Partners kicks off, more than $1 million raised

By Bill Doyle | CFP Correspondent

The eight regional launch gatherings that Partners in Charity held in the Worcester Diocese last year were well received, so another nine are taking place this year to try to help Partners reach its annual fundraising goal.

Partners in Charity has set an annual goal of $5 million since 2011, but hasn’t reached it since 2018 due in part to the pandemic, merger of parishes and the three-year Legacy of Hope campaign which ended in 2022 after raising $32 million to repair aging churches and other parish buildings, fund priests’ retirement and custodial care, support Catholic education and fund parish-based outreach. Some parishioners are still paying off their pledges.

However, the eight regional launch gatherings last year helped Partners in Charity raise $4,881,164, which was 98 percent of the goal. That was the most money raised since $5,076,252 in 2018 and an improvement over $4,637,869 in 2023 and $4,739,604 in 2022.
As of Wednesday, Partners had received 2,990 gifts totaling $1,312,752, a quarter of the $5 million goal. The campaign runs through the end of August.

Partners in Charity supports 26 charitable, educational and pastoral ministries in the diocese. Top donors and parish leaders have been invited to the regional launch gatherings to receive a free dinner and hear guest speakers explain how their contributions impact the ministries.

The final two launch gatherings will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday for the Spanish community at St. Paul Cathedral and at 5:30 p.m. Monday for invited guests at St. Luke the Evangelist Parish in Westborough. Father Hugo Cano will speak at the cathedral and Father Enoch Kyeremateng will speak at St. Luke’s. Bishop McManus will be on hand for both receptions.
Other speakers this year have included Father Richard Trainor, minister to priests in the diocese, at St. Leo Parish in Leominster; Father Jonathan Slavinskas, pastor of Our Lady of Providence Parish, at St. Joan of Arc Parish in Worcester; Father Donato Infante III, director of the Office of Vocations, at Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Milford; and Tim McMahon, executive director of Catholic Charities Worcester County, at Mary, Queen of the Rosary Parish in Spencer. Other gatherings were held at St. John Paul II Parish in Southbridge, Our Lady of the Angels Parish in Worcester and St. Mary Parish in Jefferson.

Michael Gillespie, who oversees the annual appeal for Partners in Charity as director of the Office of Stewardship and Development for the diocese, said an average of nearly 100 invited guests have attended each of the launch gatherings so far. That’s about twice as many as last year when 432 people attended the eight gatherings.

Mr. Gillespie isn’t sure how much the gatherings boosted donations, but he believes they’ve been worthwhile.

“It built some excitement and enthusiasm,” he said, “and it reached out to our donors. It’s making contact and listening to our donors, what’s important to them, and thanking them and acknowledging them, and also when you’re thanking them, you’re also asking them to continue to be part of the mission for the next year.”

Prior to last year, Partners in Charity held one launch gathering each year for pastors and chairpersons. Donors were not invited and about 120-130 people would attend, Mr. Gillespie said. Since last year, top donors have been invited and several gatherings have been held throughout the diocese to make it more convenient for them to attend. Mr. Gillespie said meeting donors in person “puts a face behind the ministry” and has proven to be much more effective than seeking donations through mailings.

“It really is a thank you and it also gives them an official start to this year,” Mr. Gillespie said. “We’re asking our donors to be ambassadors to spread the message of Partners in Charity, to share why they give and, hopefully, they encourage other people to give. For us to reach $5 million, it’s going to take many gifts.”

At the launch gatherings, parish leaders receive their Partners in Charity outdoor banners, brochures, manuals and pledge envelopes. Partners in Charity pays for the meals and Polar Beverages donates the beverages.

“I think there’s good momentum,” Mr. Gillespie said, “especially in light of Lent being so late this year.”

Most parishes begin raising money for Partners in Charity during Lent, which began on Ash Wednesday, March 5, three weeks later than last year.

Last year, 58 parishes in the diocese met their goals, the same as the year before.

The theme of Partners in Charity this year is “Sharing the gift of hope,” taking a page from the Catholic Church celebrating the Jubilee of Hope.

“We have thousands of people,” Mr. Gillespie said, “who really are in need of help and donors are offering what Pope Francis says, ‘You’re giving hope.’ You’re helping support these ministries and agencies and it really is the lifeline to many of them.”

Partners in Charity supports eight education agencies: Advanced Studies for Clergy and Laity, Catholic Schools Office, Communications Ministry, Grant-in-Aid for Schools, Office of Religious Education, Ongoing Priestly Formation, Seminarian Education and Diocesan School grants. It also supports 12 ministries: African Ministry, Catholic Campus Ministry,  Hispanic Apostolate, Minster to Priests, Office for Divine Worship, Office of Hispanic-Latino Ministry, Office of Marriage and Family, Office of the Diaconate, Respect Life Office, St. Paul Cathedral, Vocations Office and Youth and Young Adult Ministries. In addition, Partners in Charity supports five charitable organizations: Catholic Charities, Pernet Family Health Service, Priests’ Retirement, Retired Priests Health Ministry and the Diocesan Cemetery System.

According to Mr. Gillespie, Catholic Charities and Pernet Family Health alone assisted more than 132,000 people with food, support services and infant essentials last year.

Mr. Gillespie pointed out that several of these ministries receive all of their funding from Partners in Charity.

Since the annual fundraising campaign began as the Bishop’s Fund in 1961 more than $190 million has been raised.

Thanks to an emergency fund that was bequeathed to Partners in Charity, all ministries have been fully funded even though the $5 million goal hasn’t been reached in several years. That emergency fund won’t last forever, however.

– Donations can be made online at partners-charity.net/donate or by mailing a check to Partners in Charity Appeal, Diocese of Worcester, 49 Elm Street, Worcester, MA 01609, or giving one to your pastor. A parish name should be noted in the memo line.