Category: Volunteers

A new year, a bold vision for transforming lives

Posted on by Jenny Barker

From Judy K. Orr, Executive Director:

As our new fiscal year began last month, we simultaneously embraced a bold, new vision for our work:

“By 2029, Catholic Charities will be the leader in Middle Tennessee in assisting people in need to achieve persistent self-reliance.”

This vision is at the heart of our new five-year strategic plan, which reflects our deep commitment to addressing immediate needs while honoring every individual’s dignity. More than just a roadmap, this plan is an invitation to partner with us in creating lasting change.

With our strategic plan, we are committed not just to meeting material needs but to upholding the dignity of each person, recognizing that they are made in the image of God. Inspired by the teachings of Christ, we strive to be His hands and feet in the world, ensuring that our service is both a reflection of His love and a response to His call to care for ‘the least of these.

We are calling on all who share our mission of bringing love, hope, and healing to join us. Guided by a vision crafted by our committee and approved by the board of trustees, this plan will steer our efforts through 2029.

Together, we can build on our 60-year legacy, enhancing program impact, nurturing our staff, engaging the community, and raising awareness of our crucial work.

But we can’t do it alone. Your passion, support, and partnership are vital to empowering individuals and strengthening our community.

View our strategic plan

Addressing hidden homelessness

As part of our emergency services program, we assist many of our neighbors who are struggling with housing costs. “Hidden homelessness” is more common than you might think, and we are grateful to WPLN’s This is Nashville for raising awareness of this issue through its “In My Place” series.

In this recent episode, Catholic Charities’ Director of Basic Needs Kate Pooler shared insights on the often-overlooked realities of families who “double up” with other family members, live in their cars, or otherwise are in unsustainable situations on the verge of evictions.

Please give the interview with Kate a listen to learn more about our expertise in caring for our neighbors’ housing crises.

Listen to the episode

Culinary training for youth aging out of foster care

Our work in Culinary Training Academy (CTA) was amplified recently through a partnership with The Nashville Food Project and Slim & Husky’s. Our most recent cohort of graduates were youth who had recently aged out of foster care.

Of the 15 participants completing the program, 14 secured jobs and two have advanced to sous chef positions. This successful collaboration demonstrates a strong model for empowering vulnerable youth to begin a career in the hospitality industry. CTA is housed at Catholic Charities’ Family Resource Center at C.E. McGruder.

Giving back: from refugee to social worker

In our Love, Hope, Healing service model, we love to say that the best healing is when you want to give back to those who helped you.

Irakoze Bellamie is the epitome! She is completing her master’s degree in social work at the University of Kentucky. She was inspired to do her internship with Catholic Charities because her family was helped by CC when they first arrived in the U.S. in 2007, as authorized refugees from the African country Burundi. Her grandmother continues as a member of our New Americans elders program. Bella, as she is known, was 7 when she emigrated with her family.

Bella recalls the case manager (Diomede Richard, still working for CC!) who helped her family get settled in Nashville, teaching them English and how to navigate housing, schools, transportation, shopping, etc.

She says, “I want to impact people in a positive way just like social workers impacted me and my family.” Bella completed an internship in the spring at the CC Family Resource Center at Casa Azafran and is interning this semester at the CC FRC at C.E. McGruder.

Make an impact every month

Your recurring gift can help vulnerable neighbors become self-sufficient in the face of economic instability and life’s unexpected moments. By establishing a monthly gift, you increase its impact and spread your tax-deductible donation throughout the year.

Donate

P.S. Have you seen the Catholic Charities USA “We Are There” national awareness campaign? We’re excited to be featured.

 

OUR MISSION

Following Christ’s example, we recognize the dignity of all people and serve our neighbors.

Reasons to be thankful

Posted on by Paola Beltran

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and whether you generously volunteered your time or made a donation, we are truly thankful for your invaluable contributions.

During the last two weeks at the Catholic Pastoral Center, we gave out 150 Thanksgiving boxes, which included whole turkeys, to ensure that families could enjoy a Thanksgiving meal. We were very blessed to be able to contribute to these special moments of family togetherness.

Meanwhile, staff at our other Middle Tennessee locations distributed turkeys, food boxes, and more. We won’t soon forget the faces of those who thought they would not have a Thanksgiving meal, but then received one of our turkeys. One individual literally cried when we she received a whole turkey: “We thought we wouldn’t be able to afford a turkey or a Thanksgiving meal, or anything,” she told us. “Thank you so much!”

Also, our big-hearted volunteers helped at Loaves and Fishes on Wednesday, Nov. 22. They worked virtually non-stop from 7:30 a.m.–noon., to help put together a Thanksgiving meal with all the trimmings for our neighbors in need.

These pictures tell the story of the need across the counties and our different locations.

We reflected on what we are most thankful for, and if we got to say the gratitude goes to our team— a team that includes YOU! Without your support we could not have helped this many neighbors in need.

  • With your gift of, $30 we can provide 10 meals through Loaves and Fishes or 1 food box to a family of 6
  • We can provide utility assistance to 1 household with a gift of $100.
  • Your donation of $250 will set up electricity for a family moving into their own home.

Giving Tuesday

As today is Giving Tuesday, please take a moment to reflect on those facing challenging times. Now we invite you to join us in supporting our mission of serving our neighbors through our annual Basic Needs campaign. We are aiming to raise $25,000 during the holidays to address utility bills and rent, housing, food, clothing, diapers, provide life-skills counselors and financial literacy classes for our neighbors.

Your contribution will have a significant impact in providing essential support to those who need it the most.

News from Catholic Charities – March 2022

Posted on by batkinson

From Executive Director Judy K. Orr

Catholic Charities resettling 330 Afghans to Middle Tennessee

Catholic Charities, Diocese of Nashville, has welcomed 330 Afghan refugees who were displaced by the largest evacuation in 50 years of people from their home country to the U.S. Our commitment to this segment of the 125,000 evacuees is now in its second phase.

All individuals and families are in safe housing, meeting frequently with the resettlement team, and continuing along the journey to a new life. It will be a years-long process for these New Americans to fully acclimate into their Tennessee home. Thank you to everyone who has supported Catholic Charities during these early stages of helping these new neighbors.

Volunteer to be a Family Mentor

We have numerous opportunities for anyone who wants to volunteer as a Family Mentor. Family Mentors supplement the services of our professional team by helping with shopping, groceries, driving the families to appointments, helping them learn conversational English (through everyday interactions), providing support in their home, offering help with basic banking and/or budgeting functions, and much more.

Our team has created this chart showing the complementary services that Family Mentors provide. We provide training and ongoing support for volunteers who take on this important role.

If you are interested in volunteering, please complete the volunteer application on our website. Our volunteer team will review your application and be in touch to discuss next steps.

Important first steps toward citizenship

Beyond the acclimation process, the next big step for everyone is pursuing citizenship, which involves important legal filings for each individual and family. Catholic Charities is working closely with the Welcoming Nashville Fund created by the United Way of Greater Nashville and the Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors (JFON) to ensure access to legal services.

The outpouring of support from the Middle Tennessee community has been inspiring. Those donations are critical. Catholic Charities does not receive advance funding for this work. Instead a resettlement agency like ours must provide and pay for all goods and services up front. Only then can the agency apply to the federal government for reimbursement. This is why your continued support is so important. It also fills in the gaps in what the federal money permits us to purchase.

The resettlement process also takes time. We know from decades of helping refugees that the average time to achieve self-reliance is six months. But the need for occasional or ongoing support can last for more than a year.

Regardless of the circumstances, Catholic Charities will walk alongside our new neighbors as long as we are needed.

We have a special Afghan Resettlement page on our website where you can learn more about our work and stay up to date with any changes.

 

Volunteers help make great first impression

First impressions are important for anyone asking Catholic Charities for help. That important duty is now being job-shared by three fantastic, compassionate volunteers, Mary Pollman, Dave Lybarger, and Leslie Young.

All recent retirees, they work the Catholic Charities’ front desk, greeting people who come to the Catholic Pastoral Center and answering phone calls to our main phone number.

Together, they triage requests for assistance, listening to clients’ needs, collecting important information, and, ultimately, referring them to the right department.

Pollman said she was looking for a volunteer opportunity to fill her free time. She asked Father John Hammond at St. Patrick Catholic Church, and he recommended Catholic Charities. Lybarger, who is an ordained Catholic deacon, was looking for a similar way to help people in need.

Young is a recent transplant to Nashville. She heard about Catholic Charities at the United Methodist Church she attends, where she is a member of that church’s Immigration Task Force. She holds a Master’s in social work but did not work in the field during her career. She now can put that training to good use.

Pollman said her biggest discovery about Catholic Charities was the scope of the agency’s work. She noted the gratification of working with refugees and immigrants at this critical time.

Finding and vetting qualified volunteers has been a Catholic Charities priority for the last year. Volunteers have a keen desire to serve their neighbors and often complement the services provided by the professionals on staff.

We are honored that Pollman, Lybarger, Young and many others give of their time helping their neighbors.

 

Tickets on sale for El Festival de Esperanza

I am over-the-moon excited to announce El Festival de Esperanza – Celebrating Pathways to Possibilities. It will take place April 27 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Saint Elle in Nashville. The event is Catholic Charities’ largest annual fundraiser and will feature authentic Cuban food, drinks, joyous music, and dancing. The name El Festival de Esperanza means “Festival of Hope.”

Catholic Charities, Diocese of Nashville, was founded 60 years ago to resettle 43 Cuban children fleeing for safety from their homeland as political tensions rose to dangerous levels in 1962. We have reconnected with several of the now-grown children and the families that hosted them, and they will be among the guests at our Cuban-themed festival. We hope others will also come forward. Please email Besty Everett at beverett@cctenn.org if you are connected to any of these families.

Catholic Charities has grown from that initial program to an organization serving 25,000 people annually with a range of social services from emergency assistance to job training to counseling. El Festival will pay tribute to many of our “alumni” who were treated to our special brand of “love, hope, and healing.”

Tickets for El Festival de Esperanza are now on sale. We will share many more details in the coming days and weeks.

 

Update on Bombing Survivor Support

Catholic Charities has provided more than $2 million in support and counseling to survivors of the 2020 Christmas Day bombing. Here are a few highlights:

  • Helped 229 households (comprising nearly 1,000 people)
  • $1.4 million for rental and mortgage assistance
  • $154,000 for utility assistance
  • Provided counseling to 127 individuals

We know that many survivors are still grappling with the aftermath, even after the one-year anniversary has come and gone. Assistance continues to be available to workers who lost wages, residents who lost their homes, and business owners impacted by the bombing. Apply for assistance at www.NashvilleStrong2021.org.

Catholic Charities knows from experience that the effects of trauma can last for years. We are committed to helping all survivors fully recover.




May love, hope, and healing be yours as we enter the season of Lent and prepare to celebrate the Lord’s Resurrection.

 

Judy K. Orr
Executive Director
Catholic Charities, Diocese of Nashville