Immigration Event

An event is scheduled in the upstate of South Carolina that will benefit individuals interested in receiving information about immigration laws. Catholic Charities Immigration Legal Services employee Vanessa Garcia is assisting with planning and arrangements. This event, which is primarily for the Latino community, will be held this Saturday, May 11 from 9 am-2 pm at Santa Maria Magdalene (St. Mary Magdalene). Attendees may find this church at 2252 Woodruff Road Simpsonville, SC 29681. A group of attorneys that practice in different areas of immigration law will be there to answer legal questions from the Latino community. The Mexican Consulate will be present, as well attorneys practicing in the areas of property, immigration, family and criminal law. Space is limited for this event and reservations are required. Please call Rossy Bedoya at 864-801-0081 to attend.

Pee Dee and Piedmont Reflection

            The Pee Dee office was blessed to work with many like-minded agencies and individuals this year. To meet the employees and volunteers that work in the Pee Dee office, please read these posts. One of our clients from the Pee Dee area shared this with us:

“I would like to express sincere appreciation to you and your organization for making it possible for me to have new beautiful teeth. You have done so much for me, and I am sure many others in need. I have no words to express my gratitude. May God continue to bless you as you advocate and serve humanity, and go forth as a wonderful instrument for His goodness.”

The Piedmont office added new programs and gained new employees in 2012. You may learn more about this office and the employees who oversee it here. This office continued to partner with agencies and businesses in the Upstate of South Carolina to meet the variety of needs that their clients have.

“A woman came into our office one day to ask about the Save-A-Smile program. She shared that her body and face were burned in an accident a few years ago and, due to the severity of the burns, she lost her hair and teeth. When she started the process of getting dentures, we found out that she needed a facial dental specialist due to the severity of the damage in her mouth. She was very sad and concerned about finding a way to pay for the procedures. I told her to put God in front of all and let him take care of the situation.  A couple of months later she called and told me that she found a specialist! She was happy and hopeful again. I spoke with our regional coordinator and we decided to financially help her. The doctor was also very generous and helped her make payment arrangements and gave her a discount. After she had the surgery and got the dentures, she came back to the office. It was like a completely different person was in our office! Even her hair was different and the expressions of her face were bright again. She hugged me and started to cry. This was one of the most wonderful experiences I have had since becoming a Client Advocate for Catholic Charities.”

We hope you have enjoyed hearing these stories from our different offices. 2012 was a wonderful year for Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Charleston, Inc. and we are very excited to see what 2013 has in store! If you would like to learn more about supporting these programs, please visit our website.

2012 Reflection Series

     2012 was a very busy year at Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Charleston, Inc. We opened two new Immigration offices, provided assistance and case management to the thousands of people who passed through our doors, helped hundreds of individuals apply for temporary legal status, received awards and grants from a variety of generous partners, gained some wonderful new staff members, announced exciting new ministries, and more.

None of this would have been possible without the support of you- our donors, supporters, and volunteers. You enable us to provide care and services to improve the lives of South Carolinians in need. Our year also would have looked completely different if we had not had the support of some wonderful staff members. As we wrapped up 2012 and took time to reflect on the past year, we asked some of our employees to share the stories that impacted them the most. We will be sharing their stories with you throughout the coming weeks. You can learn more about the employees who contributed these stories by reading the employee introductions. First up will be reflections by the Coastal and Midlands offices. They will be sharing their stories on Friday.

As always, we would love to hear from you! What were some of your favorite events and memories from 2012? What did you achieve that you're proud of? Take a moment to brag on yourself!

Piedmont Employee Introductions

The Upstate of South Carolina is served by our Piedmont office. Deacon Gabriel Cuervo, Karl Rogozenski, and Mayra Trujillo work in this office. They primarily work with the elderly and low-income individuals in need of financial, dental, and medical assistance. Learn more about this office, how to donate, and how to get involved in their ministries here.

Deacon Gabriel is the Piedmont Regional Coordinator and recently celebrated 5 years with Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Charleston. His hobbies include reading and serving his ministries through the Catholic Church. One of his favorite things about this job is seeing the happiness on others when they receive help. He also appreciates the daily reminder that Jesus is always knocking at the door.

Deacon Gabriel at an employee appreciation event, being recognized his 5 years of service.

Mayra has worked in the Piedmont office for 4 years. She enjoys singing, reading and surfing the web when not at work. Mayra oversees the administrative day to day operations and also occasionally serves as a support staff member with some programs. She shared, “It’s very hard, but at the same time a very rewarding experience, to see everything coming together. It’s wonderful to be part of a team that works hard to accomplish a mission, to fulfill a vision, and go the extra mile to make the people that knock at our doors feel loved and cared for.”

The final member of the Piedmont staff is Karl. He works primarily with seniors in the Upstate and has been with Catholic Charities for 5 months. When he is not working, Karl enjoys spending time with his grandchildren, volunteering, traveling, golfing, and taking day trips to the mountains. For Karl, one of the best things about his job is that he gets to work with clients that he loves. He believes that the senior community is a forgotten commodity that needs care and support and is glad to be able to help these individuals. Karl enjoys getting to know the seniors and volunteers and hearing their stories.

Piedmont office staff members and others at a recent employee event

We’ll see you tomorrow as we introduce our employees in the Pee Dee office!

Employee Series Kick-off!

December is a wonderful time of the year, however we confess that sometimes we get caught up in the busyness of the season- parties to attend, gifts to buy, family and friends to visit, yummy foods to make, and more! It’s easy to get distracted and forget to reflect on what a great year it has been.

2012 has been a wonderful year here at Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Charleston, Inc. We have added members to our team, opened new offices, launched programs, and helped people all over the state. We’re very proud of our wonderful staff members, who so diligently work to help the people coming into their offices each day. We also can’t rave enough about our stellar volunteers that faithfully serve at their local offices. Finally, we’re grateful to every person who has donated to Catholic Charities this year, allowing us to continue in our mission of providing care and services to improve the lives of South Carolinians in need. We could not survive and flourish as we have if any of these important groups were removed from the picture.

Staff members at a recent event.

In recent months you have heard from our volunteers and clients. Our volunteers shared about themselves and why they have chosen to serve at Catholic Charities, while clients shared about the difference Catholic Charities has made in their lives. We would now like to introduce you to the people that are on the ground each day, working to change lives by loving, serving, and teaching. Over the next few weeks we are bringing you posts that introduce you to our wonderful staff members.

Staff members at a recent event.

Check back in Monday for the first post, spotlighting our Midlands office!

Counting Our Blessings

We asked our staff to share some of the things they're most thankful for this year. This is what they told us:

"I am thankful for my family and having the opportunity to see the world through my children's eyes. They see things in a fresh and simple way that reminds me to stay in the moment and enjoy every little blessing."-E, Immigration

"I'm most thankful for my family"- M, Midlands

"I have so much to be thankful for this year. God has blessed me with a wonderful family and awesome friends. He's also given me this job with Catholic Charities, where I can incorporate my faith into my work. This year has been full of new adventures and changes. I've gotten to travel and make countless memories with my family members and friends. It's been a blessed year!"- K, Central office

"This Thanksgiving I am extremely thankful that I will have 3 of my 8 grandchildren with me. I haven't seen one of them in 8 years. It is going to be wonderful. Thanks be to God!"-C, Pee Dee office

"I am very thankful for the opportunity to work for Catholic Charities and minister to my fellow brothers and sisters in need. An extra blessing is being able to work with Mary, the best co-worker anyone could ask for!"-C, Midlands office

"I am thankful for the people in my life. I have an amazing family and wonderful friends. I am also thankful and blessed to work for a faith based organization. I have great relationships with my coworkers and I feel like our belief in God and our ability to be open about it puts us on a whole different level than other businesses."- J, Central office

Thanks for sharing, everyone! We're very thankful for all of our employees and their hard work. Catholic Charities has been blessed with some wonderful people who are committed to our mission of serving the needy.

Most of our employees with Bishop Guglielmmone at a recent employee appreciation event

Calling All Artists!

Hi everyone,

For the Catholic Charities Christmas card this year we have decided to do a little something different. We are holding a contest for the card design and all of our wonderful volunteers are invited to participate!

The rules are as follows:

1. This contest is open only to Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Charleston employees, volunteers, or immediate family members of employees and volunteers.

2. Submissions can include any form of artwork- photos, drawings, painting, graphic design, etc. Artwork must be the original creation of the person who is entering it. All ages may participate.

3. Any photographs that are submitted may not contain identifiable individuals.

4. Submissions cannot include any pictures or text that contradicts Catholic religious or social teachings.

5. Only one submission per individual will be considered, however there is no limit regarding how many family members may participate.

All entries must be given to Kelly Warren (kwarren@catholic-doc.org) by October 26, 2012. All submissions will be reviewed by an anonymous third party to determine if all requirements have been complied with. Once the submissions have been received and reviewed, they will be uploaded to the Catholic Charities Facebook page. If you haven’t already “liked” us, we can be found here. Each submission will be voted on from October 31-November 9 and voting will be open to the public. We encourage you to share this contest with your family and friends to bring in votes for your favorite card design. The winning entry will be the one with the most “likes” at 5:00 on November 9.

When submitting your entry, please include this submission form. This form allows us to properly credit the artwork and gives us permission to use the winning submission on the Christmas card. If you have any questions, please contact Kelly.

Thanks and we can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with!

Volunteer Spotlight Series Introduction

We are beginning a new series to introduce you to some of our wonderful volunteers. These short series will give help you learn about our volunteers, what they do, why they volunteer, and Catholic Charities. Without our volunteers donating many hours of their time and energy, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Charleston would be far less successful. There simply aren't words to adequately express how much we appreciate and need our volunteers. If you would like to learn more about getting involved with your local Catholic Charities, please call the office in your deanery. This contact information can be found here.