At The Tinsmith, an event venue near Breese Stevens Field on the isthmus, Catholic Charities Diocese of Madison held its annual fundraiser on October 10 to benefit The Beacon, its homeless day center in Madison.
Tag: the beacon
Catholic Charities marks fifth anniversary of The Beacon
Catholic Charities of Madison is proud to celebrate the fifth anniversary of The Beacon this fall.
Be generous in giving
During the coronavirus pandemic, many Catholic parishes throughout the country have experienced a decline in weekly collections.
Why we should support Catholic Charities
When I started working for the Catholic Herald, we shared offices with Catholic Charities (then called Catholic Social Service) in the St. Patrick Parish rectory building in downtown Madison.
Of course, I quickly became acquainted with the work of Catholic Charities. I even helped out by holding babies when they needed some extra arms for a pending adoption. One of the foster mothers used to dress the babies in cute clothes, some of them seasonal. I still remember a baby dressed in a tiny witch costume.
Over the years, Catholic Charities has provided compassionate, caring services to help the poor and vulnerable in our communities in the 11-county Diocese of Madison area.
Let’s recover a sense of compassion
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines compassion as a “sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it.”
Perhaps it’s the constant news of disasters deluging us these days, but it seems as if many people have lost a sense of compassion. We’ve almost become numb to the suffering of others, whether it be from mass shootings, natural disasters, immigrants’ distress, or wars.
Bishop Hying visits The Beacon
On August 8, Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison visited The Beacon in Madison for the first time since becoming the bishop of Madison.
Learn more about Catholic Charities
In recent issues of the Catholic Herald, we’ve had quite a bit of information about Catholic Charities Madison, including flood relief, the annual Faith in Action Awards Celebration, and The Beacon homeless day resource center.
So our readers might think they know quite a bit about Catholic Charities. Yet this weekend, we are observing Catholic Charities Sunday in the Diocese of Madison.
What else do you need to know about Catholic Charities? Quite a bit!
Hope does shine at The Beacon
Most of us have seen people holding signs at intersections saying, “I’m homeless. Please help me!”
We feel sorry for them and want to give them some money. But we get the sinking feeling that the money won’t help them break out of the cycle of homelessness.
However, since The Beacon opened almost a year ago in Madison on October 16, 2017, I feel more optimistic about homeless people. And I wonder if I should carry a card with me to give those people begging for money information on The Beacon.
Volunteers shine bright at The Beacon
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| Volunteers Darrell and Janie help out in the kitchen at The Beacon in Madison. (Contributed photo) | ||
MADISON — “There’s nothing better you can do with your time than to help people who are suffering, have a decent life, [and be] able to lead the life they want,” said volunteer coordinator Tami Fleming from The Beacon.
The Beacon is a comprehensive day resource center for people who are experiencing homelessness in Dane County.
It is a joint venture among Catholic Charities Madison, Dane County, the City of Madison, and United Way of Dane County.
In addition to its staff, The Beacon needs about 20 volunteers per day — half in a morning shift and half in an afternoon shift — to run the normal day-to-day operations. Shifts are about four hours long.
The Beacon is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and has volunteer opportunities as a front desk greeter, laundry and shower manager, computer lab assistant, guest and child and family advocate, among many others.
Becoming a volunteer
“We need volunteers every day,” said Fleming.
The first step in becoming a volunteer at The Beacon is attending an orientation session. They are held at The Beacon (615 E. Washington Ave., Madison) Wednesdays at 6 p.m. and Fridays at 9 a.m.
Fleming said these two-hour sessions give prospective volunteers a chance to “get a real feel for it” and “hear what it’s about [and] see the place.”
She admitted she is “real frank with people” about the challenges they may face working with homeless people who need help.
Catholic women contribute to The Beacon
MIDDLETON — At its quarterly board meeting at St. Bernard Church here this month, the Madison Diocesan Council of Catholic Women (MDCCW) honored the late Fr. Lorin “Larry” Bowens, who had served as its priest co-moderator with Msgr. Duane Moellenberndt, Sun Prairie, for over 20 years until his death on December 30, 2015.
Father Larry, as he was known, died unexpectedly after a short illness at the age of 68, while serving as pastor of Holy Family Parish, La Valle; St. Boniface, Lime Ridge; and St. Patrick, Loreto.