Docking Cruise Night Continued Just as the coronavirus has shut down many real cruises, it also docked our annual Cruise Night fantasy fundraising gala, the event which funds many of the services we offer during the second half of our fiscal year. Rather than trying to convert the popular in-person event to a virtual experience, we are asking individuals and businesses within the community to help us replace the funds Cruise Night would have raised. You can help the hungry, homeless, disabled, lonely and abused in your community by making a gift to Catholic Charities today. Gratefully, Wendy
Planting the Seeds for Success employment is often S ustainable something that the homeless clients at St. Anthony Family Shelter lack.
The year-old Seeds for Success program aims to cultivate employment success through educational growth opportunities, job training, financial literacy and funding for required paperwork and workrelated materials. With initial funding from a generous estate gift and a Community Services Block Grant, the Seeds program benefited 93 people in 31 different families by the end of September 2020, including 78 percent of clients who obtained employment in about three weeks. Several were hired by local employers who are partnering with Catholic Charities.
Caritas Society blossoms from Queen Bees by LeAnne Miller, Senior Director of Development fall, five women L ast entered a friendly, six-
week campaign with the common goal of reaching out to their friends, family and social networks to raise much needed funds to support our two shelters – Harbor House Domestic Violence Shelter and St. Anthony Family Shelter. Together, our Queen Bee honorees raised enough LeAnne Miller, Rita Lungwitz funds to shelter 17 families for one month, led by top fundraiser and Queen Bee Woman of the Year, Rita Lungwitz of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church. We are tremendously grateful for the hard work and dedication of our 2020 Queen Bee honorees: Maggie Berning (St. Joseph Ost), Lisa Dahlgren (St. Elizabeth Ann Seton), Kathryn Jost (St. Catherine of Siena), Kara Weed (St. Catherine of Siena) and Rita. Not only did these Queen Bees, and the Bees that came before them, raise vital funds for our two shelters, they proved that this type of fundraising model – giving volunteers the tools they need to inspire their networks to support the mission of Catholic Charities – truly works. That is why we are launching the Caritas Society in support of our Faithful Servant Fund this spring. Caritas Society honorees – both couples and individuals – are reaching out to their circle of influence during an inspiring and friendly fundraising competition. Their collective goal is to raise $100,000 so we may then challenge the community as a whole to raise that same amount as part of our Be the Light spring appeal. While the Queen Bee program specifically supports our two shelters, the Caritas Society will raise dollars for our Faithful Servant Fund, giving us the flexibility to address the most urgent needs within our ministries in the priority areas of hunger and homelessness, domestic violence and enrichment services. You might be wondering why we choose “Caritas Society” for the name. The Latin phrase In Omnibus Caritas or, Charity in all Things, was the motto of The Most Reverend Christian H. Winkelmann, Bishop of Wichita when Catholic Charities as founded in 1943. This shortened name is meant to honor both Bishop Winkelmann and the honorees of the society who so generously support the work of Catholic Charities. It is through the charitable acts of others that Catholic Charities is able to serve the needs of the most vulnerable in the community. Gratefully, LeAnne
Learn more by visiting CatholicCharitiesWichita.org
