For over a decade Saint Thomas Aquinas Catholic High School has organized an annual canned food drive benefiting Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas. All donations go towards re-stocking our Hope Distribution Center warehouse, which supplies food to all seven of our Family Support Center food pantries and the Resource Bus program that serves our rural [...]
Over 2,500 frozen turkeys and holiday trimmings are expected to be collected for families this Thanksgiving, thanks to the generosity of community partners, parishes across the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, and the wealth management company, Creative Planning! Local parishes and Creative Planning host annual turkey drives the weekend before Thanksgiving. During the drives, [...]
Monthly parish-based collections generate thousands of pounds of critical food and hygiene donations for Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas and literally serve as a lifeline for the needy who patronize our eight food pantries. But daily donations from individuals and families who feel compelled to contribute and serve are just as essential. If you want to get [...]
Hope Hero Shout-Out Jim was a recently retired project manager. Looking for opportunities to give back, he came across a volunteer opening within our Facilities department. When Jim came to the administrative office, for the official volunteer interview, he saw a verse from the Gospel of Matthew up on the wall. “For I was hungry [...]
by Lauren Solidum Special to The Leaven “For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things” (Ps 107:9). In Kansas, one in every 10 people is food insecure, meaning that they are unsure where their next meal will come from. This figure includes over 100,000 children. In a country like the United [...]
Hope Hero Shout-Out Due to the rising cost of food, empty grocery store shelves, and a decrease in donations, our food pantries have faced a scarcity so extreme it has been labeled a food drought. While our mission is to help families and individuals that are in need, it is impossible to fight the epidemic [...]
Foster Grandparent Velma Jean McReynolds chats with one of her kids at Bertram Caruthers Elementary School in Kansas City, Kansas. COVID hit the program hard and is in need of additional volunteers. PHOTO COURTESY OF CATHOLIC CHARITIES by Joe Bollig Special to The Leaven KANSAS CITY, Kan. — For Dorothy M. Mitchell, being a Foster [...]
According to Feeding America, which tracks food insecurity in the U.S., the number of children facing hunger rose significantly during the pandemic – from more than 10 million in 2019 to nearly 12 million in 2020. Catholic Charities’s Kids’ Summer Food Program has been working to combat this epidemic of child hunger by feeding children [...]
Hope Hero Shout-Out Fresh pens and pencils, multi-colored binders, and even backpacks can spark joy for children as they prepare for the start of a new school year. Not only can shopping for new supplies be a fun activity, these items are essential to a child having a successful school year. But for children whose [...]
Hope Hero Shout-Out Pam is a typical Catholic Charities volunteer. She cares. She is constantly busy. And she is a problem solver. There is one thing, though, that definitely sets her apart – she can quickly find a great recipe for just about any ingredient. This particular skill came to light when she began to [...]