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Catholic Charities helping people For more than 45 years, Catholic Charities of Corpus Christi, Inc. has been providing help to the people most in need in the community. Their ultimate goal is to create positive life-changing opportunities for those experiencing hardship. Last year Catholic Charities helped more than 100,000 through diverse programs including:• The Emergency Aid Department for food, rent and utilities; • The Payee Program for people unable to manage finances due to mental or physical limitations or family exploitation; • An accredited Immigration and Refugee Assistance Department designed to reunite families and foster stability through provision of high quality legal services and education, newly expanded to help trafficking victims; • The Office for Persons with a Disability, a ministry for all persons with special needs that provides educational and recreational experiences in their own language and level of understanding; • A licensed, professional counseling department for children, individuals, and families; • A housing department assisting with foreclosure prevention, homebuyer education and learning classes, financial literacy workshops, family self-sufficiency counseling, budget and money management, credit counseling, rental counseling and fair housing; • The First Call Program, a manned telephone and Web-based program linking those with unmet needs to goods and services provided by faith-based and other non-profit organizations; • The Mother Teresa Shelter, the area’s only day shelter for the homeless that provides breakfast, snacks, laundry and shower facilities, job counseling, mental health services, medication supervision, communication with family and friends, and outdoor, productive pastimes and therapeutic activities to more than 200 people daily; • The Mother Teresa Transitional Housing Facility, opened in 2012, provides comprehensive services to temporarily homeless men; • The Community CARE Program, a community-based health and wellness ministry providing education and advocacy with classes open to the public including nutrition and healthy cooking, exercise and preventative health and wellness with a focus on diabetes and obesity prevention and chronic disease management; and • A Christmas event, primarily sponsored by The John G. and Marie Stella Kenedy Memorial Foundation and H-E-B, that serves turkeys and provides food baskets to more than 17,000 people and provides toys to almost 8,000 area children. |
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Elisabeth von Trapp will perform at 2012 “Dinner & Dialogue” event. Contributed photo |
The 2012 “Dinner & Dialogue with Bishop Wm. Michael Mulvey” will be held Thursday, Oct. 18, at 7 p.m. at the Congressman Solomon P. Ortiz International Center.
Held every other year, the 2012 dinner’s goal is to fund two years of operating expenses for the Catholic Charities of Corpus Christi and the Mother Teresa Shelter.
Funds raised will assist people from all walks of, with all donations staying in the 12 counties of the Coastal Bend and 94 percent of the donations going directly to client services.
“Guests will enjoy this special evening, but more importantly their support will go a long way in helping the poor and marginalized in our community,” Sammie Grunwald, board president for Catholic Charities, said. “I wish everyone could see the faces of the people whose lives they will touch. They would see humility, gratitude and love.”
Bishop Mulvey and other members of the faith community will be entertained by Elisabeth von Trapp, the granddaughter of the legendary Baron and Maria von Trapp popularized in the movie “The Sound of Music.” Critics have called her voice “hauntingly clear,” “joyfully expressive” and “simply beautiful.”
Elisabeth von Trapp has been performing professionally since childhood and has enthralled audiences all over the world, including performances in European cathedrals and Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center. Growing up in Vermont, “the sounds of music” helped to shape her, but she carved out her own artistic style.
She has released five self-produced albums and her concert repertoire ranges from Bach to Broadway and Schubert to Sting. Audiences of all ages are drawn by her famous name and are not disappointed. “Before the concert is over, she will have the crowd gasping with the sheer beauty of her voice,” the Boston Globe said.
Sponsorships and special underwriting opportunities are available by calling (361) 442-2224, ext. 24 or by emailing shoelscher@diocesecc.org. For more information on Catholic Charities, visit their Web site at www.catholiccharities-cc.org.