We are nationally accredited by the Council On Accreditation. Click on logo for more information.
Catholic Charities has received top ratings from Charity Navigator. Click on logo for more information.
Emergency Financial Assistance
Overwhelmed program looks to donations of computers to better serve clients
Sarasota
and Manatee Counties—Phones have been ringing steadily at the newly
implemented call center for the Emergency Financial Assistance
Program of Catholic Charities. Volunteers have been recruited and
trained to assess the voluminous amount of clients requesting
assistance with rent/mortgage, utilities, and prescription
medicines. The next step…keeping up the data base.
“Because of the increase in need for emergency financial assistance in our community, we need better technology to keep the program running efficiently when processing the data,” said Mary Koctur, Director of the Emergency Financial Assistance Program. She is seeking monetary donations for new or donations of slightly used (no more than two years old) desktop or laptop computers. The current computer equipment is several years old and not able to run basic data base functions.
Two supporters have responded to Mary’s plea. The Knights of Columbus Council from Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Venice donated $300 toward a new laptop for Koctur so that she can operate more effectively between offices located in Venice, Sarasota and Bradenton. She sees clients at all three locations different days of the week.
On average about 200 clients contact the Emergency Financial Assistance Program each month. Carolina Rojas recently was hired to work on a part time basis to assist Koctur. “When I starting working here a few months ago, Mary and I shared a very old computer. Part of my job is to keep the data base current, but it was very difficult,” said Rojas. Dick Maier, a Knight of Columbus member from Epiphany Cathedral Parish, recently donated a slightly used desk top computer for Rojas. “The new computer is wonderful. Now I can properly work with the data base.”
“In these difficult times I understand that Catholic Charities does not want to put money toward computers, but strictly to the clients that are asking for help,” Maier said. “That is why I decided to donate my computer.”
Additional computer equipment, including printers, still is needed. The Emergency Financial Assistance Program is hoping to purchase Koctur a new laptop and have other computers for volunteers who are willing to update the data base. “It is so important for our data base to be current, not only to better serve clients, but to attract new funding sources for the program such as grants and foundation monies,” Koctur said.
If you would like to donate money or slightly used computer equipment to the Emergency Financial Assistance Program of Catholic Charities, please call 379-9111, ext. 300.
Photo: Knight of Columbus member Dick Maier (right) donated a slightly used computer to the Financial Assistance Program of Catholic Charities. Catholic Charities staff Carolina Rojas will use the computer to update the data base.