Casey Clay: What Does Charity Mean?
When I first arrived at Catholic Charities, I thought it was pretty clear what the organization did. Boy, was I wrong. When I first heard the word ‘charity’ I thought about the canned food drives that were rampant throughout middle and high school, or the times I gave an extra dollar to some cause at the grocery store checkout. I tended to associate the word ‘charity’ with a give and forget model. Surely my donation alone would be enough to help someone, right? The first day with my supervisor changed my perception about what ‘charity’ really means entirely.
“Sure, donations are great and absolutely necessary for the community we serve,” my supervisor told me, “but what about the days/weeks/months after?” My first day at the office was jam packed with incredibly eye opening conversations and information about all that Catholic Charities offers to the community. They have a plethora of programs which can be viewed under five lenses: food, health, housing, education, and economic security. All of these categories come together and work towards the common goal of ending poverty in Santa Clara County. I learned that the organization maintains long term relationships with their clients. Catholic Charities provide clients meaningful physical and educational resources so that they can lift themselves out of their difficult situations.
One of my goals for my fellowship is to meet with each of the different departments and really become familiar with the great work that they do. A few weeks ago, I got to meet someone from the Refugee Foster Care (RFC) program. RFC resettles unaccompanied refugee minors into long-term foster homes throughout the Bay Area and continues providing supportive services to both youth and families. Working throughout eight counties, they are the only program in the Bay Area serving these youth. Since 2004, they have placed more than 140 refugee children in loving homes. RFC's mission is to open doors to the youth of our world who are in need of a home and a safe place to grow up. In just my short few weeks with Catholic Charities, I have learned about so many new and exciting ways people are giving back the underprivileged members of our community. I look forward to coming into work every day because I know that I will learn something new and leave feeling inspired to help my fellow humans.