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Dear Friends and Supporters, I am pleased to inform you that the Agency’s Annual Report is available and has been posted to the Agency’s Website.

Catholic Charities offices will open at 10:00 AM with the exception of 24 hour facilities. Orientation for new staff will take place at 10:30.

UPDATE: Our offices are closed today, February 12, 2019, with the exception of 24 hour facilities. Please be safe.

Under the leadership of new Program Director Jennifer Hinton, Unity Square, a community development and social concerns initiative of Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen, is looking forward to working with its partners Holy Family Parish and New Brunswick Tomorrow to continue to empower community members and catalyze change in New Brunswick.

Just in time for the 2018-19 school year, Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen, added a second preschool program to its catalogue of services in New Brunswick - the Youth Enrichment Services (YES) at St. Ladislaus, 197 Somerset Street. Catholic Charities is building on the success of the YES Early Learning Center at Sacred Heart, 115 Commercial Avenue, which uses Tools of the Mind© Curriculum to ensure every child becomes a successful learner. The Agency was awarded a second contract and began the task renovating the center on July 1st. Thirty-two new staff members were hired and upgrades to the center were completed in preparation to welcome students in September. The Preschool Center at St. Ladislaus has 12 classrooms with a maximum capacity of 180 children. Funding for the program is provided by the New Brunswick School District.

Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen once again found itself both giving and receiving at the 15th Annual Harvest of Hope dinner held on October 25th Immaculate Conception 316 Old Allerton Road, Annandale, NJ. The dinner is an annual celebration of the Catholic Charities Solidarity Team (CCST), a volunteer program of Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen that works to promote the universality of the Church and to reduce injustice & suffering overseas and locally in the Metuchen Diocesan Counties of Middlesex, Somerset, Hunterdon, and Warren. About 100 people attended the dinner that spotlighted the work in Guatemala of two congregations from the Diocese of Metuchen.

Two hundred and seventy five supporters for Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen gathered together on Thursday, October 18, 2018 at the Palace in Somerset Park, NJ to honor this year’s Champions, David and Deborah Samuel and Reverend Monsignor John N. Fell, STD. The event was a visible sign of solidarity for the less fortunate among us while providing much-needed financial support for the vital work of Catholic Charities.

Catholic Charities Child Care Programs are celebrating Lights On 2018 with special activities to draw attention to the importance of after school child care. In America today, 11.3 million children are alone and unsupervised after school. After school programs keep kids safe, help working families and inspire learning.

Catholic Charities’ YES Early Learning Center (YES ELC) preschool in New Brunswick honored its pre-school graduates at a Moving Up ceremony in June. The now Kindergarten students proudly paraded around the gym displaying their certificates. A total of 335 participants including children and their families were present to celebrate the graduates.

While Florence was not expected to directly hit New York or New Jersey, forecasters predicted the two states could feel the residual effects of the hurricane and experience heavy rain  (http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/msn/will-hurricane-florence-hit-new-jersey-or-new-york/ar-BBN8IQJ ) .   Be informed, plan ahead and take action: https://www.ready.gov/floods 

Preventing suicide is often possible and you are a key player in its prevention! You can make a difference - as a member of society, as a child, as a parent, as a friend, as a colleague or as a neighbor.

JOIN US ON THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2018 AT THE PALACE, SOMERSET PARK, NJ  6:30 COCKTAILS, 7:30 DINNER  Your presence will be a visible sign of solidarity for the less fortunate among us while providing much-needed financial support for the vital work of Catholic Charities.

Often the difference between an elderly or disabled person being able to stay comfortably in their own home or having to move is the ability to have their groceries delivered. In Somerset County, the Senior Shoppers of Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen program is making that difference. To continue this valuable service to our elderly neighbors more volunteers are needed.

The Mobile Family Success Center of Middlesex County (MFSC) hosted their first Building Strong Families: Community Baby Shower on Saturday, July 28th from 11-3pm at the Edison Senior Center. The goal of the program was to make contact with first time parents or parents with a child less than one year of age to help them to not only raise a healthy child, but a healthy family.

The ongoing practice of separating children from their parents has already, as of May, left nearly 2000 children separated from their parents.  As Bishop Vásquez, Chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Migration, and Sister Donna Markham OP PhD, President and CEO of Catholic Charities, remind us - as a nation and people of faith, we can and must do better.  

Students from Chamberlain University, North Brunswick, NJ visited Catholic Charities Diocese of Metuchen June 4th to meet and speak with Catholic Charities staff members.  The students, who are pursuing a BS in Nursing, visited as part of their Community Health Nursing course to learn about available social services and future job opportunities.

Children enrolled at Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen’s YES Early Learning Center recently participated in an innovative, interactive Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM) activity, sponsored by the Franklin Institute. By using a favorite fairy tale, The Three Little Pigs as a spring board, the children were challenged to consider the story from a new point of view and predict which building materials are the strongest. To test their predictions, the children worked together to build structures and test them with the “Mighty Wolf 3000” leaf blower!

Catholic Charities Program Clinical Supervisor Odali Melendez accompanied by Housing Specialist Lisa Novalany recently presented keys to the first family to benefit from the newly launched Keeping Families Together Program (KFT) at Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen. 

Catholic Charities Child Care Program recently launched a Problem Solvers Club in an effort to create a positive peer environment that values constructive problem solving as it relates to resolving conflicts. As part of the Social Emotional Activities component of the aftercare program, the goals of the club are to learn how to manage anger, learn how to solve your own problems and learn how to help others solve their problems.

The YES Early Learning Center celebrated the Week of the Young Child at the 2018 Fun Fair at AC Redshaw Elementary School in New Brunswick!