Catholic Charities is the oldest beneficiary of The New York Times Communities Fund, and the need for its services has only grown over the decades. Though run by the Catholic Church, Catholic Charities serves people of all denominations and backgrounds. Its work ranges from running a pop-up food pantry in the Bronx to assisting undocumented immigrants expelled from Texas, arranging shelter for Ukrainian refugees after they were abandoned by their sponsor, or organizing a relief fund for victims of Hurricane Milton.
Services like these are perhaps more important than ever. Shortages of housing nationwide, high food prices, waves of migrants, a changing climate and toxic political divisions have placed intense demands on nonprofit organizations. This year, the first $750,000 raised by Catholic Charities through the Communities Fund will be used to help families in New York move from the shelter system into affordable housing. Donations above that will be dedicated to helping immigrants and refugees with legal representation and assistance.
The latter mission is likely to become even more vital if the new Trump administration follows through on its plans to expel millions of undocumented immigrants. Catholic Charities and other faith-based groups that assist migrants have already come under attack from right-wing extremists and conspiracy theorists who wrongly accuse them, among other things, of child trafficking and migrant smuggling.
Catholic Charities has not flinched in the face of such malice. Help for vulnerable people on the move, including food, clean clothes and a place to sleep and bathe, is an elemental humanitarian act. It’s up to lawmakers to agree on and implement solutions for America’s broken immigration system and the shortage of housing; until then, Catholic Charities and other organizations perform essential work. Without them, many families and individuals would be out in the streets.
Charity is a mission of the Catholic Church and other faith-based organizations, but it is also deeply ingrained in the American way of life. The government leaves the delivery of many social services to the private sector, or relies on private charities to provide them. That places the primary burden of humanitarian assistance to our neighbors on nonprofit organizations. These groups, in turn, rely on the support of every American. The Times first acknowledged this responsibility in December 1912, with a list of “The New York Times 100 Neediest Cases,” and the appeal has continued and evolved ever since. In 2023, the effort was renamed into its present form, The New York Times Communities Fund.
The partnership of a newspaper and charitable organizations is symbiotic. The Times has the voice to reach millions; nonprofit charities have the expertise and dedication to help the homeless, the hungry, the neglected, the elderly, the exiled and the lonely. Catholic Charities is among the most venerable and effective of our partners in helping a person in need.
You can learn more about the beneficiary organizations and donate at nytcommunitiesfund.org. To donate by check, please make your check payable to New York Times Communities Fund, and send to P.O. Box 5193, New York, N.Y. 10087.
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