Summer 2023 is Blooming!

Summer 2023 - GOOD News! from Catholic Charities

By Fritz Jones, Executive Director

SUMMER IS HERE! We at Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Wilmington are deep into many projects...

Good news! The partnerships we have been developing in the community are bearing fruit:

• The first gift cards from our new partnership with Goodwill of Delaware & Delaware County have arrived, and we are launching a pilot Home Goods drive on their behalf with Saint Ann's Parish. For more information on this donation partnership, click here.

• Our work at 11th Street Bridge Disaster Recovery is taking shape. We look forward to serving Wilmington residents who were impacted by Hurricane Ida flooding in this relief effort.

• In addition, other ministries are deepening their relationships within Catholic Charities. For example, Bayard House recently borrowed the Marydale Retirement Village van to provide an excursion to the beach for residents. Behavioral Health Services has provided support to a Marydale resident with specific needs.

We are renewing our relationships with one another and the community, generating new ways to serve.

A significant initiative is our Strategic Planning. We are developing a comprehensive plan for Catholic Charities to provide a road map for our future. This strategic plan will combine insights from the Leadership Round Table work we have completed and the Synod on Synodality and diocesan pastoral planning, which is also underway.

Catholic Charities has engaged the Delaware Alliance for Nonprofit Advancement (DANA) to provide consulting support to the planning process. Over the next 6 to 8 months, we will be led through a five-phase planning process that includes Defining, Discovering, Dreaming, Designing, and Delivering.

The Catholic Charities' strategic planning process is designed to include all voices: Clients, staff, diocesan and community leaders, people from the parishes, and all areas of Delaware and the Eastern shore of Maryland.

We will complete the work by the end of the year and look forward to sharing more information with you at that time.

Yours in Christ,

Catholic Charities Seton Center

Women's Fund Generous Donation Helps Program

Thanks to the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore, Women's Fund, Catholic Charities Seton Center will be helping with a new feminine hygiene product program.

Christine Chestnut, Seton Center’s Supportive Case Manager, has been looking to providing free feminine hygiene products to women and girls in need for quite some time. The Women's Fund has allowed this program to happen by donating $3,500 to our cause.

Do you have small to medium sized cosmetic bags in your home that you don't have a use for? If so, we are looking for donations of these cute, useful bags for recipients of this program.

Special thanks to everyone who supports the Women's Fund. You make it possible for Seton Center to continue to uplift our community with your generous donations!

Seton Center Eastern Shore | 30632 Hampden Avenue | Princess Anne, MD 21853

Hours: Monday - Friday • 9am - 4pm

For more information, call 410-651-9608.

To help our next client, click here. Designate your donation by choosing "Seton Center".

CLIENT SPOTLIGHT

Catholic Charities Energy Assistance Program

Joanna* and her husband worked their entire adult lives and never needed governmental assistance. However, when her husband became ill, and then passed away, she was responsible for paying very expensive medical bills. As a result of this hardship, she fell behind on paying their home heating bills.

The energy vendor sent them a disconnect notice. Joanna then reached out to Catholic Charities. We were able to provide assistance to alleviate the entire balance due on her home heating bill. Joanna was so grateful, she later wrote us a very kind thank you note expressing her thanks for the help she received from our friendly, caring staff at Catholic Charities Energy Assistance program. Because of this assistance, Joanna was able to remain in her home.

To help our next client, click here. Designate your donation by choosing "Basic Needs Services."

*Client name changed to protect privacy.

Behavioral Health Services

Routine Outpatient Counseling

Our Behavioral Health Program consists of multiple services for persons needing help with emotional behavioral, or mental health concerns. Catholic Charities provides counseling services to anyone for whom outpatient treatment is the right choice. If outpatient counseling does not meet your needs when you call our office, our intake worker can make a referral to appropriate services.

We accept most third party insurance, including Medicaid and Medicare. If you do not have insurance, you can self-pay or request a reduced rate. This sliding scale makes fees more manageable to those who otherwise couldn’t afford to complete the program.

Clients of Catholic Charities are protected by the confidentiality requirements of Federal law, specifically HIPAA (the Healthcare Information Portability and Accountability Act). This means that your counselor or any Catholic Charities staff cannot let anyone know that you are a counseling client or divulge any information about you without your written consent.

Outpatient Counseling can benefit:

Persons who are depressed, have anxiety, or other mental health conditions. Clients have the option of seeing a psychiatrist as well as a counselor, if medication may be helpful.

Individuals in recovery from substance abuse. Counseling supports a client’s abstinence, helps him/her avoid relapse, and makes it easier for a client to deal with underlying issues that were “medicated” by addiction.

Couples going through stress in their relationship who need to improve communication skills.

Families whose children are experiencing behavioral challenges.

Individuals who have a sudden change in their life, such as job loss, death of a loved one, or a physical injury.

For more information, click here.

To make an appointment, call the Catholic Charities office nearest you.

New Castle County, 302-655-9624; Kent County, 302-674-1600; Sussex County, 302-856-9578.

To support Behavioral Health Services, please click here. Designate your donation by choosing "Behavioral Health Services."

Behavioral Health Services

July is National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month

Despite advances in health equity, disparities in mental health care persist. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) reports that racial and ethnic minority groups in the U.S. are less likely to have access to mental health services, less likely to use community mental health services, more likely to use emergency departments, and more likely to receive lower quality care. Poor mental health care access and quality contribute to poor mental health outcomes among racial and ethnic minority populations.

Catholic Charities Behavioral Health Services provides outpatient counseling and psychiatric services

to individuals with emotional, behavioral and mental health concerns such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, substance abuse recovery and loss of a loved one. Treatment is offered by our caring licensed professionals to individuals, couples, families, and groups. The program accepts many third party insurance payments, as well as Medicare and Medicaid. If a client meets eligibility, a sliding fee scale

is also available to make counseling affordable.

Learn How Behavioral Health Services can help.

New Castle County, 302-655-9624; Kent County, 302-674-1600; Sussex County, 302-856-9578; and on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, 410-651-9608.

To learn more about the Behavioral Services Program, click here .

To support Behavioral Health Services, please click here. Designate your donation by choosing "Behavioral Health Services."

Ways to Donate

We Accept Vehicle Donations

Catholic Charities accepts donations of cars and other motor vehicles to support its programs benefiting the most vulnerable in our communities. In addition to automobiles, we accept donated trucks, boats, RVs and motorcycles. Donors can make the gift at no cost to them. Catholic Charities will accept all vehicle donations regardless of condition or registration status, arrange for vehicle pickup, if necessary, and provide the donor with an IRS tax receipt for their records.

Click here to donate a vehicle or call 1-844-940-GIVE (1-844-940-4483).

“I donated my vehicle to Catholic Charities.

It was easy and tax rewarding!”

Contributed by Chuck*, a Delaware resident.

My 2003 Volkswagen Passat’s engine light was on and did not pass Delaware’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) inspection. To fix the engine light meant to pay more in repairs than the car was worth. I had heard of Catholic Charities taking cars as donations, but didn't know if they would accept mine or how the process worked. I found out that It didn't matter if the car was in operating condition or not and the process to donate is very easy!

The first step was to complete the donation form online. The next day, a representative called, asking if the car was accessible for pick-up from a no-cost tow truck. We coordinated a day for pick up and the tow truck driver showed up on time with a 30-45 minute lead call.

The whole process was uncomplicated and professional:

Step 1: Vehicle Donation Confirmation

Step 2: Vehicle Pick-up

Step 3: Vehicle Release of Liability (signing the title over)

Step 4: Final Donation Receipt

I turned in the tags and registration to DMV the next day. I received a tax deductible receipt in the mail. The entire process was simple and went smoothly. It felt good to help Catholic Charities’ mission.

*Name has been changed for privacy protection.

Helpful News about Donating to Catholic Charities

We are excited to announce a NEW online process for your digital donations!

Going forward, your Donations will go through GiveCentral.org –

a very secure service that is easy to use, and benefits Catholic Charities

by charging lower fees, and allowing more of your donation dollars

to be put to good use! Thank you!

Join Our Team!

Catholic Charities Employment Opportunities

The Diocese of Wilmington and Catholic Charities currently have the following employment opportunities:

• Executive Director, DE

• Fund Development and Public Relations Manager, DE

To learn about these and other opportunities, click here.

Thank You to All Our Supporters & Partners!

We Would Like to Recognize the following Catholic Charities Partners

Delaware State Housing Authority, Somerset County Commissioners, United Way of Delaware, United Way of Lower Eastern Shore, Delaware Community Foundation, Community Foundation of Eastern Shore, Raskob Foundation, Laffey-McHugh Foundation, Catholic Charities USA.

Catholic Charities serves the most vulnerable in Delaware and the

Eastern Shore of Maryland, regardless of religion, race, or ability to pay.

For more information about Catholic Charities, click here.

To make a donation to Catholic Charities, click here.

To learn about employment opportunities, click here.

To follow us on Facebook, click here.

Catholic Charities Mission

Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Wilmington exists to help fulfill the Christian duty to love and serve God's people. Our mission is rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The universal and local Church proclaims the Gospel and teaches the recognition of the dignity and sacredness of each human life and the belief that we are called to share our resources with the most vulnerable among us.

It is the mission of Catholic Charities to address human suffering and to promote and restore the well-being of people and society by:

Providing, as a primary focus, caring service to families and persons in need;
Coming together with members of the community to become informed about and to take action on critical social issues; and,
Advocating publicly for social policies which enhance human dignity and safeguard basic human rights.

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No person is excluded from service because of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, or national origin.

501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization