Northwest Suburban parishes respond to help refugees in need

Responding to an urgent call last month from Catholic Charities for help with a large group of refugees, four Northwest Suburban Catholic parishes came through with donations totaling $2,500. The parishes are: Our Lady of the Wayside, Arlington Heights; St. Emily, Mount Prospect; St. Thomas Beckett, Mount Prospect; and St. Zachary in Des Plaines. The money was used for rent, furnishings and food.

"Catholic Charities Refugee Resettlement Program had a sudden influx of 23 refugees from Iraq, Afghanistan, Burma, Bhutan and the Congo. One of the families consisted of a single mother with five children. Apartments needed to be rented, furnished and stocked with food prior to the arrivals. The crisis was met with an outpouring of support from local parishes," said Mike Waters, North Regional director for Catholic Charities.

Catholic Charities annually serves more than 1 million individuals without regard to religious, ethnic or economic background. The agency's Northwest Region office, located at 1717 Rand Road in Des Plaines, is a hub of human services, with a food pantry, clothing room, twice-weekly suppers for the hungry and housing, counseling and referral programming. For more information, call (847) 376-2100 or visit www.catholiccharities.net/northwest.

Helping people in need for more than 96 years, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago is one of the largest private, nonprofit social service agencies in the Midwest. Catholic Charities fulfills the church's role in the mission of charity by providing compassionate, competent, professional services that strengthen and support individuals, families and communities.