The event, the first major community-wide fundraiser for the organization since Hurricane Rita in 2005, drew a crowd of more than 250 people, according to Trish Trejo, Director.
“We are trying to raise funds to help provide for the charitable needs of those who come to us,” Trejo said. The event netted more than $25,000, which will be spent on direct services to clients who come to Catholic Charities for help, including rent/mortgage assistance, utility assistance, funeral assistance, employment expense/identification expense assistance.
Trejo is very excited about the outcome of the Jazz Brunch and said, “ We received nothing but compliments from people who attended. They really liked the day and I very much appreciate the hard work of the many people who decorated, sent out invitations, donated items for the live auction and just helped make the day very special. She also said that it “is possible that it could become a yearly event.”
She also noted that a number of people responded to her request that they consider becoming “monthly partners” with Catholic Charities and invited others in the community to do so. For information on the opportunity, contact Trejo at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phone at 337-439-7436, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Johnson was presented with the 2009 Caritas Award in recognition for his remarkable commitment to the community following Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Ike.
The word caritas is a Latin word meaning love or charity. Pope Benedict XVI has used the word in two of his letters to the Church, Deus Caritas Est (God is Love) and Sacramentum Caritatis (The Sacrament of Charity).
According to Father Henry Mancuso, the Secretary for the Ministry of Pastoral Services, “caritas is a love beyond all self, beyond family, beyond friends, beyond country – it is compassion for humanity, a commitment to the well being of others.” In choosing a name for Catholic Charities’ recognition of someone from the community for their service to the community, it seemed Caritas Award would be the most appropriate, according to Father Mancuso.
Johnson gave great amounts of his time and energy in the recovery, identification, and re-interment of bodies that were displaced by these storms. For families already distraught by the destruction caused by the hurricanes, the emotional pain caused by the disturbance of their loved one’s “resting place” can only be imagined by those who were not affected in that way. Johnson began assisting in the morgue in New Orleans after Katrina. He had no idea that would later help his own Lake Charles neighbors following Rita and barely three years later would once again put his skills to work when Ike came ashore, disturbing many of those whom he had tirelessly worked to return to their place of rest.
Johnson, a native of Lake Charles, is a graduate of Lake Charles High School and McNeese State University. Long active in community service, especially youth sports activities; Johnson was once a Lake Charles City Police officer. A member of Trinity Baptist Church, he says he is motivated in the community “by the belief that God gives us great riches and abilities and we need to return that to the community.”
A man who normally shuns the spotlight, Johnson was moved by the recognition and thanked Catholic Charities but also acknowledged the work of his staff, which allowed him the opportunity to aid others in their time of distress.
The St. Peter Claver Award, was presented to the ACTS Community. ACTS is an acronym for Adoration, Community, Theology, and Service. This four fold purpose explains why the ACTS Community members return again and again to Catholic Charities to meet Jesus’ command to feed the hungry. Accepting the honor on behalf of the ACTS Community were Randy Daigle and Bob Weber, both parishioners of Our Lady Queen of Heaven Church.
In the aftermath of last year’s hurricanes, the need for food distribution aid at the Catholic Charities office escalated dramatically. A call for volunteers was issued, according to Trejo, and many people answered. Members of the ACTS Community became especially involved in recruiting men and women to unload trucks, pack boxes with food, and distribute the boxes to clients.
Since that time, the group has adopted the food program at Catholic Charities. Though the faces are not always the same week to week, the Spirit of God that lights those faces with love remains.
“We at Catholic Charities are thankful that the Holy Spirit has guided godly men and women to partner with us in our work,” Trejo said. “Without them, we could not meet the growing needs that surround us.”
Also unveiled at the Jazz Brunch were an elevation drawing and the floor plan for the new Catholic Charities building to be built on First Avenue near Third Street.
