Festival of Hope donations will help provide critical Catholic Charities services that serve 25,000 Middle Tennessee neighbors annually.
Archives: Items
Give to Area of Greatest Need
Catholic Charities does so much to help so many people. At the same time, it’s impossible to anticipate every challenge that our clients will face month to month if not week to week.
Your donation will be used where it is needed most right now to help the most people. This flexibility allows us to respond at a moment’s notice when our neighbors are in need.
Donate to Support for New Americans
An important part of Catholic Charities’ work is helping those who have been displaced — whether from their homes or their home countries. It has been part of our mission since our founding nearly 60 years ago.
Catholic Charities is Tennessee’s lead agency for resettling refugees, Asylees, Cuban and Haitian entrants, victims of trafficking, Amerasians, and Special Immigrant Visa (SIV). Anyone eligible to be resettled has been vetted by the Department of State and purposefully placed in our programs.
We often receive notice of 24 hours or less that a new family will be resettled in Tennessee. Your donations will ensure our team is able to help New Americans acclimate as quickly as possible and become productive citizens here in their new country.
Basic Needs Campaign
Heather, a young mother, is exhausted and desperate for sleep, as she comforts her child late at night. She is worried for her family, as they face the threat of eviction. A new landlord has hiked up the rent, her childcare provider isn’t available during her assigned work shifts, and her car needs repairs. Her dream of serving a Thanksgiving meal or putting a few simple gifts under the tree for the children is evaporating.
Heather is one of our neighbors. She wonders, should she pay the rent and not the utilities? Could a food pantry be the best next step, so that her dollars can go for other bills? Where will she turn?
Our caseworkers helped moms like Heather every day of this year with Basic Needs:
- Paid utility bills so that she could get on solid ground again
- Found housing that was better suited to her family’s needs and financial resources
- Life skills counselors coached her into believing in herself and really walking the walk of the love of Christ
- Support groups helped her see that she was not the only one with money woes and inspired her to have hope
When things improved, she volunteered to serve meals at our feeding sites, like Loaves and Fishes, to pay it forward. That’s healing.
Your gift to Catholic Charities Basic Needs program will ensure that Heather and everyone like her can feel safe and supported this holiday season.
Donate to Emergency Assistance
Donate to Housing Stability
Support Teen Counseling
Catholic Charities provides mental health counseling for teens in several Catholic schools across the Diocese of Nashville. Our counseling team has expertise in many fields, including depression, trauma, victims of violence, and much more.
Catholic Charities is honored to be a beneficiary of the Vaughn-Thomas Borum Teen Counseling Fund. Vaughn-Thomas Borum was a vibrant, healthy 17-year-old and student at John Paul II High School. In December 2021, he passed away from fentanyl poisoning. We are grateful to the Borum family for choosing our organization and supporting this important endeavor to save the lives of teens.
Your contributions will be added to those raised by the Vaughn-Thomas Borum Teen Counseling Fund through local community events.
Donate to Family Resource Centers
Family resource centers are locations where individuals and families can find most of the help they need in a single place. The staffs at Catholic Charities’ family resource centers are experts at helping clients navigate a short-term crisis and find long-term support to enrich their lives.
Catholic Charities has operated family resource centers for more than 20 years. Our flagship family resource center is Catholic Charities at C. E. McGruder in North Nashville. We also have the Catholic Charities Family Resource Center at Casa Azafrán in South Nashville.
In 2021, Catholic Charities opened new family resource centers in surrounding counties as part of the Tennessee Serves Neighbors program.
Donate to Hunger Relief
Hunger relief is one of Catholic Charities’ vital ministries.
In 2020, Loaves & Fishes did not miss a single meal despite the pandemic thanks to great creativity by the team and community partnerships.
Hunger relief efforts also include food pantries at multiple locations where families experiencing food insecurity can pick up nutritious staples. Catholic Charities is also exploring the expansion of to-go meals served prepared in partnership with local restaurants.
Your support will allow Catholic Charities to help more individuals, older adults, and families experiencing food insecurity.
Donate to Emotional Support
Donate to Disaster Relief
Catholic Charities must always be prepared for the next disaster.
Whether the catastrophic floods in 2010 or the destructive tornadoes in 2020, our team will always been available to help our neighbors in need through a disaster.
We know from experience that disaster recovery comes in two phases. There is the immediate relief, repair, and replacement of lost possessions. Then there is the long-term recovery of helping people recover emotionally and psychologically from the impact of a disaster. Catholic Charities has the team and expertise to provide both short-term assistance and long-term recovery.
Donate to Job Training
Sewing Training Academy Scholarship
The Sewing Training Academy teaches student industrial sewing so they can find a job in Nashville’s growing fashion industry or become an entrepreneur.
Your donation to the The Sewing Training Academy Scholarship Fund will help provide scholarships to students who cannot afford the classes.
Love Hope + Healing Aprons
Treat your loved ones (or yourself) to a yummy, plummy colored 100% heavyweight cotton duck apron, hand-made in Nashville by students of The Sewing Training Academy (STA), a workforce development program of Catholic Charities. This unique program teaches students the skill of industrial sewing for the purpose of employment and entrepreneurship; all apron proceeds directly benefit STA.
The aprons feature our tagline, “Love, Hope, Healing.” Adjustable neck strap, long tie waist strap, and a lap pocket for your many tools, kitchen or otherwise. One size fits most.
$50 each (plus $5 shipping and handling on each order)
Dimensions
Length: 33″
Waist straps: 2 at 34″ each