What is the Catholic Ministry Appeal and what does it support?

The Catholic Ministries Appeal is an opportunity for every Catholic in our Church community to come together and share our one faith, one hope and our many gifts for the service of God.

The Appeal supports essential programs and services across Long Island, touching each of our 133 parishes and more than 600,000 people.  The Catholic Church on Long Island reaches many more people than one parish could ever do on its own. 

Some of the areas include:

• Religious education to more than 110,000 students
• Affordable and safe housing for seniors and mentally disabled adults
• Food programs for seniors and low-income families
• Youth and campus ministry for 75,000 young people
• Priests’ and Deacons’ education and formation at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception
• Faith Formation, including parish baptismal, pre-Cana, and RCIA programs
• Hospital ministry to more than 325,000 people each year
• Prison ministry
• Chemical dependence services and day treatment programs
• Dominican Republic Mission
• Catholic Diversity Initiatives

There is no other organization, person, or group on Long Island – other than the Catholic Church – that provides the breadth and depth of spiritual and social services to so many individuals and families.

What are some of the ways gifts are used?

Gifts are used to live and share our faith, care for God’s people, and build God’s Kingdom.  For example, a gift of $25 may help pay the gas for a Meals-On-Wheels van to deliver food for a day.  A gift of $50 may help pay for teaching materials for a volunteer catechist.  A gift of $100 may help care for a newborn in the Catholic Charities Regina Residence.  A gift of $250 may help subsidize housing for a developmentally disabled adult.  A gift of $1,000 may help support a Seminarian’s education at our Seminary.

Do Parishes benefit in any way from the Appeal?

Resources contributed to the CMA are distributed in a way that allows our Catholic faith to be lived and shared throughout our 133 communities.  Parishes that reach goal receive a 20 percent rebate and any paid gifts raised over that goal generate an 80 percent rebate to parishes on those gifts.  Our parishes use their rebates to support Parish Outreach programs, develop special programs for the community, or to help maintain their physical structures.

Can you share a story of someone who was actually touched by the Catholic Ministries Appeal?

While creating the CMA video we had the opportunity to visit St. Patrick’s soup kitchen in Bay Shore.  There, a parade of men and women carry trays of steaming cups of soup, fresh tomato salad and plates of chicken stew to the homeless and hungry scattered around the room.

Men, women, and families come for food, company or a brief rest from life’s burdens.  Many have health problems, some are jobless, and others have few places to turn for a nutritious meal. 

The soup kitchen is part of the parish’s outreach program, funded in part by the Catholic Ministries Appeal.  St. Patrick’s is among scores of Diocesan parish outreach programs that serve 19,000 people each month on Long Island. 

About 70 St. Patrick volunteers staff the soup kitchen, driving around town to pick up bread or supplies, cooking, assembling trays of food, serving, and cleaning up.

One of the clients shared “They do a great job,” says one man who found himself homeless after he was unable to continue working.  “We need more of these places so people have a means to get off the street.  Thank God for St. Pat’s soup kitchen.  It gives the homeless and people who can’t work anymore a place to go.  It gives them a spiritual release.”

Catherine Dennis, who helps run the outreach program, says she and fellow workers refer to the program as “the ER of Main Street because we don’t know what the crisis is going to be when they come in.”

Dennis and Deacon Frank Koch notice a significant increase in the number of people who struggle to pay bills, face eviction, or wrestle with substance abuse.

Suffering from heart disease and diabetes, one man who lives nearby says he goes to the soup kitchen several times a week. 

“It means a lot,” he says.  “The last couple of years I’ve become dependent on it.  I’ve been struggling really hard…It’s helped me out pretty good.”

Where should people go to get more information about the Appeal and its ministries?

They can go to our web site at www.CatholicMinistriesAppeal.org to view our video or to read more about the Appeal, or they can call us at 516-379-5210 ext. 2.

Will you accept other forms of gifts besides a check?

You may pledge and be billed monthly for a ten month period.  Gifts of appreciated securities are another way for you to make a significant contribution at a reduced cost to you.  Federal tax laws allow a charitable deduction for the full market value of securities on the date of your gift.  The Catholic Ministries Appeal also offers you the opportunity to make a secure gift online using Amex, Discover, MasterCard or Visa.

Is my name shared with any other companies or ministries?

Absolutely not! The database which is maintained by the Office of Institutional Advancement is not shared, sold or communicated with any way with any other entity including other Diocesan departments.
 

Updated: March 7, 2011