Story - October 15, 2020 - Every week since March, an army of volunteers and Father Evelio Menjivar, pastor of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in the Washington suburb of Landover Hills, Maryland, gather in the parish’s parking lot to give away boxes of food to local families in need. As the pandemic’s effects caused by COVID-19 started to surface, the parish…

Story - June 1, 2021 - By Tara Ford, Director of Marketing Communications, Catholic Charities of San Antonio No one really knows the trauma, sadness, and grief of a teenage boy traveling alone through another country in search of a hopeful future in the United States. To overcome trauma, one needs positive relationships, a healthy lifestyle, and strong community support. One needs…

Story - July 28, 2021 - By Molly Cornish Cordy, Community Engagement Director, Catholic Social Services Gardening isn’t typically the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of Alaska. The state is home to three mountain ranges, a cold climate, and long winters. Anchorage, the largest city in the state, is usually in negative temperatures most of the winter. The winters…

News - April 27, 2022 - Alexandria, Va. — Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) President and CEO, Sister Donna Markham, OP, PhD, and Bishop Mario Dorsonville, Auxiliary Bishop of Washington and Chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Committee on Migration, sent a letter to Congress today expressing concern over several measures that would prolong the misuse of Title 42.…

Story - January 10, 2019 - In the summer of 2014, Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley (CCRGV), under the leadership of Sister Norma Pimentel, established a Humanitarian Respite Center as a response to the substantial increase in families seeking asylum at the U.S./Mexico border. Since then, more than 150,000 individuals, including separated and reunified families, have been welcomed at…

News - September 19, 2016 - New York, NY (September 19, 2016) — Speaking at the United Nations today, Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) President and CEO Sister Donna Markham, OP, PhD, addressed the role of Catholic Church-inspired social service and advocacy agencies to accompany and provide a human face for migrants and refugees, especially unaccompanied minors arriving in the USA. Citing…

Story - April 22, 2021 - By David Werning, Managing Editor “You don’t have to be in chains to be a human trafficking victim.” So says Ivonne Vadi, a case manager at the Bakhita Empowerment Program of Catholic Charities, Diocese of Palm Beach, Florida (CCDPB). The Bakhita program, named after Saint Josephine Bakhita, patron saint of human trafficking survivors, has two main…

Story - January 7, 2019 - People living and working near the city dump in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, lived on $10 a day and had no bank accounts. Their sources of credit were street lenders with loans at exorbitant interest rates. In 2015, the Solidarity Foundation set up savings groups in the community. The organization provided financial information and training and…

News - March 18, 2015 - Alexandria, Virginia (March 18, 2015) – Sister Norma Pimentel, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley in Brownsville, Tex., will speak at the United Nations on behalf of the Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) network and its response to the unaccompanied minors and families who have come across our nation’s border. Sr. Norma…

News - February 20, 2024 - Luz Tavarez, a legislative advocacy expert and an experienced leader within the Catholic Charities network, has joined Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) as vice president for government affairs. In this critical role, Tavarez will direct CCUSA’s ongoing efforts to urge national policymakers to recognize the needs of the most vulnerable and to adopt measures that support…

Story - November 28, 2021 - By David Werning, Managing Editor Imagine this scenario: you don’t know English, you lost your job, and you’re worrying about how – or if – you will recover. This situation did not have to be imagined by 225 refugees in the Cincinnati area during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, 31 of whom were…

News - September 22, 2021 - WASHINGTON—Over the last several weeks, there has been a substantial increase in the number of migrants present in the Del Rio Sector of the U.S.-Mexico border, roughly 145 miles west of San Antonio. The majority of these individuals are Haitian nationals, many of whom have been living in or traveling through Latin America for varying…