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November 5, 2019 | The Valley Catholic
COMMUNITY
ON A FIRM FOUNDATION: Legacy - Your Story
By Mary Quilici Aumack
Chief Executive Officer
The Catholic Community
Foundation of Santa Clara
County
Last week, I was talking to my
daughter Kacey about family stories.
She was encouraging me to rally my
five siblings and get things “written
down,” so that the stories which we
love and carry in our hearts can be
passed on and treasured by family.
This is a part of the wonderful legacy
of my parents and the family that
they built.
LEGACY is a continuation of your
story. Your story started long before
you were born and will continue
when you’re in heaven. The build-
ing blocks of your story include your
family, your education, your career,
your volunteerism, your philan-
thropy, your faith. Your story will
remain because of the things you’ve
done and the person you ARE, the
reasons for which you will be re-
membered.
REMEMBER that older woman
across the street who gave out the
BEST candy on Halloween? That was
my grandma.
REMEMBER that guy who al-
ways sat in about the third row at
Mass at St. Justin and could harmo-
nize perfectly with every song? That
was my dad (and by the way I did
NOT inherit that talent).
You know that woman who came
as a young girl from Mexico and
could speak no English. She went
on to college, became a teacher, still
takes care of her family, and is joy-
fully active in more than one parish.
That is my friend Lucia.
You know that guy who played
ice hockey, and brought home a first-
place trophy from an international
tournament after he turned 80? That
is my buddy Joe.
You know that couple who just
live generosity. They are products of
Bellarmine and Notre Dame. They
raised a family and built a business
based on hard work, high values,
love, and faith. They give in every
way possible. These are my friends
Lon & Peg.
LEGACY is the part of you that
remains forever. It includes the sto-
ries that are shared, treasured and
preserved. It is what we celebrate
through the Society of Saint Joseph.
In partnership with the Diocese of
San José, the Foundation manages
the Society to honor those who have
planned legacy gifts for ministry. In
October, we gathered for our annual
Legacy Mass and had the privilege
of saying “thank you” to members
of the Society. At the reception, sto-
ries were told and friendships were
established.
Why do we include faith in our
legacy?
Re me m b e r T H AT GU Y, who
came, taught, prayed, DIED, AND
The Fullness of Thanks
By Gregory Kepferle
Chief Executive Officer
Catholic Charities of Santa
Clara County and President,
Charities Housing
“Thank you. I’m full!” How many
times have I said this after being of-
fered another helping of food at a
Thanksgiving feast? Of course my
waistline tells me that I have already
had my fill at the table of plenty.
But am I sufficiently full of thanks?
And do I sufficiently give that thanks
to others?
At a recent staff retreat, we took
time to write thank-you cards to
members of our teams. I confess that
so often I am moving so fast, caught
up in the whirlwind of work, that I
don’t say “thank you” often enough.
Just taking the time to sit and reflect
on all the simple gifts we have been
given each day is a blessing in itself.
We give thanks for life, for our fam-
ily, faith and friends, for our health
and home, for being able to work, for
being able to make a meaningful con-
tribution to our community, for food
and drink, for clothes, for energy, for
warmth, for all whose labor benefits
us, for freedom and safety, for being
able to vote, for our country, for nature,
for our planet, for recovery from an
illness, for forgiveness, for reconciling
with enemies, for being able to share
with those in need, for God who loves
us unconditionally.
I am full of thanks for those we
serve at Catholic Charities. For they
give us the gift of encountering Christ
in just being present to their pains and
joys. They, in turn, share their thanks
with us for our help – thanks for getting
a job, for finding a home, for listening,
for healing of mind and heart, for a
safe place to learn and play, for new
knowledge, for a hot meal, for welcome
into our country, for freedom from jail,
for a place to get mail, for a community
to belong to, for companionship, for
respect, for recognition as a fellow hu-
man being, for saving their lives.
And I am full of thanks for all
of our donors, supporters, funders,
volunteers, and allies for enabling
Catholic Charities to be the presence
ROSE and remains with us in friend-
ship, contributing daily to my story,
to your story? This is the WHY of
us. It is with overwhelming grati-
tude for this ineffable gift that we
choose to make legacy gifts to a
parish, a school, priestly vocations, a
religious order, or another ministry
that touched and formed us.
If you have remembered “church”
in your legacy planning, I encour-
age you to let us know so that we
formally thank you with inclusion
in the Society.
All of you are contributing FOR-
EV ER VALUE through your story
and your precious legacy, and we
are grateful. Thank you!
Visit our website, www.cfoscc.org.
in our community that truly changes
lives for good – for the better. Your
generosity transforms our community.
Thank you! Happy Thanksgiving!
To learn more how your gifts of
thanks make a difference, please visit
www.CatholicCharitiesSCC.org.
Catholic Charities’ Season of Sharing 2019:
Make Christmas Brighter for our Neighbors in Need
Season of Sharing – an annual
Christmas program providing gifts
for children, families and seniors
served through Catholic Charities
– is currently accepting donations.
La st yea r, t hou sa nds of g i f t s
were collected and distributed to
1,800 families. Thank you to all the
individuals and organizations who
donate new toys, clothing, personal
hygiene items and gift cards! For
many recipients, these donated items
may be t he only gifts under t he
Christmas tree.
Please consider supporting the
program this year in the following
ways:
• Organize a gift-drive with your
parish, club, friends or organi-
zation.
• Volunteer to help pick up do-
nations at Santa Clara County
locations or sort donations at
Catholic Charities.
• Make an individual donation of
a store gift card (such as Target,
Safeway, Kohl’s) and mail to
Season of Sharing, c/o Emma
Harris, Catholic Charities of
Santa Clara County, 2625 Zank-
er Road, San José, CA 95134.
To learn more, contact Emma Harris
at [email protected] or
(408) 325-5250.