Our June Volunteer Spotlight is Tejas – a sophomore at Linn-Mar High School who recently got involved with the Catherine McAuley Center through a canned food drive and fundraiser that he organized for COVID-19 relief. Tejas initially set out to complete the “1,000 Canned Goods Challenge”, and due to a few other common interests, he landed at CMC. 

“My interest in helping immigrants and refugees in the area led me to do a little research about organizations that were supporting them,” he said, “I was looking for places to volunteer and the Catherine McAuley Center was a perfect place to do so.” 

Collecting 1,000 canned food items is no small task, especially in the middle of a global pandemic. Networking can be difficult without ties to an organization, and many people were reluctant to meet up to drop off donations due to COVID-19 related concerns. 

“Initially, the response was not that great, so I had to get help from the network my parents had and ask them to help spread the word,” Tejas said, “I shared the progress on social media, and I got more attention and support from the community.”

Fortunately, things picked up quickly once the fundraiser started circulating on social media. Tejas not only met his goal, but went above and beyond his initial target of 1,000 canned goods. Between in-kind and cash donations, Tejas ended up presenting the Catherine McAuley Center with 1,133 food items and an additional donation of $1,100. 

“The success of the “1000 Canned Goods Challenge” was a big highlight (in my volunteer experiences). In addition to raising 1,000+ food items, we also raised $1,100. The overwhelming support from the community is proving that if we believe in a cause and are willing to work hard and lead, the community rises to the challenge and supports generously,” Tejas said,  “I am very thankful to my parents and the community who have supported to make this fundraising a success, and I am looking forward to volunteering at the CMC in the coming years.”

 Along with his activism and fundraising efforts, Tejas stays busy with both classes and extracurriculars at Linn-Mar High School. He enjoys science and math classes (particularly chemistry and biology), extracurriculars such as orchestra, choir, show choir, science club, and key club, and has been playing tennis with friends since the high school season was cancelled (all while social distancing, of course).   

“I am just exploring options for my future and do not have any specific career in mind at this time,” he said regarding his plans after high school, “However, I seem to gravitate towards the legal field. Helping people fight for their rights looks very exciting.”

It’s been a privilege to get connected with Tejas over the past few weeks, and we look forward to his future involvement at CMC. There’s no doubt that he has great things ahead, and we hope to see some of them up close. 

“I did not expect such a great response from the community, and I am happy and humbled with the support I have received for this fundraising,” Tejas said, reflecting on his fundraising success. “This experience has made my summer already a memorable one despite the COVID-19 challenges that we are facing.”

Our Women’s Services staff have been staying up to date on guidelines, modifying services, providing education and support to the women at CMC, and maintaining a safe and stable living environment while we continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation.

The idea of “Stay Safe, Stay Home” has meant something very different at CMC – besides our day to day business functions, the Catherine McAuley Center is also a home for 15 women. Through all of our adaptations and service modifications, it has been important to keep in mind how a person’s home is being impacted with each decision. 

Women’s Services has adapted to be flexible in the delivery of core services for residents. It has been important to acknowledge that while they may share similar goals, each resident’s needs are different. Previously, residents had been accessing case management over the phone and through video conferencing in order to stay mindful of social distancing, as well as participating in small group meetings. There have also been multiple daily group meetings added to the schedule to give residents more chances to check in with one another. Since maintaining connection is so important to the women and Women’s Services staff at CMC, residents are also connecting online in a private Facebook group, and encouraging one another with discussion and encouraging messages throughout the day. 

Even through these strange circumstances, there have been many reminders of the resilience that each woman has developed and the great possibilities that arise when a group of women comes together. Here are a few highlights of residents’ strengths and support of one another:

• While staying safe inside, some of the women started actively planning for the CMC Garden, including sorting donations and starting seedlings.
• Right before Mother’s Day, Linn County was ordered to implement more restrictive measures. For women at CMC this meant that they could not go visit their family and could not have their family visit them. The women collectively saw that this was going to be a difficult day for everyone- as a mother, as a daughter- and they rallied together to come up with a plan to honor each other.
• Some of the women participated in sewing cloth masks that could be used by CMC staff, residents, volunteers and community members. 
• Most importantly, none of the women at CMC have relapsed in their recovery or experienced any mental health symptoms that would require hospitalization since the start of the pandemic. In these times of stress when our brains go into survival mode, they’ve utilized their coping skills, wrapped each other in support, and stayed engaged in the programming that’s offered 
• These women have shown an enormous amount of patience and a willingness to try new things, like learning the new world of Zoom and participating in group learning opportunities in this new digital format. 

Self-awareness, self-care, and our residents’ willingness to help each other has kept things going smoothly at CMC. While our approach has shifted over the past few months, our mission at the Catherine McAuley Center has stayed the same: to offer hope and opportunity through educational and supportive services that promote stability, skill-building, and connection. We have seen these things first hand with our residents, we will continue to see our mission through regardless of the circumstances. 

Our May Volunteer Spotlight is Charles – a long time CMC tutor who has continued his service remotely while we’re anxiously awaiting our return to the Center. Charles has been volunteering at CMC for so long now that he doesn’t even remember an exact starting date, although he’s sure it’s been over 10 years at this point. 

“It seems like it’s always been a part of my life,” he said, “Maybe because I want it to be.” 

Like many others, Charles began his journey with the Catherine McAuley Center after being introduced by someone close to him. In this case, it was his wife. 

“My wife, Libby Slappey, was at one time on the CMC Board, and I knew if she was on the Board, it must be good,” he said, “She has a great sense for what is really worth supporting.”

Thankfully, she was right, and Charles has been a familiar face in our building ever since. 

There are countless reasons that people feel compelled to volunteer at the Catherine McAuley Center. For Charles, it seems to be a combination of gratitude, the love of teaching, and a genuine desire to share his gifts and give back. 

“I have been really lucky and blessed in my life, with a loving family, living in the country I was born in, not having to learn a new language to survive, not having to learn a new culture or take up a new livelihood. I’ve had a good education and spent many years at Collins Aerospace in a steady job with benefits. So I feel it’s my responsibility to give back to the community.”

This kind of well-rounded perspective and empathetic worldview is valuable anywhere and everywhere, and we especially appreciate seeing it in our volunteers. It was elaborated on even more as Charles discussed the highlights of his years of volunteering. 

“The highlight would be when one of my students, a survivor of the Rwandan Genocide, became an American citizen. He would come in every Saturday for two hours, after working at a meatpacking job all week, in addition to raising three children. Who wouldn’t love a person like that, and want them to be a part of your country?” 

Charles has also been ready to take his tutoring online for the time being while we’ve had to adapt and offer many of our services remotely. While it may not be the same as meeting in person, we’re thankful that Charles is still on board until that time comes. 

“(I plan to continue tutoring remotely) as long as my students want it, and as long as it’s required. It’s an honor and a privilege to be a CMC tutor!”

We have been blessed with many generous donations and we are enjoying all of these wonderful items in our new space,  but we are still seeking a few specific items. In order to best serve our clients, our team has compiled a list of everything that’s needed to make all types of programming possible in our new building.

Amazon Wishlist

Want to help outfit the new space?  We’ve created an Amazon Wish List so you can provide the finishing touches on the building!  Shop today and your gifts will be sent right to the Center.  Please be sure to use Amazon Smile on any of your Amazon purchases and select CMC as your charity.  A portion of sales will help make Eastern Iowa a welcoming place!

Amazon Smile

Did you know that Amazon will donate 0.5% of your purchase to your favorite nonprofit organization?  Anytime you shop on Amazon, follow these instructions to help your purchase go further:

If you’ve never registered with AmazonSmile:
1. Visit smile.amazon.com
2. Click Get Started
3. Search for “Catherine McAuley Center”
4. Please be sure to select the one in Cedar Rapids, IA!

To change your charity:
1. Visit smile.amazon.com
2. Under the search bar is where you can see what charity you are supporting.  Click the down arrow to change.

3. Search for “Catherine McAuley Center”
4. Please be sure to select the one in Cedar Rapids, IA!

Make sure you place orders through smile.amazon.com so that purchases are credited towards your selected charity!

Menards Rebates

Do you have Menards rebates laying around?  You can donate those as well to provide more necessities for our new Center!  Rebates can be mailed to 1220 5th Ave SE.

Thank you for anything that you feel compelled to give, and for your continued support of the Catherine McAuley Center. We look forward to sharing our new space with you!

As we continue to adapt to the COVID-19 situation, the Catherine McAuley Center is working to expand communication and resources to our clients and community. Immigrants and refugees are often disproportionately affected in times of crisis, which is why we have been taking additional measures within our food pantry and Refugee and Immigrant Services program. 

Food Boxes

In an effort to encourage our clients to stay at home and continue social distancing, our food pantry is currently delivering supplementary food boxes. Local food pantries do great work in our community, but are not always able to provide culturally appropriate foods to immigrants and refugees. These supplemental boxes supply familiar and culturally-appropriate foods, decreasing the need for clients to leave their homes to shop.

This delivery service is entirely contactless in order to ensure the safety and comfort of both our clients and volunteers.  Volunteering takes place from 10 am – 12 pm on weekdays.  Please contact Katie at volunteer@cmc-cr.org if you are interested in volunteering with this service.

Call Center 

Our Refugee and Immigrant Services department is also expanding their Resource Navigation and Support services in order to serve individuals who speak limited English in Cedar Rapids and Linn County. For many refugees and immigrants, especially those who have settled in the United States recently, unemployment and stimulus benefits are not always readily available. 

Anyone needing assistance can call the Center at 319-731-0445 to be connected with a case manager and an interpreter who can address questions and concerns in their native language. CMC is also able to support community organizations who need assistance to help limited English speakers access their services. We are committed to meeting the needs of our clients and community, and we will continue to provide updates as we adapt our services.

In honor of National Volunteer Week – and to shed a little light in the midst of all the uncertainty – we’re excited to share our April volunteer spotlight, Susan! Susan has been a volunteering at CMC for several years, and has also been one of the first to start teaching remotely while the Center is closed. 

After moving from the Quad Cities to Cedar Rapids, Susan was looking to get involved and find new places to serve her community. 

“Some good friends invited me to go to a training session with them as they knew, like them, I was trying to find some places to plug in and serve after my move.”

There were several things that drew Susan to the Catherine McAuley Center after her initial introduction, including her faith, background in education, and the free time that comes along with having an empty house. 

“The things that drew me here are the opportunity to use my education background, and my heart for and interest in immigrants. Things that make it easy to do now are that I no longer have kids at home to care for and no longer “have” to work for pay to help provide braces, or help with college tuition and books. It’s a joy to help others and give back!”

As a long term tutor, Susan has established many relationships and reasons to keep coming back to the Center, even beyond what initially caught her attention. In regards to what has kept her invested over the years, Susan said “The satisfaction and joy of developing relationships with my students and seeing them progress, and the supportive and encouraging people involved with tutoring through CMC and St. Jude’s.”

“The biggest highlight is getting to know my students and hear their stories. It has often been amazing to hear what they have been through and what they still face now.  It’s also increased my appreciation of my own Norwegian immigrant relatives and what they went through coming to a brand new land, language and culture not that many generations ago.”

Susan has also been one of the first tutors to start volunteering online since the Center has been closed due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Despite being self described as “not techy”, she has met with both of her usual students, with one of them logging on for up to three lessons a week. 

“Other than the harsh reality check of seeing myself on ‘camera’, it’s worked really well! I picked up books at the office by coordinating with Claire. For tests, she’s sent me links that I’ve sent to my student while I ‘proctored’ on video at the same time for test integrity. The more frequent lessons seem to be really helping and she’s on the brink of starting the next book, which I dropped off for her just today!  Even though different, I think it’s been a good experience for both of us.”

When asked about whether or not she plans to keep tutoring remotely for the extent of social distancing, Susan had no doubts. 

“Absolutely!  I left the door open with one student to just let me know a day and time that works for her when she’s ready again. My other student has been very eager and hard working. Inspired by her example, her fiance requested help finding someone to tutor via technology, so he’s off and running, too! I’m thankful for the accelerated learning the current system provides for her and happy to be part of her journey.”

Back in the fall of 2019, we welcomed Peggy Rubero to the Catherine McAuley Center team as our Community Partnerships and Grants Manager. Peggy had previously worked for Pearson, a global education company, for 11 years prior to accepting a job with us. Here are a few questions to get to know Peggy and what this brand new position means for CMC.

Can you briefly discuss your background and how you ended up at CMC?

“I worked for Pearson, and their mission is focused on helping people improve their lives through learning. They do lots of textbook publishing, but also have programs in schools to help children learn. They do this around the world, so even though North America was probably our biggest revenue driver, there was such a need for learning and education in countries that are outside of what we do. They had a really big heart, centered around the question of ‘How do we help people who really need learning and education?’ I loved their mission, but I was also volunteering here at Catherine McAuley. Due to their work with education and helping people make their lives better, especially with the immigrant and refugee community, I saw them as very similar. It was really cool because when I had the opportunity to come here I told my boss ‘I can do what Pearson tries to do on a global level but I can do it locally’, with the addition of knowing that we also had education, immigrants and refugees, and women who were homeless that we were supporting and helping them regain their lives. So when this opportunity came up I said yes to it because I felt like it was not leaving the mission of Pearson in a way, but it was doing something locally. I felt like I was doing something that was closer to helping the community.”

What exactly does this position involve?

“The grants side is easier (to explain) because it’s something that all nonprofits have to do – you do grant writing, and you look for funding sources and companies that are aligned to our mission. Grant writing is a really critical piece because it helps us with a lot of the funding that we need, and some of the grants that are less restrictive allow us to help in ways that some grants and some sources won’t help you. It involves working with the existing granting agencies that we’ve had in the past and trying to grow our relationships there, but also connecting what we’re trying to do strategically and looking for grants and funding sources that will allow us to grow in support and the way that we see. There are things that we may have been doing five years ago that we don’t do in the same way today, so we need other funding sources to help us grow the programs beyond what they looked like a few years ago. Sometimes it’s making sure that sources are still aligned to what we’re doing, and then looking at new opportunities and new granting agencies that we haven’t used before. There’s a fair amount of prospecting that you do as well.”

Which community partnerships have gotten off the ground, and are there any organizations that you hope to get involved with?

“Community partnerships is really working with other agencies that are also working with our clients, and figuring out how we work together to streamline services and get them the support they need – how we coordinate so we’re not stepping on each other, how we make sure we’re clear on how we are helping them together. We work with many agencies through United Way, Eastern Iowa Healthcare, the Abbe Center, and all sorts of places that are trying to do the same thing for our collective clients. 

At Raining Rose, for example, some of our clients that are coming to us through immigration and refugee services, or through our adult education services, are employed there. We bring ESL classes onsite for them, and that’s really cool because it’s helping the employee – who is an immigrant that we’re working with in different capacities here – have a secure job that they can grow in. At the same time it does something for the employee base, because now they’re working with more diversity. Having access to people from other parts of the world changes the way we think, it changes what we do sometimes – in a really good way. People may not have an opportunity to work with somebody from Tanzania, or someone from El Salvador, and you can learn from them and they’re learning from us. That partnership started before I came on board so I can’t say ‘Guess what I started!’ but there was a need, and there was a realization that having classes on site there would be good. We’ve been doing that since last fall. 

I’ve also met with Mercy Medical Center. Sarah Blakeney (CMC’s Employment Services Coordinator) works on employment support, and Mercy Hospital is one place that we’re trying to help. They need employees to help them with some of their services, and we have people that are qualified and looking for jobs. That’s really exciting, because you’re helping immigrants, you’re helping the hospital or the business, and you’re helping the employees. You’re helping them understand how we’re trying to be welcoming to people from anywhere, and now they develop relationships with people that they possibly wouldn’t otherwise. I think it is a lot of mutual benefit. I also think there are barriers – we have to acknowledge that there are language barriers, there are cultural barriers, and a way that you break down some of those barriers is by working together. We still have a lot of work to do but it’s the right thing, and it aligns also with what the city of Cedar Rapids is trying to do with this Gateways for Growth project that they took on a year and a half ago. It’s all around ‘How do we make this a more welcoming place?’ Immigrants contribute an extensive amount to the community. Some of it’s very tangible, some of it’s intangible, but it’s all really important. 

I think it’s important to say ‘Let me tell you about the people that are coming here, let me tell you about these barriers,’ but let me statistically tell you a few things that you wouldn’t know. You can tell a compelling story through a narrative, and have numbers that are embedded in that narrative. It all leads to ‘This is why we like having this diverse community.’”