(This column is updated with information about assisting with the development of an ESOL program for Afghan refugees and a day recreational program for Afghani children.)
Like you, I love this time of year when we think more about giving. Not just holiday presents, but giving of ourselves and our resources to help those in need. From checking in with relatives and friends to providing a Christmas gift for someone who would otherwise not get one to donating to charity, this season of Thanksgiving and Christmas seems to take us beyond ourselves to thinking more about what we can do for others.
There is much need in our world and our own neighborhoods, and I am frequently asked by people how they can help with some of the biggest needs of our day.
While we have made progress fighting COVID-19, it continues to affect those we love, our daily lives, and our economy. If you wish to help those impacted by the pandemic, I suggest donating to our Virtual Food Drive going on right now. One in 10 of our neighbors wonder where their next meal will come from, and we can all be the reasons they are fed today. (You can find more information and donate at our Catholic Charities website.)
I am also asked about how to help the people of Haiti after the devastation of the past year. That country saw its president assassinated in July, and in August it was slammed with a powerful earthquake followed just three days later by a hurricane. It is still sad to think about those tragedies and to realize that just south of our own borders, a nation struggles to survive. Food is a big concern, as are employment and just the ability of people to take care of their families. Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is doing some excellent work there for all of you interested in supporting their efforts.
Another area of great suffering in 2021 is Afghanistan, and I am also approached about ways to help the many refugees fleeing danger and seeking safety in our country. I would like to share two possible ways you can make a difference directly for these refugees.
The first involves my nephew, Kevin. He went to the same college I did (Loras College in Iowa) and has followed God’s call into works of service. After graduation, he spent a year or so helping the college with admissions and other day-to-day responsibilities before coming to work for us at Catholic Charities, where he helped with our Parish Partners program and organized some wonderful volunteer projects.
Kevin then went into the Peace Corps and served in Mozambique, where he helped a lot of people, before coming back to Boston College and earning his master of social work degree. He worked for CRS in Jerusalem for a year, and recently accepted a job with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), working with refugees on the East Coast. He oversees operations in the Fort Dix area near Trenton, New Jersey, where roughly 100,000 refugees have come from Afghanistan.
He and others are doing their best to help meet the needs of these refugees, and those needs are great. I know Kevin would love to hear from you if you are able to help. Opportunities range from donating to volunteering for a week and even some paid assignments that last a few months.
Closer to home, I am happy to report that the State Department and USCCB have approached Catholic Charities about assisting with the development of a ESOL program for Afghan refugees and a day recreational program for Afghani children. We are seeking through the USCCB volunteer office anyone who might be interested in assisting one day a week until March 2022 in either of these projects. These volunteers would be working in the Bethesda area and so the opportunity would be convenient for those at Bethesda and Potomac parishes.
We all feel the need and the call to take care of those in need, and these are just some ways that are available right now in the wake of events of the past year. God bless all who give in this season of gratitude and generosity through their time, talent, treasure and prayers. It is the way of love, and the call of the Gospel. As St. Francis said, “For it is in giving that we receive.”
May we thank God for the many gifts in our lives. May we receive God’s gift of Jesus to us and to the world this Christmas. And may we respond by making a gift of our lives to love those around us, especially those in need.
(Msgr. Enzler serves as president and CEO of Catholic Charities of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington. He writes the “Faith in Action” columns for the archdiocese’s Catholic Standard and Spanish-language El Pregonero newspapers and websites.)
