DALLAS, May 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — In serving the most vulnerable among us, Catholic Charities agencies across the state put their faith into action to help more than half a million Texans affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the devastating winter storm during this past year. The faith-based agencies collectively provided help and hope by meeting essential needs for food, transportation, financial assistance, case management, and more.
Catholic Charities agencies in Austin (Central Texas), Beaumont, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Fort Worth, Galveston–Houston, Laredo, Lubbock, Odessa, Rio Grande Valley, San Antonio, Texas Panhandle, and Tyler reported their efforts. The most impressive COVID-19 and Winter Storm measurements of help ranging from March 15,2020– March 15, 2021 are:
- 707,657 Texans served
- $83,142,183 in financial aid distributed
- 17,553,221 pounds of food provided
- 16,782 cases of water donated
- 84,885 diapers, wipes, blankets, and hygiene kits distributed
- 44,881 total rides provided
- 2,684 gallons of hand sanitizer provided
- Countless more housed, clothed, and medically cared for
In response to the restrictions imposed by the pandemic, Texas Catholic Charities have successfully redesigned services to virtual case management models, engineered food distribution services to incorporate drive-throughs, reworked transportation programs into meal delivery services, partnered with cities and airports to provide mass aid, launched entirely new programs like crisis counseling and disaster case management, created and staffed up call centers, led grassroots efforts to help the most marginally affected members of our communities, served on long-term recovery boards, launched research projects to study how clients were responding, and fundraised successfully even before government funding was available.
With agencies in operation for over 100 years, integrity in service models, creativity in crisis, and reliability and loyalty to community needs, Catholic Charities continues to be a poverty-ending cornerstone here in Texas.
Please contact your local Catholic Charities office for interview requests using the contacts listed below. Impact stories, visuals, and spokespeople may be available upon request.
Catholic Charities of the Texas Panhandle
Jeff Gulde, jgulde@cctxp.org
806-376-4571
Catholic Charities of Central Texas
Kara Henderson, Kara-henderson@ccctx.org
512-651-6118
Catholic Charities of Southeast Texas
Derrick Owens, dowens@catholiccharitiesbmt.org
409-924-4421
Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley
Sister Norma Pimentel, npimentel@cdob.org
956-702-4088
Catholic Charities of Corpus Christi
Shannette Hoelscher, shoelscher@diocesecc.org
361-884-0651 ext 246
Catholic Charities Dallas
Jeremy Bermender, jbermender@ccdallas.org
469-801-8133
Catholic Charities Fort Worth
Katelin Cortney, kcortney@ccdofw.org
817-289-3878
Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese Galveston-Houston
Betsy Ballard, bballard@catholiccharities.org
713-874-6751
Catholic Charities Diocese of Laredo
Maria de los Angeles Palacios, mpalacios@ccdol.org
956-722-2443
Catholic Charities of Lubbock
Cynthia Quintanilla, cynthiaq@cclubbock.org
806-642-449
Catholic Charities Community Services of Odessa
Sara Aguilar, executivedirector@ccodessa.com
432-332-1387
Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of San Antonio
Antonio Fernandez, afernandez@ccaosa.org
210-222-1294
Catholic Charities Diocese of Tyler
Kathy S. Harry, kharry@cctyler.org
903-258-9492
View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/statewide-texas-catholic-charities-have-impressive-collective-reach-this-past-year-for-covid-19-and-winter-storm-response-301284457.html
SOURCE Texas Catholic Charities
