Catholic Charities is the social service ministry of the Diocese of San Diego. For over one hundred years, Catholic Charities have responded to the pressing needs of the time throughout San Diego and Imperial Counties. Programs include Homeless Men’s and Homeless Women’s Services, Refugee Services, Immigrant Services, Community Services including Senior Services, Foster Grandparent Program, Food Resource Centers, CalFresh Healthy Living Programs and Post Adoption Services.
In 1919 while San Diego was still part of the Diocese of Los Angeles, a lay committee identified four areas of need for San Diego including: child welfare; family welfare; correctional work; and immigrant welfare. That year a small branch office of the Catholic Welfare Bureau opened in the McNeece Building at Fifth Avenue and F Street, and this was the beginning of Catholic Charities’ tradition of service, response to community need, and advocacy.
Catholic Charities, Diocese of San Diego, has a long tradition of community support and collaborations including: the United Way, the County of San Diego and the State of California. These partnerships along with donations from the community and the Diocese enable Catholic Charities to continue its legacy of service to those most in need. To quote their website:
“The role of Catholic Charities has been to provide social welfare programs, witness to the scriptural values of mercy and justice, and advocate for the poor and vulnerable within the diocese. Catholic Charities, while evolving over the past 100 plus years, has remained faithful to its original mandate: assist the child, the family, the immigrant, and the marginalized.”
Menard Family Foundation is pleased to support the numerous programs of Catholic Charities and to affirm their fidelity to the mission of:
“Witnessing the gospel message contained in “Matthew 25:“; to advocate for a just society by Calling individuals and institutions to action on behalf of the poor, the vulnerable and the marginalized; and to acknowledge the sacredness of the human person by Accompanying those we serve on their journey toward achieving their full potential as persons created in the image and likeness of God.”