Everything Is about Community
Five women sat on folding chairs in a circle at the Welcome Center, a building dedicated to our Refugee Assistance & Immigration Services (RAIS) program. They chatted and laughed loudly, clearly good friends. Those gathered were Meg, Diane, Shirley, Ingrid, and Peggy – each volunteer teachers for newly resettled refugees. Their classes focus on the…
Skinny Raven’s New Toys and Towels Drive
Skinny Raven, a local sports and lifestyle store, does a lot to support Anchorage nonprofits and help our community be healthy. This year, Skinny Raven has decided to host a New Toys and Towels Drive for Catholic Social Services, and they want you to help them provide the toys and towels. We are so grateful for their and your…
Brother Francis Shelter Changed a Father’s Life, Then a Son’s, and Now a City’s
Jessie sat, hands clasped, at a table in our conference room to talk about his job. He is a caseworker for Path to Independence, a program within Homeless Family Services. He’s been doing that since August. At first, he and his coworker, Wesley, did the legwork to prepare to rapidly rehouse 40 families. Things quickly…
Phillip Found Hope
So many people’s homelessness begins with the death of a loved one. Cancer. Car accident. Suicide. Tragedy can strike us all. The person closest to the deceased is left reeling, and we each cope with grief differently. Phillip’s wife passed in 2010. He looks you in the eyes when he says that. She had a…
Children Are Our Future and Our Hope
Did you know November 17 is National Adoption Day? Our Pregnancy Support & Adoption Services program helps children, mothers, fathers, and families – no matter where they are in the foster care or adoption process or whether they are the biological or adoptive families. We offer a loving hand to anyone navigating these difficult decisions….
Clean Feet and New Socks
Meet Judy, a volunteer at Brother Francis Shelter’s Foot Clinic, a program she helped start more than nine years ago. Judy had heard about nurses who would wash the feet of homeless men and women in Anchorage, and she wanted to join them. She smiles warmly when she remembers the first time she cleaned a…
The Woman Who Greets You
Rachel welcomes everyone who comes in the doors of Catholic Social Services’ main location. If you don’t know her name, you should. You’ll definitely know her face. She’s got a big smile and bright eyes. You can tell Rachel is kind-hearted and humble when you talk to her as she sits behind the front desk in…
We Are the Kindness
Annette gave her bike to an Alaskan completing her first Ironman-length triathlon, Tiffany. It seemed that a series of unfortunate events would keep both women from finishing their races. But Annette’s act of kindness helped Tiffany finish. So far their story has touched more than 25,000 people in 13 countries. Read the Anchorage Daily News’…
Remembering the Tree of Life Synagogue
In the last few days, I have been mourning the loss of life at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. Honestly, I cannot stop thinking about the loss of those individuals, practicing their faith, living their beliefs peacefully and then being killed for that belief. As people of faith, to see any sacred practice…
Thank You, Wells Fargo!
Today, we received $100,000 from Wells Fargo. We are grateful to have been selected as one of the 50 nonprofits Wells Fargo chose as recipients of their Housing Foundation’s Priority Markets Program. Because of Wells Fargo’s generous support along with the generous support of Weidner Apartment Homes, The Rasmuson Foundation, and Cook Inlet Housing Authority,…