THE NEWSLETTER OF CATHOLIC CHARITIES IN THE DIOCESE OF DES MOINES, IOWA
FEBRUARY, 2014
n. (Latin) love; charity
WWW.CATHOLICCHARITIESDM.ORG
IN THIS ISSUE
Letter From Director............................................................................... Pg. 2
Adventure to Iowa....................................................................Pg. 3
“Like” Us this Lent...and Grow................................................Pg. 4
No Room at the Inn..................................................................Pg. 5
Parish Ambassador Collection, Healthy Marriage................Pg. 6
Easy Advocacy - Join in Postcard Campaign..........................Pg. 7
CARITAS is published three times a year by Catholic Charities in the Des Moines Diocese.
Editor: Breana Wiebers | 515-237-5078 | [email protected]
United Way Member Agency | Accredited by COA
LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR
I would like to thank all of you for your continued support of Catholic Charities.
I truly appreciate the passion and commitment of the Catholic Charities staff
and volunteers that assisted through the Christmas season. The Catholic
Charities donors once again demonstrated their generosity and strong support
of the agency’s mission. Parishes and schools have assisted with collecting
clothing, food and bedding. Your gifts and helping hands enable us to pursue
our mission each day by serving people in need.
I would like to share a thought from Fr. Larry Snyder, Director of Catholic
Charities USA, that no matter the difference in creed, race, economic status or
other artificial division it should inspire us to think and act anew as we seek a
country with opportunity for all to achieve their full potential. I am grateful for
all your support and hopeful that your enthusiasm will continue this year. Your
gifts truly do make a difference.
Many Blessings,
Nancy Galeazzi
Executive Director, Catholic Charities
ADVENTURE TO IOWA
Abshir, a refugee from Somalia resettled in Des Moines this fall.
His journey did not follow the traditional resettlement path for
refugees. Abshir first migrated to Norway, traveled to Germany,
Sweden, Uganda, Sudan and endured a 28 day trek through the
desert. Abshir says, “Traveling through the dessert was very
difficult and hot.” His journey taught him to never give up. He
eventually returned back
to Malta and worked in
construction and welding.
Through UNHCR (United
Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees) he applied
for refugee status and was
accepted to resettle in
America.
On September 27, 2013,
Abshir arrived in Des Moines, Iowa. In less than 2 weeks, he
was accepted into a Work Readiness Program through Iowa
Workforce Development. He was supported a few days later
with the support of Catholic Charities Employment Specialist,
Clayton Boeyink, and landed a job in construction. Clayton said,
“This is the fastest job placement I have made with a refugee.
Usually the process can take from 4-6 months.” On November
14, Abshir started his job at C & C Demolition. He is now working
downtown at the former Younkers building working around
60+ hours a week. He works very hard every day tearing-down
buildings, knocking down walls and other structures. When asked
what he likes about America, Abshir says, “I like all the busy work
there is to do.” He is a hardworking, outgoing and grateful man.
One of his goals is to see his family again. The last time he saw his
family was in February 2008. He is hoping his wife and daughter
can be resettled in Des Moines so they can
be a family again.
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“Like” Us this Lent...and grow
– Plant the seeds by sharing
your values and deepening
your outreach experiences
This Lent, Catholic Charities asks you to be a fan of our Facebook
page, Facebook.com/CatholicCharitiesDM. We’ll post spiritual
reflections, service ideas for all ages, and show examples of what
volunteers and supporters are actively doing to help the poor and
vulnerable in our community. Plant these seeds and watch your
faith grow!
We also encourage you to take part and share your experience
with the “Food Challenge”. The “Food Challenge” asks that for one
day (or one week) during Lent, you utilize the same food budget as
those receiving SNAP (food stamps) - $4.50 per day or $1.50 per
meal ($31.50/week).
For more information go to CatholicCharitiesDM.org or
find us on Facebook.com/CatholicCharitiesDM.
PARISH AMBASSADORS, PARISHES
PROVIDE HOUSEHOLD ITEMS
FOR REFUGEES
Our Parish Ambassadors in over 25 parishes continue diligently
helping Catholic Charities provide for the needs of our refugees
that resettle in Des Moines. They assist with the never-ending
effort to collect personal care items, pots and pans, bedding,
towels and cleaning supplies. They also help us collect
kitchen tables and chairs, dressers and other furniture items
for apartments. The Refugee Resettlement program sets up
approximately 80 apartments in a year for up to 200 refugees.
In coordination with United Way of
Central Iowa, EMC Insurance collected
“Super Hero” themed donations for our
Refugee Resettlement Program. They
were very creative in putting together a
Batman and Captain America symbol, a
super hero sandwich and much more!
PRIORITY NEED:
Kitchen tables are always
an apartment necessity.
If you have a kitchen
table and chairs (even
card tables work), call
515-393-5231.
Thank you to all the volunteers and parishes around the diocese
who have helped us with the donations received so far. Your help
and donations are truly a blessing and essential for this
important work.
Learn more about refugee resettlement at CatholicCharitiesDM.org
or email Sinishaw at [email protected].
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HEALTHY MARRIAGES: TIPS FROM OUR THERAPISTS
It may sound strange, but one of the best habits to keep a marriage in good
shape is to focus on yourself according to Center for Life therapists. When
tensions occur in marriage, too often the tendency is to focus on the spouse
and trying to get them to change. Most people lean towards one of following
behaviors when stress rises in relationships:
- Conflict – criticizing, blaming, picking fights
- Distance – no communication when emotions
are running high
- Overdoing tasks, or underdoing tasks
- Increasing focus on the children
Identifying one’s own tendency and learning to see the contribution one
makes to problems can be difficult, but worth the while in marriage, or
any relationship.
Read more tips from our clinicians at CenterforLifeCounseling.org.
SUPPORT IMMIGRATION REFORM
Catholic Charities’ Social Justice Consortium is encouraging participation
in an electronic postcard campaign supporting immigration reform. This is a
national effort coming from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishop
(USCCB). Show your support by completing an electronic postcard urging for
just and compassionate immigration reform or visit CatholicCharitiesDM.org
or Justforimmigrants.org
Immigration Reform
An electronic postcard campaign calls for just and compassionate
immigration reform that:
-Provides a path to citizenship for undocumented persons in the country
-Preserves family unity as a corner stone of our national immigration system
-Provides legal paths for low-skilled immigrant workers to come and
work in the United States
-Restores due process protections to immigration enforcement policies
-Addresses the root causes of migration
The campaign is organized by the Justice for Immigrants, a campaign by the
Catholic Church to educate people about the teachings on immigration and to
bring about positive immigration reform.
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“because we all need a little help along the way...”
www.CatholicCharitiesDM.org
601 Grand Ave
Des Moines, IA 50309