Seeking Queen Bees for 2023

atholic Charities is seeking women who would be interested in introducing their family, friends and coworkers to the work of Harbor House Domestic Violence Shelter and St. Anthony Family Shelter in an effort to raise awareness and critical financial support.

For six weeks each fall, Queen Bees have a friendly competition to raise the funds to shelter survivors of domestic violence and homeless families. Our development team provides access to

Servants of Hope growing to meet needs

hirteen donors have agreed to bless Catholic Charities with new recurring gifts, growing the number of participants in the organization’s Servants of Hope recurring gift program

Recurring gifts to Catholic Charities – whether given on a monthly or quarterly basis – create a steady stream of revenue which helps staff more accurately budget for our forecasted needs, assuring we always have access to the resources needed to help our clients.

The 13 newest Servants of Hope are collectively adding $1,785 each month to Catholic Charities’ income. Our goal for 2023 is to add 37 more donors to the program to exceed an additional $5,000 in gifts each month.

The Impact of Recurring Gifts

MONTHLY ANNUALLY IMPACT

Feeds 3 families coming to Our Daily Bread Food Pantry for 2-3 days

Supplies 1 month of formula and diapers for 3 babies staying in shelter

Prepares 4 children for school with properly fitting clothes and basic school supplies

Offers 1 month of shelter, food and supplies for 1 family

Allows 1 low-income participant 6 months of attendance at ADS at the lowest daily fee an online giving platform, a host of tools and guidance to help each Queen Bee have a successful campaign.

Learn More

If you are interested in learning more about this opportunity, please connect with Kenna Bell, development manager, at kbell@CatholicCharitiesWichita.org or by calling her at 316-264-8344, ext. 1262.

RECURRING GIVING PROGRAM

Become a Servant of Hope

If you would like to become a Servant of Hope by pledging a recurring gift on a monthly or quarterly basis, there are three ways you can begin:

Online Credit Card

Set up an automatic credit card payment at give.CatholicCharitiesWichita.org/ servants-of-hope

Scan QR code with phone camera

Automatic ACH

Call Kenna at 316-264-8344, ext. 1262, to set up automatic ACH withdrawal

Bill Pay

Create an automatic bill pay through your bank or credit union

St. Anthony Family Shelter, then known simply as Anthony Family Shelter, opened its doors in 1988 in response to a growing number of homeless families in the community.

Adult Day Services expanded to welcome clients with mental and developmental disabilities.

Harbor House Domestic Violence Shelter opened to offer a safe, confidential shelter and support services to a growing number of women and children affected by domestic violence.

Working with homeless has ups, downs

hrough her many years of assisting the homeless gain housing, Marilyn Karst, Rapid Re-Housing case manager for Catholic Charities, has witnessed clients experience many ups and downs. She has walked alongside many, serving as their advocate, personal cheerleader and, sometimes, sole support.

None more than Greg, a chronically homeless man whom Marilyn began working with in 2022. Not counting the occasional cold night when he would pay for a hotel room or slept in one of the cold-weather shelters, Greg has lived 40 of his 58 years on the streets. He often lived in a tent by the Arkansas River.

Greg had a daily routine. He would eat breakfast at Breakthrough, lunch at Open Door and dinner at The Lord’s Diner. He was so worried about someone stealing his personal possessions, that he carried just one backpack with him. All his other items were divided into other backpacks, and either buried or hidden all over downtown Wichita.

Marilyn helped him secure a studio apartment at HumanKind. At the lease signing, Greg smiled as tears streamed down his face, repeatedly saying, portion of the rent. She visits weekly to make sure his apartment is clean, and checks in with his landlord to make sure there are no concerns. She worked to get him a Section 8 housing voucher so when his rental assistance through Catholic Charities ends, he will continue to have financial assistance to remain housed.

Did you know?

Things were going well, until Greg went missing earlier this year. He was not answering his phone and his landlord had not seen him. Marilyn called the hospitals, looked at jail records and reached out to other homeless service providers. Eventually, he showed up at Open Door for lunch and a case manager there called Marilyn.

After the lease signing, Marilyn drove him around town to gather all of his backpacks. She provided him a packet of hygiene items, and took him to Our Daily Bread Food Pantry at Catholic Charities to get food. They returned from His Helping Hands with a bed and some furniture.

It turned out that finding Greg a place to live was only a small portion of the battle. After 40 years of surviving on the streets, Greg did not know many of the things most 58-year-olds take for granted; activities like operating a thermostat, cooking on a stovetop or in an oven, doing laundry, or getting a money order to pay bills. He has mental health and memory issues. So, Marilyn posted instruction sheets throughout his apartment.

Marilyn has frequent contact with Greg. Each month she takes him to Our Daily Bread and other food pantries, to get his haircut or to get a money order to pay his

Greg shared that he had invited a homeless friend he had known for years to stay at his apartment during a rainstorm. That person brought more people and before Greg knew what was happening, they had taken over his apartment, stolen his phone and money, and locked him out. They trashed his apartment.

Not knowing what to do, he went back to the only life he had known. When he reconnected with Marilyn after going to lunch at Open Door, she coordinated with the landlord to get him back into his apartment and change the locks. He was facing eviction due to the state of his apartment, so staff from Catholic Charities, HumanKind and United Way worked with him to clean it up.

Today, more than nine months after first becoming a Rapid Re-Housing client with Catholic Charities, Greg still checks in with Marilyn often. However, being in one place long term is a new experience and it is not always comfortable for him. Greg periodically returns to what feels more normal and goes back to the streets for several days at a time. Marilyn understands that this cycle will likely continue, yet still worries about him until they reconnect.