Donations sought for ‘Keep the Kids Warm’

Staff report

Youngstown

“Keep the Kids Warm,” a campaign planned by Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Youngstown, asks Catholics and others of goodwill to support a special parish and community collection for winter utility assistance for families in need.

The campaign will take place between the Feast of the Holy Family, Dec. 31 to Jan. 1, and the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Jan. 7, in parishes and in the community.

All of the funds collected through this special effort are returned to the counties in which they were collected to provide assistance to families in need.

The project specifically aims to assist those “working-poor” families who do not qualify for government assistance and families who have no resources after government subsidized programs like HEAP (Home Energy Assistance Program) have lapsed.

The need for utility assistance has increased from 2010 to 2011, according to Catholic Charities’ statistics over the first three quarters of the year. Parish and community support helps the Catholic Charities agencies throughout the Diocese of Youngstown fight poverty.

Donations may be sent to: Catholic Charities, Keep the Kids Warm, P. O. Box 614, Youngstown, Ohio 44501. Donations also may be on Catholic Charities’ website at http://www.ccdoy.org .

For more information, contact Brian Corbin, executive director of Catholic Charities Services, at 330-744-8451, ext. 320.