the EatSmart Marketplace food pantry and the soup kitchen. Carts were unloaded and shelves were stocked with food and produce that were just delivered to the Merton Center that morning to prepare for clients who would shop that afternoon for their families. In the soup kitchen, cans were opened, lettuce was chopped and pies were cut to prepare lunch for the day. They students then took their places behind the counter and served the meal to the hungry guests.
At Morning Glory in Danbury, students from Notre Dame organize toiletry items for their marketplace.
A similar scene was taking place at the New Covenant Center food pantry in Stamford, where about 10 students were working hard to help unload an abundance of groceries and stock the shelves of the brand new food pantry. There is a different type of pantry at the Morning Glory Breakfast Program in Danbury. The Morning Glory Marketplace is a mobile non-food pantry that provides items such as cleaning products, paper goods, and hygiene products. Four students from Notre Dame helped unpack a large donation that was recently delivered for the Morning Glory Marketplace. They sorted the items and stocked the shelves for the program to be ready when it opened the following Friday.
Students from Notre Dame helped the Room to Grow preschoolers with their daily project.
Room to Grow Preschool in Norwalk is always a fun place to visit. The children were excited to have seven student volunteers come and visit. The Notre Dame students were divided between two classrooms where they assisted in leading the activities of the day. Games were played, stories were read, and snacks were served. They even helped to facilitate the morning craft project and taught some of the kids a few soccer skills. The preschoolers enjoyed having their older buddies around and asked for them to come back and visit.
“Notre Dame’s Annual Day of Service provides a great opportunity for students to see the different volunteer opportunities available in their communities. It is a great way for these kids to get involved and make a difference. Catholic Charities felt it was important to join in and share our mission. This collaboration was a win-win situation for everyone involved,” said Al Barber, president of Catholic Charities.
By AMY ZAJAC