The Catholic Foundation of Northwest Pennsylvania is pleased to announce 15 Catholic Social Ministry grants totaling $69,517 were awarded to support 14 projects during its summer grant cycle. Grants are awarded in this area to ministries and projects that embrace and align with Catholic social teaching and are answering the Gospel call to respond to needs within the community.
“The community impact of our Catholic Foundation is evidenced in the work of our grantees,” comments Lisa Louis, executive director of the Foundation. “Our collaboration helps us to steward endowed funds to be used as donors intended, doing the work of the Gospel.”
Anawim Ministries in Frenchville is a Catholic grassroots ministry whose members create a holistic and nonjudgmental environment where the exchange of culture, education, and training empowers individuals and groups. A first-time grant recipient, their grant will support their Circle of Care program, which connects those who can give with those who have needs. “We seek families that are falling through the cracks of existing support networks and who do not have basic household needs met,” Lisa McSkimming wrote in her grant application. “This focus constantly results in lives transformed, not just among the immediate recipients of these services, but just as profoundly among those who give and provide.”
Inner-City Neighborhood Art House in Erie is also a first-time grant recipient. A ministry of the Benedictine Sisters of Erie, the Art House provides classes in the visual, performing, and literary arts and environmental education to historically under-served youth. They also provide classes for adults and marginalized individuals from various organizations without such programming. Their grant will be used to fund teacher stipends to increase class offerings, as well as purchase a storage cabinet for the adult classes.
The Sisters of Saint Joseph Neighborhood Network in Erie has a mission to provide leadership and advocacy for residents while building partnerships with the broader community to develop opportunities for both personal growth and neighborhood revitalization. Their grant will be used to implement new projects including hiring an AmeriCorps VISTA and installing wayfinding signage and native pollinator plants around the neighborhood. Saint Patrick’s Haven in Erie, also a ministry of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, is a nightly refuge for homeless men. Their grant will purchase storage shelves, personal hygiene items, clothes, and food for the guests of the Haven.
Maria House Project in Erie is a drug and alcohol counseling and recovery facility for men. They also house men released from correctional facilities that need a new way of life. They provide care for not only the residents’ physical needs but also their spiritual needs. Their grant will be used to support a new monthly health education program centered on the body being a temple of the Holy Spirit, additional devotionals and spiritual books, and personalized religious medals upon program completion.
Catholic Charities Counseling and Adoption Services serves clients throughout the Diocese of Erie. Their grant will be used to fund advanced training for counselors, offset costs of providing low-costs counseling to clients, and improve accessibility to their services through offering bus passes to get to counseling and incentives upon completion of a treatment program.
The Diocese of Erie Office for Women Religious received a grant to support the work of Catholic Rural Ministry in Oil City. This grant will be used to provide financial assistance to meet basic needs such as rent and utilities and stabilize families who might be in crisis.
Prince of Peace Center in Farrell has a mission to strengthen families, build community, and reduce poverty. Their grant from the Robert M. Gallivan Charitable Endowment will support their new Q Academy program. This program will provide mentoring and educational support for young men in grades 7-12 who lack the presence and influence of a father figure in their home. Saint Elizabeth Center in Oil City is committed to the sacredness of human life and the betterment of society and does so by assisting those in need with securing basic necessities. They also received a grant from the Robert M. Gallivan Charitable Endowment in addition to a Catholic Social Ministry grant to purchase food and hygiene items for their food pantry as well as provide emergency financial assistance for those who may need it to avoid eviction or utility shutoff.
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Erie, Inc. received a grant to support the 2025 Respect Life Conference. Elizabeth Slaby, Director of the Office of Social Justice and Life, said the conference will include multiple speakers and “provide an opportunity for individuals to be educated on life issues and connect with others who are interested in this topic or are already active in their parishes to build greater community.”
Several parishes in the Diocese of Erie will use their grants for a variety of projects. Queen of the World Parish in St. Marys, a first-time grant recipient, plans to create a comfort care room for terminal patients and their families at the Penn Highlands Elk hospital. “This project would provide the families not only a more comfortable place to care for their loved ones, but would also serve as an emotional refuge,” Jessica Weinzierl, business manager, wrote in her grant application. “Providing support to families in time of illness and grief aligns with our mission of service and work of God.”
Saint Joseph Parish in Lucinda is also a first-time grant recipient. Their grant will support the parish’s Walking with Moms in Need program, which provides basic necessities and resources to women who are pregnant or with young children. They will use the grant to purchase supplies such as diapers, formula, and baby clothes. Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Mercer will also use their grant to support their Walking with Moms in Need program, through the purchase of database software to more accurately track those they have assisted through this program and their food pantry.
Finally, Saint Boniface Parish in Kersey will use their grant toward the installation of a handicap entrance into the church building. Saint Boniface pastor, Father Kevin Holland, wrote in his grant application, “With this grant funding, more elderly will have the confidence that they can safely enter and leave Saint Boniface. Our hope is that more of our homebound parishioners will feel comfortable and safe enough to come and worship in their parish.”
Click the link below to read a complete list of grantees.
- 2024 CSM Grants Awarded (265.146 KB)
These Catholic Foundation competitive grants are made possible through our Catholic Social Ministry Endowment and the Robert M. Gallivan Charitable Endowment. Donations in any amount designated for these endowments increase our capacity to award grants for impactful Catholic social ministry initiatives throughout northwest Pennsylvania today and for future generations.
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