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Catholic Charities of Tennessee, Inc.30 White Bridge RoadNashville, TN 37205

Fall 2013 Service to People in Need www.cctenn.org

Dillon Barker’s road to Catholic Charitiesthis summer may have actually startedlast year at an inner city feeding pro-

gram in Columbus, OH.While completing studies for the Bachelor

of Philosophy degree he earned in May from ThePontifical College of Josephinum in that city, Dil-lon volunteered at St. Lawrence Haven, a St. Vin-cent de Paul ministry. “It was a movingexperience,” he said recently.

Meanwhile, the Catholic Campaign forHuman Development was presenting an oppor-tunity to the diocese for an advocacy-focused in-ternship to be filled through Catholic Charities.

“I reviewed Dillon’s academic training, hisprofessional experience prior to the seminary,and the positive outcome of his practical expe-rience with St. Lawrence Haven,” recalledBishop David Choby.

“It quickly became apparent that he would

be a good fit for the CCHD-sponsored internshipworking with Catholic Charities.”

Armed with a Bachelor of Arts degree inPolitical Science and History from VanderbiltUniversity, a law degree from Samford University,and experience as chief of staff for TennesseeState Senator Brian Kelsey, Dillon, raised in aProtestant household, entered the seminary in2011.

Seminarian training typically includes sum-mer assignments providing exposure to parishwork and to other Catholic-related experiences.Dillon was with Catholic Charities and SaintMary of the Seven Sorrows Church (Nashville)from mid-May to mid-August.

His primary charge was education-related.“Specifically, I prepared a catechetical programfor parishes explaining the Social Doctrine ofthe Church. My primary source was the Com-pendium of the Social Doctrine of theChurch, a book prepared by the Pontifical

Seminarian Summer HarvestsAgency Advocate

JTC GetsNotre Dame Boost

See page 2

School CounselingSchool Counseling Makes a Difference,Just ask Parents

What’s the best measure of the impact ofin-school counseling?

“We go straight to the parents and askwhat changes they are seeing,” explained EileenBeehan, Social Services director for CatholicCharities of Tennessee.

Parents seechanges in: attitude,behavior, self-esteem,school work, commu-nication, cooperation,or interaction withpeers. Parents, on av-erage, will see im-provements in any fourof these measures.

The School Counseling team is especiallyaware of trends, such as the recent rise of cyber-bullying and its impact on students, and worksto address them.

“We look beyond the label and identifyhow a trend like cyber-bullying is really happen-ing in our schools,” said Mary Hemminger, pro-gram coordinator of the School CounselingProgram.

“We then address it, either individually orthrough a classroom workshop, after determin-ing which will be the most effective approach.”

In either case, students need to learn:• Don’t be mean or gossip about others• Speak up if you have a friend who is bul-

lying someone• Talk with parents and their teachers. As in all issues, parents have a role to play

in addressing cyber-bullying. For instance, Bee-han said, parents should ask their child if some-one has been mean to them online and how heor she responded.

They should also talk to their childrenabout their own posts to others and why theymade the decision for a posting. Finally, parentscan ask them with which teacher they might feelcomfortable talking about an instance of cyber-bullying.

Hemminger leads the Catholic CharitiesSchool Counseling team in using skills, com-passion and experience to enhance the livesof students and their families. For more infor-mation about counseling or workshops, call615-352-3087. y

(Seminarian Summer continued on page 4)

Born on the 4th of JulyIn June, Doi

Ling steppedoff a plane in

Nashville to begin anew life here, ex-cited to share aJuly 4th birthdaywith her newhomeland!

Early lifememories includearmed conflict in northern Burma where shelived with her family. “I was always afraid,” shesaid. “We were always running from place toplace.”

Despite life’s challenges, she completedhigh school in Burma and enrolled in a Hong

Kong 2-year college, exploring politics, BasicEnglish, and computer skills.

Doi then moved to Thailand and worked forthe Kachin Women’s Association Thailand.

Through work, she attended several train-ing courses for refugees conducted by organiza-tions-in-exile and international humanitariangroups, connecting with organizations such asHuman Rights Education Institute of Burma andthe People in Need Foundation in Prague.

In time, she led women’s rights and gender-based violence training and directed Burma-re-lated advocacy activities at regional andinternational levels, including the United Na-tions.

“I knew that I needed more education tomost effectively help others,” Doi said. She was

accepted at Hong Kong Baptist College. Re-sources were extremely tight, even with a schol-arship, but she persevered and earned herBachelor of Social Sciences degree in Interna-tional Relations in May.

Women’s rights activism had put her safetyat risk, though, so she appealed to the U.N. HighCommissioner for Refugees for refugee statusand resettlement in the U.S.

Now settling in, Doi hopes to locate workquickly and begin a Masters program in Inter-national Development. Her dedication to educa-tion, combined with her strong desire to helpvulnerable populations, has already made her aformidable force.

To mentor refugees like Doi Ling, contactAaron Toran at 615-248-5989. y

Mary Hemminger

Acts of Love, Goodwill and Kindness

Celebration of Mission to

ServiceOctober 23, 2013

See page 2

To celebrate Patri-cia Kyger’s years ofcommunity serv-

ice, she is the 2013 Spiritof Service Award recipi-ent.

She will be honoredat the October 23rd Cel-ebration of Missionto Service at HillwoodCountry Club from 6-7:30 p.m. The event benefitsCatholic Charities and Saint Mary Villa Child De-

velopment Center.“The Spirit of Service Award is presented to

someone who has worked to enhance the well-being of Catholic Charities and Saint Mary Villaclients,” said event co-chair Diane Mulloy.

“The honoree reflects the agencies’ values oflove, goodwill, kindness, learning and laughterand Patricia definitely meets those criteria,” addedAnn Waddey, co-chair of the event.

A Nashville native and St. Henry parishioner,Patricia Kyger and her husband, Kent, are wellknown for their community work. She has board

service with both event beneficiaries and hasserved on boards for several area Catholicschools, House of Mercy, St. Thomas HospitalFoundation, and the Catholic Foundation of Ten-nessee.

Mrs. Kyger was chair of the former Celebra-tion of Charity and Service gala for many years anda 2007 Catholic Charities Volunteer of the Year.

For tickets to Celebration of Missionto Service go to Catholic Charities’ website(www.cctenn.org) or contact Laura Jumonville at615-760-1014 or ljumonville@cctenn.org. y

Page 2 Service to People in Need www.cctenn.org

Job Training Center Gets Notre Dame BoostExecutive Director Bill Sinclair, Family Assistance and Community

Employment Director Megan Stack, and Marketing DirectorMark Barry found themselves in a “back to school” mode in Au-

gust, as they traveled to the University of Notre Dame for a 5-day “So-cial Enterprise Boot Camp”.

The Boot Camp was a first-of-its-kind collaboration by CatholicCharities USA and the Gigot Center for Entrepreneurship at NotreDame’s Mendoza College of Business.

“It was a total immersion in the processes of starting a business,”explained Mark Barry. “We began early in the morning and workeduntil after sunset.”

“We were honored to be one of the six Catholic Charities agenciesselected to participate. It was an amazing experience!” said Bill Sin-clair.

“Each agency had a social enterprise idea they wanted to pursue.Our idea, the Job Training Center (JTC), was the only one in opera-tion,” shared Megan Stack who oversees the JTC. Barry assists the ef-fort.

“We quickly realized, by necessity at the time, we had launchedthe JTC in 2011 with a plan, but not the comprehensive plan we shouldhave had. Our facilitator, a Gigot Center instructor, referred to this as‘Ready, Fire, Aim’. Unknowingly, we skipped the ‘aim’ part.”

Despite this start, the JTC ended its second year of operation in

June with a $7,000 operating profit.“After Notre Dame, we went back and

looked at all of the aspects of starting abusiness. We want to address all of the el-ements we may have missed the firsttime.”

The team came home convinced ofthe JTC’s long term potential for fiscal sus-tainability, making it a successful platformfor providing opportunities for clients inpoverty to begin working themselves out.

“True, we had benefit of two years ofexperience. When we presented our program to a mock panel of po-tential program supporters, many of whom sit on donor panels, wereceived extremely positive feedback,” Stack noted. “It was particu-larly exciting to hear their encouraging thoughts on the JTC’s replica-bility.”

“We are grateful to CCUSA, the Gigot Center and the program men-tors for the business lessons, concepts, and theories we were exposedto during the workshop,” concluded Sinclair.

For more on the Job Training Center or how it can become a viablebusiness partner for you, contact Megan Stack (760-1016;mstack@cctenn.org) or Mark Barry (760-1028; mbarry@cctenn.org). y

ASAP ExpandsCoverage AreaWest

Wish List

The Adoption Support and Preservation(ASAP) program of Catholic Charities ofTennessee expanded its service area to in-

clude 21 West Tennessee counties on July 1st, in-creasing its service coverage area to 60 ofTennessee’s 95 counties.

Catholic Charities has provided ASAP serv-ices in 39 Middle Tennessee counties since 2004.

“This is a tremendous honor and, at thesame time, a tremendous responsibility we havebeen presented,” said Jan Clifton, ASAP Mid-Re-

gion coordinator. “We are very excited about theopportunity to assist more Tennessee families.”

The current staff of 6 family therapists in-creased by 3 new hires, in order to provide fullcoverage to the expanded service area. The newhires have been in place since mid-August.

“ASAP provides in-home therapy to familiesadopting children from the state foster care sys-tem, adoptive family support groups, communitytrainings and advocacy,” explained Clifton.

Services are provided at no cost to familiesbased on grant funding from the Tennessee De-partment of Children’s Services (DCS). ASAP alsoprovides therapeutic support to non-DCS adoptivefamilies on a sliding scale fee.

“The ASAP team has done tremendouswork over the past 9 years, helping adoptive fam-ilies work through issues they are prone to en-counter,” said Donna Thomas, PregnancyCounseling and Adoptions department director.

“The disruption/dissolution rate for thefamilies we serve is less than 1%, compared to arate of 15% for families not receiving these serv-ices.”

For more information about the ASAP pro-gram, contact Jan Clifton at 615-352-3087 x-263or jclifton@cctenn.org. y

Patricia Kyger

PREGNANCY COUNSELING & ADOPTIONSERVICES615-760-1025; sgubala@cctenn.org• Diapers, diapers, diapers; baby wipes

ADULT DAY PROGRAM615-352-3087;ledwards@cctenn.org• Durable living room chairs w/arms, dona-

tions for purchase of new games/programsupplies, waterproof pads for chair seats, Au-tomated External Defibrillator (AED), daytimevolunteers

CHILD WELFARE615-352-9520; mgilland@cctenn.org• Art supplies for play/art therapy: bubbles(small), Play-Doh (small), individual paintsets, Lego pieces, journals, small miniaturetoys

CHRISTMAS WISHES PROGRAM615-760-1031; christmaswishes@cctenn.org• Wrapping paper, tape, ribbon, giftboxes/bags

HISPANIC FAMILY SERVICES615-445-8310; ariggs@cctenn.org• Baby items: especially diapers/clothes • School supplies: English-Spanish dictionar-ies; color paper, sticky notes, scissors, tape,pencils, pens, Sharpies(black, red), binders,folders, hanging folders

LOAVES AND FISHES615-256-7256; loavesandfishes@cctenn.org• Men's white socks, winter hats & gloves

NORTH NASHVILLE OUTREACH615-481-5733• Body soap, deodorant, tissues, laundrysoap, dish soap

REFUGEE SERVICES615-760-2766; rnorris@cctenn.orgAll items must be clean and ready to put intoapartments.•Couches and/or loveseats, dining tables w/or w/o chairs, coffee tables, end tables,chest of drawers, small dressers, kitchenitems, pots & pans, sheets/bedspreads/blan-kets; towels (bath and kitchen); cleaningproducts, toiletries, school supplies, youthmentors

Patricia Kyger Named Celebration ofMission to Service Honoree

We are very excited aboutthe opportunity to assist

more Tennessee families…“ ”Rachel & Eric Appelt; Greg Mays

Day of Service Brings out the BestSome 65 volunteers of all ages from

throughout the area mobilized on Saturday,August 24, to make a difference in the lives

of others as part of Catholic Charities’ Day ofService.

Many of the projects involved yard work insome form, although several also involved indoorwork such as cleaning and organizing.

Most beneficiaries were clients of theagency’s Living at Home program for senior citi-

zens offered through the Social Services depart-ment.

“The response was terrific, both from ourservice providers and from the perspective of ourservice recipients,” said Mark Barry, the agency’sDirector of Marketing and Day of Service coor-dinator. “We were able to provide service to 11different sites around the Nashville area,” headded. “The recipients were ecstatic about theprojects our teams completed.” y

“Very little of what makes Middle Tennessee special happens without people like you willinglysharing time and expertise to make a difference,” Bill Sinclair, Catholic Charities’ executivedirector, recently told the agency’s 2013 Volunteer of the Year honorees.

“You represent so many ways in which supporters help our agency, clients, and community. Withoutyou, we simply could not do what we do for those in need.”

Chris Donnelly, Administration Volunteer of the Year, and her husband, Bubba, are longstandingsupporters of Diocesan causes, including Catholic Charities. Now in her 6th year on the Board, Chris hasworked closely with the Program Oversight and Development. She was instrumental in making Celebra-tion of Mission to Service and May’s inaugural Pathways to Possibilities outstanding fundraising suc-cesses.

Roberta Steinmetz, Caring Choices Volunteer of the Year, has, for many years, made homemadebaby blankets, donating them to the Pregnancy Counselingand Adoption Services program. These blankets, a labor oflove for Roberta and her friends who help, are a cherishedcomponent of material assistance provided to mothers bring-ing newborns home.

Roberta Burke, Development Volunteer of the Year,is a dependable, dedicated volunteer willing to tackle the te-dious, detailed tasks with an uncanny thoroughness. Robertaloves Catholic Charities and has made her volunteer work herean active part of her life.

Connie Ransom, Family Assistance and CommunityEmployment Volunteer of the Year, has long ties to Loavesand Fishes Community Meals for the Hungry through HolyName Church. When we started the twice-a-month Second Har-vest perishable food distributions in fall 2011, Connie volun-teered…at both sites! She also delivers fresh food and elderlyfood boxes to area residents unable to get them on their own.

Yvette Sebelist, Refugee & Immigration Services Volunteer of the Year, has long dedicatedher time and legal expertise to aid clients, unable to afford outside counsel, on immigration mat-ters. Each month, she conducts free Immigration Legal Clinics at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church,helping 10 or more clients at a time. Yvette is always available to Immigration Services staff todiscuss immigration issues.

State Senator Douglas Henry, Social Services Volunteer of the Year, is the most seniormember of the Tennessee Senate. Since 1971, he led, taught, and partnered with Catholic Charitiesand other agencies to improve the resources available for families, thus enhancing the availabilityof skills creating and supporting child resilience and wellness. Families receiving services in CHAP,adoption, and other programs have benefited from his wisdom, leadership and compassion.

Shandy Husmann, Tennessee Office for Refugees Volunteer of the Year, has made atremendous impact in his first year on the TOR committeeby sharing his nonprofit consulting experience to helpcreate processes for evaluating/selecting grant proposals,for tracking monthly expenditures in our largest grant,and for determining funded partner monitoring fre-quency. He also guided us through the allocation of re-sources for two new resettlement programs in Tennessee.

Brennan Frazier, I CARE Youth Award Honoree, aHarpeth Hall senior, is in her third year of supportingCathedral of the Incarnation’s Religious Education pro-gram, her second as a catechist. She volunteers weekly atFaith Family Health Clinic and is a founding member ofthe Mother-Daughter Service Circle, a Christian-basedafter school volunteer program. Brennan spent threeweeks working in a Ugandan orphanage and volunteersat St. Thomas Hospital West. She hopes to be a nursesomeday. y

www.cctenn.org Service to People in Need Page 3

Thank YouTennessee Office for Refugees HostsWilson-Fish Gathering

Service to Community, Agency Honored

Creating Home was the theme forJune’s Southeast Region Wilson-Fish Gath-ering in Nashville. The event was created

and hosted by Catholic Charities’ Tennessee Officefor Refugees.

“This was a first-of-its-kind occasion for regionalWilson-Fish program staff and other refugee serviceproviders and interested parties to meet,” explainedHolly Johnson, State Refugee Coordinator. “It waswonderful to come together and share our diverseknowledge and experience in working with refugees.”

The Gathering connected refugee-serving agen-cies and organizations from Tennessee, Kentucky, Al-abama, and Louisiana with national and local expertsin fields impacting refugee resettlement.

Program presenters included: Kelly Gauger,Deputy Director, Office of Admissions, Bureau of Pop-ulation, Refugees and Migration, U.S. Dept. of State;Carl Rubenstein, Coordinator, Wilson-Fish Alterna-

tive Program, Office of Refugee Resettlement, U.S.Dept. of Health and Human Services; Dr. Akec Khoc,Ambassador to the United States, Republic of SouthSudan; and Candy Hill, Executive Vice President, So-cial Policy and External Affairs, Catholic Charities USA.

Nashville Mayor Karl Dean reaffirmed his and thecity’s commitment to continue being a welcomingcommunity for refugees resettled here. Catholic Char-ities of Tennessee Board President Paul Ney also spoketo the assembly.

Much of the Gathering was spent in a series ofnine workshops addressing topics important torefugee service providers. These included case man-agement best practices, supporting skilled refugees inseeking employment, data collection, domestic vio-

lence, ESL, and interpreting the Affordable Care Act.Front-line staff, who work directly with refugee clients,attended workshops specific to their job role.

The Wilson-Fish Program, administered by theOffice of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), is an alternativeto traditional state-administered refugee resettlementprograms, providing short-term cash and medical as-sistance and social services to eligible clients.

Tennessee is one of 13 Wilson-Fish programs op-erating in 12 states and San Diego County, CA.

“It was difficult to close at the end of the last ses-sion because as much as we felt renewed and inspired,we always know there is so much more to learn,”shared Johnson.

“In the end we deepened our appreciation forthe refugee clients who teach us every day aboutstrength, the resilience of the human spirit, and thateach us of us deserves a safe, welcoming place to callhome.” y

PREGNANCY COUNSELING & ADOP-TION SERVICESOur Lady of the Lake Church in Hender-sonville (9 years of hosting an adoptivefamily support group), St. Mary Churchin Jackson (hospitality/meeting space forASAP staff)

GERIATRICSNashville Tomato, Belle Meade Kroger,Charlotte Pike Kroger, Belle Meade Star-bucks and Nothing but Bundt Cakes:Food donations; Rebel Hill Florist;(flower donation)

CHILD WELFARERose Park Family Resource Center(FRC), Fall-Hamilton Wedgewood FRC,Ruby Major Elementary, West End Mid-dle, Joelton Middle, Eakin Elementary,Napier Elementary, Cumberland Elemen-tary, McGavock High, Cohn Adult Learn-ing Center, Martin Luther King, Jr. Magnet,Pearl-Cohn High, Cane Ridge High, St. Ig-natius Church, Park Avenue BaptistChurch, Harvest Hands Community De-velopment Corp. (space), University ofTennessee College of Social Work (stu-dent interns), Bell Buckle UMC for(space, volunteers)

REFUGEE SERVICESSt. Ignatius Church, Wyndham Hotel,Community Resource Center, Center forStudent Admissions, Holiday Inn Expresson Broadway, Union Station Hotel,Church of St. Matthew, Let’s Get Moving,Mary Queen of Angels, Frederick Camp-bell, and all of our individual and familydonors

Bill Sinclair, Catholic Charities of TN Executive Director; Candy Hill, Exec-utive Vice President, Social Policy and External Affairs, Catholic CharitiesUSA; and Holly Johnson, State Refugee Coordinator, TN Office for Refugees

Gatluak Thach, President/CEO, Nashville International Center for Em-powerment; and Dr. Akec Khoc, South Sudanese Ambassador to the U.S.

Each of us deserves a safe, welcoming place to call home…” “ ”

Bill Sinclair, Connie Ransom, Roberta Steinmetz, Yvette Sebelist, Sen. Dou-glas Henry, Brennan Frazier, and Chris Donnelly. Not pictured: ShandyHusmann and Roberta Burke.

Page 4 Service to People in Need www.cctenn.org

Our MissionFollowing the example of Christ, Catholic Charities

of the Diocese of Nashville advocates for andprovides services which enhance and enrich the

quality of life for people in need.

Catholic Charities of Tennessee, Inc. provides its services inaccordance with the Rights under Title VI of the Civil Rights

Act of 1964 that prohibits discrimination on the basis ofrace, color or national origin.

Catholic Charities of Tennessee, Inc. is a licensed childplacement agency of the State of Tennessee.

For Information:615-352-3087 or www.cctenn.orgContributions can be made online at

www.cctenn.org

With support of the United States Department of State/Bureauof Population, Refugees and Migration

30 White Bridge Road • Nashville, TN 37205

Council for Justice and Peace.”Taking a three step approach – This is what the Church

teaches. What are you doing in response to this teaching? Hereare some local opportunities Catholic Charities may have for you.– Dillon informed and challenged. He presented at a number ofarea parishes including the Church of St. Matthew, St. Henry, St.Patrick (Nashville), Holy Family, and St. Mary of the Seven Sor-rows.

“One of the first things I asked Dillon to do when he firstcame on board in May was to meet one-on-one with the variousdepartment directors and with Bill Sinclair, our executive director,to gain a better understanding of the work of Catholic Charities,”recalled Fran Rajotte, the agency’s Advocacy and Social Justice di-rector, who oversaw Dillon’s internship. This request served asexcellent presentation preparation.

“After my first week, I was so impressed with both the scopeof the work being performed there and the level of sophisticationinvolved with the agency’s operation,” he said. “It is mind bogglingwhat Catholic Charities is actually doing on a daily basis.”

“A lot of good is being done through Catholic Charities onbehalf of the people of the diocese for the good of the community.They are definitely following Jesus’ command to love our neigh-bors no matter what!”

Dillon considers himself a long term fan of Catholic Charitiesas he completes his preparations for the priesthood and, if allgoes according to plan, is ordained in 2017. “They are one of thebest kept secrets of our diocese!” y

Seminarian Summer (continued from page 1)

Board Engagement Critical toAgency Progress

Birthday Bounty Benefits Others

For some nonprofits, the board member job de-scription is quite simple: attend meetings, supportthe major annual fundraiser, and tell your friends

about the agency.At Catholic Charities, the board goes far beyond the

basics. “I marvel at the level of engagement our Boardof Trustees has with the agency,” said executive directorBill Sinclair. “Our board is such a tremendous asset.”

“Catholic Charities invites board members from allprofessions, religions and backgrounds to meet theiragency commitments by actively participating, providingoversight and insights, ask-ing questions, and offeringthoughtful suggestions andguidance on all programsto ensure success of theoverall mission,” explainedTrisha Montijo, chair of the board’s Program OversightCommittee.

“Our trustees bring different skills and intereststo us,” continued Sinclair. “At the end of the day,though, their shared interests are what win out…andtremendously help us and our clients. They want theagency to be successful so we can fully meet ourclients’ needs.”

“Catholic Charities’ purpose is easy to understandand, yet, so profound…To perform acts of love, good-will and kindness,” said Paul Ney, board president.

It is through this attraction to acts of love, goodwilland kindness that people from all parts of the commu-nity – Catholics and non-Catholics alike – are pulled to-wards, or called to, Catholic Charities. This call makes

them want a more involved experience with the agency.To Chris Donnelly, the board’s Secretary, the reason

for the board’s high level of engagement is fairly obvious.“The more you learn about Catholic Charities, the moreyou WANT to be involved with making Catholic Charitiesand its services successful.”

“It is the most engaged board I have been involvedwith,” added Ned Spitzer, board treasurer.

Greg Mays, chairman of the board’s new OutreachCommittee, recently established to address relationshipswith parishes, volunteer opportunities and communica-

tion methods, agrees. “It isinvigorating to see boardmembers offering their pro-fessional skills/value toCatholic Charities.”

In addition to activelyparticipating in the board’s eight meetings annually,board members also serve on one or more board com-mittees, meaning more meetings and board-related as-signments.

Board members are also found supporting variousagency activities, such as the Pathways to Possibilitiesfundraiser held in May, perishable food distributions atLoaves and Fishes and Our Lady of Guadalupe Church,and other service-oriented initiatives.

“I am proud, and honored, to say I am part of suchan active Board,” concluded Donnelly.

Trisha Montijo agreed. “It is a blessing and pro-foundly rewarding to serve on the Catholic Charities ofTennessee board to help open doors and provide hopefor those in need.” y

Christmas Wishes:Remembering

Those Oft ForgottenEvery November, Catholic Chari-

ties raises the ChristmasWishes tree, decorated with

stars representing children and eld-erly identified as being in need of“Christmas cheer”.

“What does not always show upon the tree,” ex-plained MeganStack, Family As-sistance andCommunity Em-ployment director, “are adults welearn of experiencing homelessness orparents of ‘starred’ children.”

Thanks to folks like Jim Robertand Gary Stewart of Nashville’s SaintMary Parish, these people are remem-bered, too.

“For many years, we hosted anannual Christmas party, a pot luck din-ner with great people,” explainedRobert. “Twelve years ago, we realizedhow blessed we really were. We addedan element to our party to ensure thatall of us, guests and hosts, remem-bered those not so fortunate.”

They contacted Catholic Charitiesand learned that some identified adultsmight not receive Christmas gifts. Theydecided to start building Christmas bas-kets.

The first year, 21 baskets weremade. Now, nearly 150 are built annually.

In 12 years, morethan 1,070 bas-kets with an esti-mated value of$38,600 have

been donated. The “baskets” have morphed into a

variety of containers with contents do-nated by multiple supporters throughoutthe year. Gifts include personal careitems, household goods, food, mugs, CDs,t-shirts, Christmas ornaments, and more.In recent years, Dillard’s of Green Hillshas donated cosmetic department con-tainers that transition into women’spurses and men’s gym bags.

To learn more about the baskets orto donate items which would enhancethese gifts, please call (615) 760-1031 oremail ChristmasWishes@cctenn.org. y

I marvel at the level of engagement ourBoard of Trustees has with the

agency…”“ ”…we realized how blessed we

really were.”“ ”

When St. Matthew School 4th grader Alanna Giannattasio turned 10 this sum-mer, she had a special idea in mind for her birthday party guests. Instead ofbringing her a gift, Alanna asked her friends to bring a gift to donate to

Catholic Charities of Tennessee to benefit other children. Through Denise Cottrell,FOCUS (Finding Our Children Unconditional Love) adoption recruitmentspecialist with Catholic Charities’ Pregnancy Counseling and Adoption Services, the giftsmade their way to the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services Davidson CountyResource Linkage, where children who have just become wards of the state (foster chil-dren) first go when assumed into state custody. Between 25 and 30 girls benefited fromAlanna’s act of love, goodwill and kindness. y

(Left to right) Chase Mills; Evelyn Hare; Alanna Giannattasio; Josie Claxton.Mills, Hare and Giannattasio are St. Matthew School 4th graders. Claxton is inthe 4th grade at Fairview Elementary.

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