Catholic Charities of Southwestern Ohio announced their 2017 report of funds from the One Faith, One Hope, One Love campaign. For the year, the agency received just more than $1.2 million dollars. They used the money to fund food pantries, provide family services, programming and more. Each of the programs listed below are opportunities for service made possible from funds provided by the campaign. The programs are directly impacting on thousands of lives.

Here is the breakdown of funds:

• Parish Outreach: $ 83,674

The Catholic Charities Parish Outreach program allows lay people and clergy to bring services to those in need. In 2017 they were able to serve more than 115 parishes with assistance in food and coats and helping to organize donations.

• Hunger Reduction: $378,353

Catholic Charities provides meals to those in need in every area of the Archdiocese. One initiative is the Catholic Charities Food for All that works with social service agencies to serve rural communities in the eastern counties of the Archdiocese. The funds were also used to provide meals through the Springfield Food Pantry and mobile pantries. In 2017 more than 450,000 meals were served through pantries and school backpack programs.

• Family Services: $28,855

Individual counseling to children is provided to at-risk children and their families through Catholic Charites. In 2017 more than 1,200 children were served.

• Health and Education Programs: $139,499

Hispanic and Latino immigrants are provided assistance through the Su Casa program organized by Catholic Charities. Services include education and fitness classes, health fairs, screenings, referrals and emergency assistance. In 2017 more than 4,000 were served through this outreach.

• Behavioral Health: $332,593

Behavioral health services are provided through Catholic Charities to anyone in need, regardless of faith or income. The program is certified through the Ohio Department of Mental Health. In 2017 more than 10,000 sessions were provided.

• Volunteer Programs: $52,947

In 2017 more than 5,500 volunteers worked at Catholic Charities. Their service produced nearly 200,000 hours of work on behalf of the agency.

• Capitol Purchases: $27,066

In 2017 needed updates were made to phones, signage and HVAC.

According to the CEO of Catholic Charities Southwestern Ohio, Ted Bergh, the One Faith, One Hope, Love campaign has been instrumental in allowing Catholic Charities to serve the community. “All of this work from, Food for All, to volunteer engagement, was made possible by the One Faith, One Hope, One Love campaign. Donations enabled us to launch new services and expand existing programs. Contributions improved the lives of thousands of more people served by Catholic Charities,” said Mr. Bergh.