During this year’s holiday gift in-kind drives, Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas saw incredible generosity from our community!
Local Knights of Columbus councils donated 850 coats for children and distributed them across five of our locations including Hope Distribution Center and our Olathe, Overland Park, Leavenworth and Wyandotte County Family Support Centers. Outreach Coordinator, Bridget Pohlman, remarked how a little girl ran up to her smiling at one of the coat drives, thrilled to show off her new pink winter coat.
Johnson County parishes and community partners donated $24,550 in Walmart gift cards for 249 long-term clients in Wyandotte County, ensuring they will receive a Christmas gift this year.
Lastly, Creative Planning once again led a significant Thanksgiving effort, donating 1,200 turkeys and meal kits. Additional contributions from Harvesters, local parishes and other community partners allowed Catholic Charities to distribute over 5,000 turkeys to families this Thanksgiving – along with thousands more meal kits and sides. This represents a 27% increase in the number of turkeys collected for our neighbors in need compared to 2024 and over 70,000 pounds of poultry!
“We saw an increased need this year, but there was also increased generosity,” shared Kendra Dudasko, Outreach Coordinator. We are so thankful for all our community partners who helped bring joy and dignity to the families and individuals we serve!
