I didn’t know I could handle it, but I do well. Now 52, she is amazed at all she has accomplished as a member of the Gallagher community, where she was a pioneer of independent living. Kenice Fleming came to Gallagher Services at age 8. Begun as a residential program for children in 1977, today Gallagher Services offers community living for adults, a medical day program, and support for vocational training and employment.
Here, we do whatever is possible to help them achieve that vision. I am very grateful that you are part of it.Īdults with intellectual disabilities can explore their own vision of a fulfilling life with Gallagher Services. In the end, we are all called to one journey: to live in richer and more complete solidarity with one another. We are, in other words, able to see that our separate journeys are only as separate as we make them out to be. We are able to celebrate the desires for love, acceptance, and meaning that unite all of us. Through the power of compassion, we are able to see one another more clearly. All who are touched by this encounter are enriched, including us. In celebrating this shared dignity, our community becomes more vibrant and thriving. We do this out of love and in recognition of the dignity of each person. We walk with them as they move towards happier, healthier, and more fulfilling lives. We at Catholic Charities do the community-building work of listening to and understanding each person in each encounter. In every Catholic Charities program at every location, including our newest program, My Brother’s Keeper in Irvington, hundreds of thousands of people are supported on their journeys. They are stories: stories of people on a journey. Our programs and people, and the facts we share here, are more than numbers. As you will see in the pages that follow, this compassion makes meaningful and profound differences. The call to compassion without borders or boundaries informs every dimension of our work. Without the transformative power of boundless compassion, our values- to love, to serve, to teach, and to work for justice-ring hollow. Greg’s words beautifully articulate our values at Catholic Charities and how we go about our work. speaks plainly and powerfully about the love and compassion we are called to bring to every encounter with every person: “Here is what we seek: a compassion that can stand in awe at what the poor have to carry rather than stand in judgment at how they carry it.”Īt Catholic Charities, boundless compassion-informed by our values-is the foundation of the movement to improve lives. In his book Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion, Fr. You become an answer to Christ’s call.Thank you for all you do to share in that mission.Ĭhair, Catholic Charities Board of Trustees These are but a few of the ways we express a Catholic faith by committing ourselves to our community, to our sisters and brothers and to our loving Father.īy supporting Catholic Charities, you make that commitment, become part of that community, and bring hope to others. For those in need of life’s basic necessities, it means shelter and the assurance of a next meal. For immigrants, it might mean English lessons, health care, or legal services. For older adults, it may mean resources to make aging at home easier. For women and men in need of skills and a second chance, it could mean job training and preparation for interviews. It is a story of support and achievement, felt by those who found both when they nearly lost hope, had nearly given up on human kindness.įor adults with intellectual disabilities, that may mean living independently and having a job. What you will see in this annual report is a powerful, if small, sample of the ways people’s lives have been enriched, and even saved, by Catholic Charities. Simply put, honoring the Divine within each person is the meaning of Catholic Charities’ core mission to improve lives.
This is the foundational commitment of Catholic Charities, which animates each of its 2,100 employees and thousands of volunteers serving Marylanders in need. By doing so, we not only model Christ for those living on society’s margins but we also honor the dignity that is inherent in each one of God’s children. Caring for our sisters and brothers is one way in which we express our Catholic faith and our baptismal call to serve the least among us.