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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Andrea Slivka
Public Relations Coordinator
Catholic Charities, Diocese of Toledo
419-308-2272
aslivka@toledodiocese.org
www.catholiccharitiesnwo.org
Additional contact:
Melissa Poole
Coordinator
LaPosada Emergency Family Shelter
Catholic Charities Permanent Supportive Housing
419-244-6711, ext. 412
mpoole@toledodiocee.org
PROJECT BETHLEHEM PROVIDES A CHRISTMAS FOR FAMILIES IN NEED
Nov. 15, 2011—TOLEDO—More than 60 Toledo-area families will wake up Christmas morning with gifts to open thanks to the generosity of sponsors through Catholic Charities’ Project Bethlehem. Catholic Charities matches client families with sponsors who include churches, businesses and individuals. With more families needing assistance this year, the program is looking for additional sponsors to fulfill families' wish lists.
Recipient families are clients of Catholic Charities who can’t afford to buy gifts in the holiday season, said Michelle Poole, project co-coordinator. Many recipient families stayed in Catholic Charities La Posada Family Emergency Shelter or permanent supportive housing in the past year. Other families received emergency rent assistance or participated in Catholic Charities Family Connections program. Project Bethlehem will also assist 40 client families in the Mansfield area and 30 families in the Norwalk area.
Sponsors purchase and wrap gifts for both the parents and children. Items on families’ wish lists often include coats, boots, towels and blankets in addition to toys. Catholic Charities collects and distributes the gifts in early December.
“Many of the (recipient) families are going through very tough times, and their kids just wouldn’t get anything otherwise,” Poole said. “We want all the kids in the family to wake up with new gifts for Christmas.”
In 2010, Catholic Charities served 31,000 people by providing food, shelter, prescription and emergency rent assistance as well as adoption services, jail and prison ministries and services to the elderly. The organization’s mission is to make real the love that God has for each individual person regardless of their faith or background by serving the poor, speaking for and assisting the neglected and forgotten, respecting and promoting life from beginning to end and nurturing and supporting individuals and families.
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