In the end, everything has been entrusted to our protection, and all of us are responsible for it. Be protectors of God's gifts! Pope Francis
Catholic Charties assisted Bon Secours St. Francis Health System in providing much needed warmth and comfort for the impending winter season. On Saturday, December 10th, over 250 individuals in the City View community received a warm meal, a coat, hat, scarves and gloves as well as stuffed animals and books for the children. The event was held at the First Christian Fellowship Church in City View. Bon Secours and Goodwill offered job assistance to those in need and other services were there to provide assistance. This was the 2nd year that Bon Secours has provided this service. City View is one of several communities that will be served by Our Lady's Pantry when it opens at San Sebastian in 2017.
The Piedmont office of Catholic Charities received 100 books to be used at a "lending library" to encourage reading to children at an early age. Catholic Charities is partnering with Read Greenville, a program created by Greenville First Steps, to introduce books and reading at home. Statistics show that a student who finishes second grade without being able to read has only a 1 in 4 chance of reading at grade level by the end of elementary school and thirty-five percent of children with reading disabilities drop out of school, a rate twice that of classmates.
The books can be loaned our for children to read and returned so that others may benefit from this resource. The lending library will be a part of a greater overall wellness approach by Catholic Charities in conjunction with Our Lady's Pantry that will focus on nutrional, financial, emotional and spiritual wellness. The pantry will be open in 2017 at the San Sebastian location at 2300 Old Buncombe Rd in Greenville.