Rachel's Vineyard Retreats . . .

In the most recent Annual Newsletter of Rachel's Vineyard Retreats, Donetta Robben writes, "Two years ago the Dodge City Diocese had contacted us to see if there was a way to collaborate in bringing Rachel's Vineyard to their diocese. One of their counselors from Catholic Charities--Hattie Stein (pictured at right)--has been trained in post-abortion trauma and has already served as counselor on one of our retreats. Beginning in 2010, we will continue to have two retreats in the Salina Diocese and add one retreat in the Dodge City Diocese. Hattie is a welcomed blessing." For more information about the post-abortion grief experience, and upcoming retreats, visit the Rachel's Vineyard Ministries Website, or call 620-227-1584.

A Message from the Director . . .

Over the last few weeks we have all watched with concern the events in Haiti.  Much of this attention has been focused on the children. The long term relationship between this country and Haiti in finding families for orphaned children explains the level of concern we've seen expressed.

I recently spent some time on a conference call with the State Department, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security and the Immigration and Naturalization Service to hear about the status of orphaned children in Haiti. As you can imagine, things are very chaotic and the challenge to meet basic needs is great.

These agencies have established priorities to address the concern about the status of orphaned children in the following manner:

• The priority is with those children whose adoptive process was already complete.  Many of these adoptive parents were with their children in Haiti at the time the earthquake hit.  Though these adoptions were complete, families were waiting for VISA’s or other document necessary to leave the country.
• The second priority was with those children who had been matched with parents but were not in Haiti with their children.

In both cases the focus of the US agencies is to make sure parents are actually who they claim to be and have been determined to be qualified to adopt.  At time of crisis, children are often at great risk from people who want to do them harm.  The US Agencies are working hard to protect children as well as help unite them with their parents.

At this time no other children are being allow to leave the country and the United Nations Children's  Fund (UNICEF) is working to establish safe locations in Haiti for children who are without a family member or adult to care for them.  We have been told that any children who have been transported to the US without prior authorization will be placed in the Undocumented Minors Program.

We are not anticipating that there will be a need for Americans to open their homes to these children or that there will be a significant number of Haitian children who will become available for adoption.

If you are interested in more specific information please contact Susan Hendershot, Family Services Coordinator, at 620-272-0010 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Please Support our Brothers and Sisters in Haiti During Their Time of Need

On the afternoon of Tuesday, January 12th, Haiti was shaken by the largest earthquake that has ever been recorded in the area. The earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.0 and was centered about 10 miles west of Port-au-Prince, with a very destructive superficial depth of only 5 miles according to the U.S. Geological Survey. 

Many homes and buildings, including a hospital and the national palace and cathedral have collapsed. Thousands have lost their lives, including the Archbishop of Port-au-Prince, Serge Miot. Together, with the rest of the Catholic Church, we pray:

God of all creation, as we weep with our family in Haiti, console us.
In this time of crisis, open our eyes to look beyond the disaster
to see Christ in our brothers and sisters in Haiti, as Christ sees us.
Be with all creation; strengthen us in solidarity with those living and working in Haiti.
All creation returns to you in mourning and your grace guides our efforts to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, comfort the grieving and stand for justice.
With your mercy, sustain us at this time as we continue to work for peace and justice.
Amen.

The Catholic community in the United States is reaching out to our brothers and sisters in Haiti in significant and immediate ways. Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the official international humanitarian agency of the U.S. Catholic Church, is mounting a major emergency response to this disaster and has made an initial commitment of 5 million dollars for immediate use in the relief effort. 

Donate to Catholic Relief Services by clicking here, or by calling 1-877-HELP-CRS, or by sending a check to Catholic Relief Services, P.O. Box 17090, Baltimore, MD 21203-7090. In the memo portion of your check, please write:  Haiti Earthquake.

Parishes across the country were urged by Cardinal Francis George, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and Archbishop Timothy Dolan, chair of the CRS board, to take up a special collection the weekend of January 16-17, 2010 for the humanitarian efforts in Haiti.

These funds will be used to support the efforts of the USCCB and CRS as they respond to immediate emergency needs for such necessities as water, food, shelter and medical care, as well as to the long term need to rebuild after widespread destruction, and to the pastoral and reconstruction needs of the Church in Haiti.

On January 23-24, many dioceses are scheduled to take up the Collection for the Church in Latin America. This Collection is vitally important for our ability to respond to the pastoral needs of the Church in Haiti and other parts of Latin America in the weeks and months ahead. Please support both of these expressions of our solidarity and loving support for our brothers and sisters in Haiti.

Bundles for Babies Campaign a huge success!

During the month of November, Lisa Lutey of Jetmore, Kansas, launched the Bundles for Babies Campaign for Catholic Social Service. This was to help those in need as well as the students in the teen moms program have access to diapers for their children. Lisa and her daughter's girl scout group decorated boxes and change jars to be placed at numerous locations throughout Dodge City and Jetmore. These locations included several churches and businesses.

The response of the communities to this campaign was enormous! Catholic Social Service received the following:

101 packages of diapers, 13 baby wipes, 4 baby washes, 2 baby lotions, 2 diaper rash creams, 3 baby powders, lots of clothing, toys, 2 board games and approximately 200.00 in donations! A local business also donated a gift card for diapers.

It's also exciting to mention that, although the campaign is completed, there have been other groups continuing to bring items in, have sales to raise money for the program and calling to ask about any needs we continue to have. This was all due to the Bundles for Babies Campaign and we thank Lisa and all of her helpers for doing this for us!

Catholic Social Service Receives $2000 from the Albert Gumbir Charitable Fund

In every community there are those few individuals who truly made a difference.  Albert Gumbir was one of those individuals.  Today Albert’s legacy lives on, with the help of the Golden Belt Community Foundation to continue to provide support to charitable organizations that help those people who are indigent and could not otherwise pay for the services they need.  The Albert Gumbir Charitable Fund continues to provide grants to Barton County agencies to carry out his wish of helping others.

Born in 1905 in Austria, Albert settled in Odin, Kansas with his family and was a resident of Great Bend since 1922.  It could be said that Albert was a “self-made” man, meaning that he worked hard during his lifetime and was very diligent about money.  He preferred to be known by these words, “He’s been richly blessed with good health and wants to help others.”  And that is exactly what he did – help others.  He was always looking for things that he could do for others or for his community.  He felt that the community had been good to him for so many years and he wanted to somehow repay it.  Specifically, Albert was concerned about those individuals who might fall through the cracks and not receive the help they really needed when it was most important to them.  These are the individuals whom he wished to help the most. 

Albert passed away at the age of 96 in June of 2001.  The Foundation is honored to be able to continue Albert’s charitable giving in his name.  It is the Foundation’s hope that he will be remembered not only as someone who was full of life and loved to help others, but as a great volunteer and philanthropist to his community.

The recipients the 2009 grants from the Albert Gumbir Charitable Fund:

Barton County Emergency Aid Council, $2,500
Community Food Bank of Barton County $3,000
Catholic Social Service – Faith in Families Fund $2,000
Trinity Lutheran Church – Social Concerns Team $900

All of these agencies work together to assist those in need of food or other services by communicating, networking, and sharing knowledge and resources.

by Christy Tustin, Executive Director
Golden Belt Community Foundation

Infant Entrapment and Suffocation Prompts Stork Craft

to Recall More Than 2.1 Million Drop-Side Cribs

In November 2009, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), in cooperation with Stork Craft manufacturing Inc., of British Columbia, Canada, announced the voluntary recall of more than 2.1 million Stork Craft drop-side cribs in Canada and the U.S. 

If you are currently using one of the Stork Craft drop-side cribs involved in the recall, stop using the  crib immediately. Find an alternative and safe sleeping environment for your baby, and then log onto Stork Craft, or contact them toll-free at (877) 274-0277 anytime to order a free repair kit that converts the drop-side crib into a fixed side crib. Do not try to repair the crib on your own without the free repair kit.

For more information about the recall, click here.

Thank You, Thank You!

Debbie Snapp, Executive Director of Catholic Social Service (CSS) in the Diocese of Dodge City, and Amy Falcon, Teen Mom Program Coordinator, accept a check from Stephanie Groth for $2500.00 from the Community Foundation of Southwest Kansas for the CSS Teen Mom Program. Read more about the Teen Mom program here.

Changing the world - one adoption at a time

Mark and Krista Ball had four beautiful children when they approached Catholic Social Service to inquire about adoption in 1992. Today, four more children have entered their family through adoption, and they have been instrumental in finding four more families in their church to adopt nine children from an orphanage in Ethiopia. "Basically," Mark explains, "we are out to give hope to kids who have no hope unless somebody else adopts them . . . You could send anybody our way to talk about how to get from here to there, or Catholic Social Service would have ideas too." Click here to read Mark and Krista's inspiring story.

Catholic Social Service Teams up with the Americorp Vista Program

to provide Benefit Bank Services in Great Bend KS

Catholic Social Service is delighted to have two Americorp Volunteers to assist with the Benefit Bank program in Great Bend, Kansas, beginning in October 2009. Pattie Sanders and Gabriela Moreno, both trained in the Benefit Bank software program, will work with moderate-and low-income individuals and families to determine whether they are eligible for public benefits such as cash assistance, food assistance and Medicaid. They will also be able to help e-file taxes, FREE of charge, to assist families in claiming the tax credits, deductions and adjustments they are eligible to receive.

The Benefit Bank Service is available at five sites throughout the diocese:

• The Catholic Social Service Office in Great Bend KS
• The Catholic Social Service Office in Garden City KS
• The Catholic Social Service Office in Dodge City KS
• The Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Dodge City KS
• St John the Apostle Church in St John KS

In addition to these locations, Sanders and Moreno will partner with other agencies, and set up booths and tables throughout the community in order to reach those in need.

Catholic Charities Celebrates 100 Years!

Locally, and across the nation, 2010 is a special year for Catholic Charities!

Across the country, Catholic Charities USA will be celebrating 100 years of volunteer and professional service for the men, women, and children without voice in our society. Catholic Social Service is pleased to join the celebration with 45 years of service and accomplishment in Southwest Kansas.

Yet, as the video below makes clear, our work is not done. We invite you to join the Catholic Charity celebration by participating in our campaign to cut poverty in half by 2020.