Catholic Charities launches 100th annual appeal, with goal of raising $9.5M

Kevin Gannon, 2024 Appeal chairman, noted that Peter H. Meyer was the first lay chairman of the appeal, a tradition spanning back to Catholic Charities’ fourth appeal.

“Mr. Meyer led the fourth appeal which mainly consisted of parish bulletins and door-to-door soliciting that raised more than $440,000 in 1927,” Gannon said.

“Things look a bit different in 2024. For one thing, our annual appeal spans six months, while for many, many years, the appeal spanned just one week, including two Sundays and ending on Palm Sunday. Our goal, of course, is much more substantial in 2024. However, the mission of the appeal itself is much the same,” Gannon added.

The 2024 appeal will help fund more than 50 programs and services that are administered by Catholic Charities, including food pantries, education and workforce training, family safety and stabilization services, immigration and refugee assistance, behavioral health services, and youth and family support services. The appeal also helps fund several ministries through the Fund for the Faith, including hospital ministry, and seminarian and diaconate formation programs.

Deacon Steve Schumer said the theme of this year’s appeal is “hope.”

“Everything starts with hope,” Schumer said. “Dozens of people have found hope in a warm furnished home to call their own, and the support they need to keep up with life’s daily challenges, which means everything to someone who could not see a way out before.”

“While we are celebrating the accomplishments of our 100th year as an agency, the year 2024 marks something equally special, our 100th appeal,” said Schumer, referring to the century of fundraising. “During that time, we’ve raised nearly half a billion dollars, billion with a B. We’ve helped millions of people across the eight counties of Western New…