Our Elder Care Specialist will help you with :
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COMMUNITY
Spring Grant Cycle Accepting Applications Now
February 20 , 2018 | The Valley Catholic
Marie Galetto
Marketing & Grants Program Manager
It has been my privilege to be the Grants Program Manager at the Catholic Community Foundation for a little over a year now . In the past year , I oversaw my first Spring Grant Cycle and met ( in-person or virtually via countless emails ) many wonderful volunteers and staff to whom we granted funds . These are the people who work hard every day in our parishes and local Catholic organizations to improve our liturgical music , organize programs to serve our neediest neighbors , implement innovative stewardship initiatives , and coordinate enriching faith formation programs in our community . It has been a pleasure to serve these hardworking individuals , learn more about their work , and assist their communities through our grantmaking . The most rewarding of all is being able to tell them that they received a grant from the Catholic Community Foundation !
The 2018 Spring Grant Cycle is open now through March 16 at 5 p . m . No late applications will be accepted , so make sure to submit early – especially if you would like feedback ! If you are interested in supporting our grantmaking , please send donations to the Foundation designating the Spring Grant Cycle or donate online to the “ Matching Grants ” fund at https :// giving . cfoscc . org / donatenow .
Last year $ 42,000 of matching grants allowed the Foundation to award $ 263,900 in our four grant categories . This year we currently have $ 211,900 available in the following categories :
• Apolonia Andre Fund for Liturgical Music : This fund supports parish liturgical music programs which enrich our worship and bring our communities together in Eucharist . Available funds : $ 4,700 .
• Parish Outreach Endowment : This fund focuses on programs which serve underserved communities and perform corporal works of mercy – feeding the hungry , clothing the naked , sheltering the homeless , etc . Available funds : $ 73,400 .
• Parish Stewardship Endowment : This fund supports programs which view stewardship as a way of life that engages parishioners in Christian life and builds a community where everyone is welcome and parishioners actively and excitedly participate in parish life . Available funds : $ 60,300 .
• Pastoral Ministry Training & Formation Endowment : This fund supports ministry training and faith formation programs that help people of all ages grow in their faith . Available funds : $ 73,500 .
If you would like examples of programs we have granted to in each category , or for more information about restrictions and requirements , please visit http :// cfoscc . org / what-we-do / grants .
Workshops : Come to one of our Grant Workshops for tips on our application and reporting processes and to get your questions answered . There will be two in-person workshops and a workshop via webinar .
• Workshop 1 : February 15 at 11 a . m ., Saint Christopher Parish ;
• Workshop 2 : February 20 via webinar ( see website for details );
• Workshop 3 : February 21 at 6 p . m ., Church of the Resurrection , Alcoves Farina Center .
I encourage all parishes to apply in every category and please contact me if you have any questions or need assistance . I look forward to learning about the programs that make your parishes the vibrant , welcoming communities that they are !
For more information regarding the Catholic Community Foundation of Santa Clara County please visit ht t p :// cfoscc . org .
People You Trust Caring for People You Love
Our Elder Care Specialist will help you with :
• Home Care ( Personal care , housekeeping and companionship )
• Appointments , errands and transportation
• Post Hospitalization Rest and Recovery
• Coordinating Life Transitions
• Community and Home based Services
Call Our Elder Care Line ( 408 ) 831-0441
Kids in Catholic Charities ’ After School Program Receive Free Books Thanks to Community Leaders
In 1998 , the Immanuel Lutheran Church of Saratoga ( ILC ) and its Community Service Committee , led by JoAn Lambert and its parishioners , saw the need for vulnerable families to have access to children ’ s books not just to borrow , but to build a home library of their own .
The ILC formed The Books for Kids team and set to work to gather thousands of gently used children ’ s books . The Books for Kids team got so good at it , that they were frequently sending books to area schools and shelters , even trucking books to the Navajo Indian Reservation in New Mexico , and shipping them in pallets and containers to Tanzania and Kenya . “ Our constraint was not having enough books , but the cost of delivery ,” said Lambert .
Matching demand with supply , ILC arranged a collaboration with Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County to provide a steady stream of books to 2,400 elementary school children . “ We provide some books to kids , but there are not enough for families to keep them ,” said Sara Reyes , Senior Division Director of Catholic Charities ’ CORAL ( Communities Organizing Resources to Advance Learning ) after school program . “ We simply need more books !”
In the true spirit of collaboration , the remaining roadblock of delivering and sorting the books was solved with the assistance of a local company . “ I was looking for ways to engage my staff in community activities in order to give back ,” said Bob Gavin , Senior Vice President of Bio-Techne , a biotech firm in San Jose . Catholic Charities ’ staff connected Bob ’ s desire to help with ILC ’ s logistical needs . “ Helping sort and deliver books to kids was the right fit for us .”
October 2017 marked the first successful delivery of over 1,200 books by the Bio-Techne team from ILC to Catholic Charities . Cheryl and Jack Moorman of ILC had been storing boxes of books in their garage waiting for a way to get them to children . They said , “ we are blessed that we could partner with CORAL and Bio-Techne !” To date , 4,200 books have been delivered to CORAL afterschool programs .
To learn more about CORAL , contact América G . Gomez , Program Director , at aaguirre @ catholiccharitiesscc . org .