Catherine McAuley Center: News

Saturday, May 19, 2012

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"You must be cheerful and happy, animating all around you." - C. McAuley
Text/HTML Sleep Out for the Homeless raises $20,000 *Check presentation and kick-off announcement for 2012 Sleep Out is Feb. 29* PRESS RELEASE CEDAR RAPIDS, IA – February 23, 2012 – Linn County’s 6^th annual Sleep Out for the Homeless raised $20,000 for area programs that provide emergency shelter and transitional housing for the homeless. Organizers of the annual Sleep Out will present checks from the money raised by the 2011 Sleep Out to nine local programs on Wednesday, February 29 at 10 a.m. at the Community Services Building of Linn County, 1240 26^th Ave. Ct. SW in Cedar Rapids. “The number of homeless persons served by local shelters and transitional housing programs continues to increase,” said Ann Hearn, Deputy Director of Community Planning. “The Sleep Out directly supports the homeless shelters, emergency lodging programs and transitional housing programs that serve the homeless. We are grateful to everyone who braved the cold last November, and we thank everyone who made a donation.” The following programs will receive a check from the money raised by the 2011 Sleep Out: Catherine McAuley Center Catholic Worker House Cedar House Shelter Foundation 2 Youth Shelter HACAP Transitional Housing Mission of Hope Salvation Army Emergency Lodging Program Waypoint Services Madge Philips Center Willis Dady Emergency Shelter The Sleep Out was sponsored by Linn County Veteran Affairs, Community Circle of Care and First Presbyterian Church and was held in Greene Square Park on Saturday, November 12, 2011. Approximately 364 community members participated in the event, including 194 who spent the night outside in cardboard boxes. Following the check presentation, the Sleep Out planning committee will announce details for the 2012 Sleep Out, which includes a new location due to the growth in the number of people participating. The annual Linn County Homeless Data Summary Report compiled by the Linn County Local Homeless Coordinating Board shows the number of homeless persons served by Linn County emergency shelters and transitional housing programs has increased almost 30 percent over the last two years. Of the 5,802 persons served by local homeless assistance programs in FY11, half (50%) were children. Celebrating the Holidays at CMC CMC Residents and Students are adopted for the holidays The Adult Basic Education Program is grateful to all those who decided to spread a little holiday cheer this year by adopting some of our families. Local churches, hospitals, and individuals brought in toys, clothes, food, household items, and gift cards. Thank you to everyone who participated. You’ve made many families’ holidays extra special through your generosity and support. Thanks to Cornell College and Immaculate Conception Church, residents recieved gifts this holiday season that they would otherwise not have been able to enjoy. Carla said, "This is the only Christmas I will have this year and it has been one of the best I have ever had." Residents also prepared a holiday meal to share during their holiday celebration thanks to Linnhaven. "It was good to be with everybody. We meet once a week, but celebrating the holiday together with games and food and gifts helped us bond," says resident Marcella. Residents of the Transitional Housing Program celebrate with the Sisters of Mercy In addition to the holiday celebration they shared with each other at the Center, residents also visited the Sisters of Mercy at Sacred Heart Convent. The residents and Sisters shared a meal and good conversation. CMC residents and staff were able to learn more about the history and spirit of Catherine McAuley whose mission has made the Transitional Housing program possible. Everyone gathered in the Chapel and sang their favorite hymns, filling the Chapel with the sounds of Christmas. After the service they gathered for dessert and then residents were surprised with handcrafted gifts made by the Sisters. Just before they said their goodbye's for the evening, they discovered that Santa had dropped off stockings full of treasure for each woman. Residents and staff of the TH program would like to thank Sacred Heart Convent and the Sisters of Mercy for their generosity in hosting this enjoyable holiday get-together. Text/HTML CMC to be a beneficiary of the 6th Annual Sleep Out for the Homeless The Sleep Out for the Homeless is an annual event sponsored by the Community Circle of Care, Linn County Veterans affairs, and supported by several other social service agencies including the Catherine McAuley Center. This year's Sleep Out will take place on November 12th and 13th in Greene Square Park. Participants agree to collect sponsorships for their commitment to sleep in a cardboard box overnight. All proceeds from this event go to 9 local agencies service homeless individuals in Linn County. This year the Catherine McAuley Center will recieve a portion of these funds. To find out more about the Sleep Out go to www.sleepoutforhomeless.org Text/HTML CMC Celebrates Women's Equality Day The 2^nd Annual Women’s Equality day event was a fantastic and successful celebration of women. The Empowerment Committee worked hard to organize this event to recognize the 91^st anniversary of women gaining the right to vote. Community members were invited to bring their lunch and join us on the CMC lawn. The committee brought in speakers to discuss women’s history, women in politics, and women gaining the right to vote. Prior to the event women on the committee designed and created silk screens with empowering statements. Attendees brought their own items (t-shirts, totes, etc) and the women printed an original design on them. We all had such a great time learning about and celebrating women that the Empowerment Committee has already started planning for next year. Text/HTML CMC Welcomes New Staff The Catherine McAuley Center would like to welcome two new staff members to the Center! Mary Boots has joined us as the new Transitional Housing Program Coordinator. We welcome Greg White as our new Immigrant/Refugee Coordinator. We also welcome Brianna Schwenk as our new Volunteer Coordinator. Text/HTML CMC Announces Closure of Catherine's Comfortable Tea (CCT) CMC has decided to close the tea business, Catherine’s Comfortable Tea (CCT). Its original purpose was to help market the Center and our mission. Promoting the tea business in order to promote the Center was not cost effective. Catherine McAuley Center will be putting its efforts into sharing our mission of transforming lives through the delivery of quality services in our Adult Basic Education and Transitional Housing programs. We encourage customers and supporters of Catherine’s Comfortable Tea to consider a donation to the Catherine McAuley Center and/or the purchase of a bracelet that will directly support programming to our women. CMC Tutor Receives Recognition for Volunteer Service John Chaimov, a community volunteer as well as a long-time tutor in the Center's Adult Basic Education program, was acknowledge by KCRG-TV9 as one of the "9 Who Care" award winners of 2009. Please click on the video below to learn more about John and the other eight winners. Congratulations John and thank you for your continued service!

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