Catholic Charities in need of sponsors for Christmas program

Baton Rouge, La—With 370 families unsponsored, the staff at Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Baton Rouge (CCDBR) is concerned.

“Usually by Thanksgiving, all but a few families have been sponsored through our Community Comes Together at Christmas program,” said Catherine Weidert, CCDBR communications coordinator. “But this year is unprecedented.”

Never in the 60-year history of the program has it been this short on sponsoring donors.

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He waited 15 hours at Kabul International Airport, among thousands of people, hoping to escape Afghanistan with his life.

Jostling for his place among a crowd of strangers, the Afghan, at least, had someone on his side: An ex-U.S. military contractor in Louisiana who stayed on the phone through the night with his tired, desperate friend and former interpreter. Read the rest of the article here

Mary Feathers was sporting a nifty grin as she prepared to board a Greyhound bus, the first step on the final leg of what had been a harrowing two-week journey that briefly landed her on the streets of Baton Rouge. Read the rest of the article here

“The American people have shown an overwhelming desire to help those from Afghanistan who risked their lives and the lives of their family members to help our troops,” said David C. Aguillard, executive director of CCDBR. Watch the video clip here

Their journeys have been strewn with potholes, their lives jilted by the empty promises of life on the streets. Their aging eyes witnessed acts so heinous that even their lips remain silent. Joe DeArmond Jr. and Wayne Murphy have been in and out of the state correctional system for much of their lives. They have lived life outside of the law, exposed to all of its vagaries. But as they recently reflected on their past, their focus is on the future, one filled with hope and a refresh button to life. Read the article here

As late spring’s tepidity two-stepped into summer’s sauna and the dreaded June 1 date inched closer, the eyes of Lisa Lee and C.J. Roy were focused on the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and beyond. Read the article here

Suiting 101 Nonprofit donated 40 suits to our Joseph Homes residents recently. The Catholic Commentator caught up with one of our residents, Merlin Galle III, and what a suit in his closet means to him. Read the article here

St. Aloysius and Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Baton Rouge distributed 150 hot plate lunches and 70 cleaning buckets for residents in the Bayou Pigeon area, who were hit hard during the recent flooding. Read the article here