CDA 2007

Local Catholics pull together as ‘One Family in Christ’
Months of hard work, generosity and prayers boost annual CDA

By Robert DeFrancesco, The Catholic Sun
July 5, 2007

For local Catholics Benito and Rosa Almanza, nothing takes priority over God and family.

The two active Corpus Christi parishioners have become well known throughout the community for their deep love of the Church and strong family bonds, and credit their Catholic upbringing for who they are today.

It came as no surprise, then, that the two were chosen to be this year’s Charity and Development Appeal co-chairs. For the second year now, the theme of the appeal was “One Family in Christ,” a phrase chosen to unite the faithful as brothers and sisters in a common goal of encountering Christ.

The CDA funds several dozen charities, programs and ministries with the focus of helping those in need and bringing Christ’s saving message to the masses.

When they were younger, Rosa and Benito both remember the help and influence the Church played in their lives growing up, and they remain ever grateful and eager to give back.

At a June 27 gathering celebrating the success of this year’s campaign, Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted pointed to the Almanzas as being a good fit for the “One Family in Christ” campaign.

The Almanzas “accentuated the role of the different parts of the Charity and Development Appeal,” the bishop said. “The more we share our gifts within the family, the happier we are, and the more we’re able to reflect the image of God among us.”

Benito said the best thing about working for the CDA was knowing that the end goal was making a difference in the lives of the community. “This campaign is the lifeblood of these very worthwhile services,” he said.

The Church “really influenced our lives from the standpoint that it has allowed me to be successful in school, allowed me the momentum to have a nice career,” he continued. “To be able to give back to the community, to give back to our Church, is critical.”

Fr. Bud Pelletier, vicar of stewardship, takes great care in leading the Office of Stewardship and the annual appeal. His motivation is based in the concepts of stewardship. “Our prayers and financial contributions are made as a response to the call of Christ to reach out to others,” he said.

“With the CDA, we are making a direct invitation to our parishioners to participate in the charitable outreach of the diocese,” he added. “God has blessed us, God invites us, and the CDA is one way to respond to that invitation.”

The CDA is the one diocesan-wide appeal that seeks to offer charitable work on behalf of the diocese that no one parish could do alone, Fr. Pelletier said.

The 2007 CDA wrapped up June 27, a month after exceeding its $10.25 million goal.

Benito described the campaign as a “great experience” and the moment of realizing they achieved the goal as “one of relief.”

“It’s an honor to be chosen [as co-chair], but you want to make sure your efforts are going to be fruitful for the Church. When we were able to cross that finish line, it was a big feeling of relief,” he said with a laugh.

Some of the duties of being co-chairs meant visiting different parishes, sharing stories, getting people excited and rallying the many volunteers.

“They’re the heart and soul” of the campaign, Benito said of the volunteers. “Without them, I don’t care who you have here asking for the money. Our leadership was in the form of doing what we could to support the volunteers. Without them, there would be no success.”

Catholics made 43,390 pledges to the campaign, about 800 more than last year, amounting to more than $10.3 million. Fifty-three parishes made their financial goal and 31 parishes made their participation goal — a combination of monetary and prayer pledges.

“The numbers continue to grow and amaze us,” Fr. Pelletier said at the June 27 celebration.

The annual appeal kicked off during Masses in late January.