Statewide Texas Catholic Charities Have Impressive Collective Reach This Past Year For COVID-19 And Winter Storm Response

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DALLAS, May 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In serving the most vulnerable among us, Catholic Charities agencies across the state put their faith into action to help more than half a million Texans affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the devastating winter storm during this past year. The faith-based agencies collectively provided help and hope by meeting essential needs for food, transportation, financial assistance, case management, and more.

Catholic Charities agencies in Austin (Central Texas), Beaumont, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Fort Worth, Galveston-Houston, Laredo, Lubbock, Odessa, Rio Grande Valley, San Antonio, Texas Panhandle, and Tyler reported their efforts. The most impressive COVID-19 and Winter Storm measurements of help ranging from March 15,2020- March 15, 2021 are:

• 707,657 Texans served
• $83,142,183 in financial aid distributed
• 17,553,221 pounds of food provided
• 16,782 cases of water donated
• 84,885 diapers, wipes, blankets, and hygiene kits distributed
• 44,881 total rides provided
• 2,684 gallons of hand sanitizer provided
• Countless more housed, clothed, and medically cared for

In response to the restrictions imposed by the pandemic, Texas Catholic Charities have successfully redesigned services to virtual case management models, engineered food distribution services to incorporate drive-throughs, reworked transportation programs into meal delivery services, partnered with cities and airports to provide mass aid, launched entirely new programs like crisis counseling and disaster case management, created and staffed up call centers, led grassroots efforts to help the most marginally affected members of our communities, served on long-term recovery boards, launched research projects to study how clients were responding, and fundraised successfully even before government funding was available.

With agencies in operation for over 100 years, integrity in service models, creativity in crisis, and reliability and loyalty to community needs, Catholic Charities continues to be a poverty-ending cornerstone here in Texas.

Please contact your local Catholic Charities office for interview requests using the contacts listed below. Impact stories, visuals, and spokespeople may be available upon request.

Catholic Charities of the Texas Panhandle
Jeff Gulde, [email protected] 
806-376-4571

Catholic Charities of Central Texas
Kara Henderson, [email protected]
512-651-6118

Catholic Charities of Southeast Texas
Derrick Owens, [email protected]
409-924-4421

Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley
Sister Norma Pimentel, [email protected]
956-702-4088

Catholic Charities of Corpus Christi
Shannette Hoelscher, [email protected]
361-884-0651 ext 246

Catholic Charities Dallas
Jeremy Bermender, [email protected] 
469-801-8133

Catholic Charities Fort Worth
Katelin Cortney, [email protected]
817-289-3878

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese Galveston-Houston
Betsy Ballard, [email protected]
713-874-6751

Catholic Charities Diocese of Laredo
Maria de los Angeles Palacios, [email protected]
956-722-2443

Catholic Charities of Lubbock
Cynthia Quintanilla, [email protected]
806-642-449

Catholic Charities Community Services of Odessa
Sara Aguilar, [email protected]
432-332-1387

Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of San Antonio
Antonio Fernandez, [email protected]
210-222-1294

Catholic Charities Diocese of Tyler
Kathy S. Harry, [email protected]
903-258-9492

SOURCE Texas Catholic Charities