Sarah came to us in May 2013. When she first came to us, she had one of four children here with her. Her children are 19, 16, 5 and 2. Her family was split up due to unemployment and not having an apartment of their own. They had not had their own place together
Each school year we are blessed to have wonderful partners who raise funds and go shopping and bring us school supplies and backpacks for every student we have! This year St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, Unity Point Health and Metro Catholic Outreach helped us provide 36 backpacks full of school supplies! We had several
On August 28th, the Board of Directors and Staff of the Catholic Worker House hosted our first fundraiser. The generous owners of the Quarter Barrel donated 20% of their proceeds from noon – 6pm. This venue provided a great opportunity for family and friends to gather and enjoy delicious gourmet pizzas and sandwiches along
The best day ever! 26 kind volunteers from the Transamerica Audit department spent one day at our Worker House. They collectively helped us get spring cleaning and other "honey-do's" done. The Transamerica team painted, spruced up our yard, power washed the exterior of our house, washed every window in every room of the
In the middle of April, I meet a woman who looked absolutely distraught. Her name was Andrea and she was desperately fighting for reunification with her three beautiful daughters. During her intake, we identified a plan of action. Andrea needed to find employment, comply with Family Treatment Court requirements, find housing and have visits
Recently my employer, Cedar Rapids Bank and Trust, launched a new initiative for its employees to "Be Exceptional". In order to get us started on our new goal, the Bank gifted each of us with $50 cash, with the only stipulation being to "Pay It Forward". For those who don't know, the concept
To make sure as much of the money we receive as possible goes to providing food and shelter to the homeless, we do not have a development director or a huge administrative staff. We have only one full time and two part time employees. Our board of directors, our fellow parishioners and community
Ever since the St. John of the Cross Catholic Worker Community of Cedar Rapids, Iowa Inc. opened the doors of the Catholic Worker House, we have been blessed with donors who care about those who have nowhere to go and feel helpless. Whether our donors realize it, their contributions turn into a nice bed
We practice Mercy through concrete acts of charity. The Church lists seven "corporal" and "spiritual" works of "mercy", which must be performed by the faithful. The Corporal acts of Mercy are found in the work of education, hospice care, caring for the sick, feeding the hungry, visiting the imprisoned, looking after the lonely.
When one works in a homeless shelter, disappointments are often. I wish we could have space for every person who needed it. Unfortunately, it is not the case. So when I received a call in early June from a woman who wanted to donate her home, I was speechless! The home was a 3
