You helped raise $250,000 through our Summer of Stability campaign. CEO Kaleen Deatherage shares her gratitude, reflects on the practical difference community support makes and looks ahead to the work continuing this fall.
As summer comes to a close, I have some wonderful news to share. Together, you helped us raise $250,000 through our Summer of Stability campaign.
I am deeply grateful.
When we launched this campaign, we talked about how summer can widen the gaps for people already struggling to make ends meet. We asked you to help Catholic Charities of Oregon remain a steady presence for our neighbors, providing food, housing support, immigration legal assistance, help navigating employment and other resources, and simply a place to turn when life feels uncertain.
You responded with extraordinary generosity.
What $250,000 Makes Possible
This support will reach across Catholic Charities of Oregon, helping our teams respond to immediate needs while continuing the longer-term work that helps people move toward stability.
This summer offered tangible examples of what that work looks like. Our June pop-up food pantry provided groceries to 117 households, reaching more than 400 people. And back-to-school events in three communities, Happy Valley, Salem and Portland, helped children start the school year with supplies they needed.
These efforts brought together donors, volunteers, staff and community partners to ease some of the everyday pressures our neighbors face. Your generosity helps sustain the services that make this kind of support possible.
What I love about these examples is that they show how differently stability can look from one person to another.
It might be a hot meal for a woman experiencing homelessness. It might be help with transportation so someone can get to an appointment or a new job. It might be trusted legal guidance for an immigrant family trying to understand an increasingly complicated system. Or it might be the support that helps someone find and remain in housing.
Your generosity gives our staff the ability to meet people where they are and respond to what they need most.
The Work Continues
Of course, the end of our Summer of Stability campaign does not mean the end of the need. The challenges facing our neighbors continue to grow and evolve, and so does our work.
Soon, Catholic Charities of Oregon will once again welcome and resettle refugees through Catholic Charities USA. This work is carried out in coordination with the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement and serves people arriving in the United States through government-approved pathways who meet the program’s federal eligibility requirements. We are grateful for the opportunity to resume this important part of our mission and to help newly arriving families begin building lives in Oregon.
On Oct. 21, we will also host our second Pop-Up Food Pantry. The response to our first pantry in June made clear just how many of our neighbors are struggling with the cost of food and other basic necessities.
These are just two examples of what lies ahead. Every day, across our programs, our staff will continue helping people navigate uncertainty, overcome barriers and find a path toward greater stability.
Thank You
Throughout the summer, I have been reminded again and again that Catholic Charities does not do this work alone. You are part of it.
To everyone who gave to Summer of Stability, shared our work with others, volunteered, prayed for our clients and staff, or simply took the time to learn more about the challenges facing our neighbors, thank you. We set an ambitious goal. You helped us reach it.
And because of you, we can carry that spirit of stability forward into fall and into whatever comes next.
With gratitude,
Kaleen Deatherage
Chief Executive Officer
Catholic Charities of Oregon