Go Volunteers!

Details: 09 July 2009

What would Catholic Social Services do without our many dedicated volunteers?

Answering this question is easy – Catholic Social Services as we know it would not exist. Last year, Catholic Social Services was blessed to have 620 volunteers (of varied ages – school age up to seniors) who contributed 18,523 hours of volunteer time at a value of more than $153,000!!

As staggering as these statistics are, we are desperately in need of more volunteer help. I love to remind people that our diocese stretches east from the Iowa and Missouri borders to the Colorado border west, and north from the Platte River to the Kansas border south. This represents 24,000 square miles of territory, with nearly 20,000 people served annually all across the diocese, regardless of race, religion or ethnicity from a social and clinical services standpoint! This is why I am on my fourth set of tires!

To our many dedicated volunteers, please accept my most sincere gratitude and thanks. Without you, we would not be able to help the many poor and needy individuals and families who come to us on a weekly basis, in many cases in crisis. These equally-staggering statistics help one more easily understand why additional help is needed.

Writing a column like this is long overdue, for it answers a question that is frequently asked: “Father, what can I do to help?”

The possibilities are seemingly endless. We are in need of answering phones, filing, office and clerical work; helping in the accounting department; data entry; keeping our parking lots clean and tidy; helping at St. Gianna’s; helping at our First Friday Fish Fry outside of Lent (which benefits St. Gianna’s); cleaning, painting, gardening and yard work; helping in the food pantry; helping families to their cars with groceries; helping in our mobile food pantries (which stretch across the diocese); helping in our thrift stores (which involves sorting donations and working on the retail floor, being a personal shopper, picking up donations and delivering items as needed); keeping our vehicles clean; helping with maintenance, and many other items. Recently, some of our volunteers built shelving and remodeled a bathroom. The possibilities are truly endless.

For those who are interested, please call Curt Krueger (402-474-1600) for those living in the eastern part of the diocese covering Auburn and Lincoln; Tom Schik (402-463-2112) at our Hastings office; or Bill Sullivan (308-882-3005) who is at our Imperial location. The process is easy. It involves filling out a volunteer application and a form for a background check and you are off to the races.

In addition to thanking our many volunteers, be assured of the prayers of our staff for you and your families and intentions as well as my prayers as well.

Please also know that these words of our Divine Savior will apply to you in a special way after you enter eternal life, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much, enter into the joy of your master (Mt 25:23).”