Catholic Charities, Diocese of Venice, Inc.

Venice’s Bob Sullenberger finalist for Catholic Charities USA’s 2004 National Volunteer Award

Alexandria, VA—Bob Sullenberger of Venice, FL, is one of 10 extraordinary people named as a finalist for Catholic Charities USA’s 2004 National Volunteer of the Year Award.

This annual award recognizes the invaluable contributions volunteers make to the Catholic Charities network. “Catholic Charities volunteers witness God’s preferential love for the poor and vulnerable in our society,” said Thomas A. DeStefano, president of Catholic Charities USA. “With his dedication to helping those in need in his community, Bob is truly doing God’s work.”

Whether he is assisting migrant farm workers, making deliveries, or coordinating disaster preparedness and response, Bob has been an indispensable volunteer with Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Venice for 14 years.

Bob has left an indelible mark in the community when it comes to disaster response. When the bishops of Florida decided to place disaster preparedness and response under the auspices of Catholic Charities, Bob was asked to help develop a diocesan plan. Bob developed a manual and recruited more than 70 people to help in the event of a disaster, including doctors, nurses, and engineers. He also coordinates efforts with the Red Cross and the local emergency management offices of the 10-county Diocese of Venice.

Recognizing that in many natural disasters phones lines and cell phones will be inoperable, Bob initiated in 2003 the Disaster Preparedness Amateur Radio Network. Bob successfully secured two grants from Catholic Charities USA to establish a Radio Emergency Center in the Venice area. Additional centers are being planned for other areas of Southwest Florida. Ultimately, a statewide diocesan amateur radio network is envisioned.

Bob’s contributions go beyond just his own service as he strives to get others involved. “Bob has engaged parishioners and the Knights of Columbus in the work of Catholic Charities. He has combined his own personal service with organizing other people within the Church to respond to a variety of social needs,” said Peter Routsis-Arroyo, president of Catholic Charities, Diocese of Venice, Inc.

As an active member of the Knights of Columbus, Bob has continually sought opportunities for the organization to collaborate with Catholic Charities. He introduced the Knights to Our Mother's House, a Catholic Charities residential program for homeless mothers and their children. Bob's role has been invaluable to the program, which empowers the women to achieve self-sufficiency through education, vocational training and personal growth. He has tended the children when the regular volunteers have been absent; and he has raised thousands of dollars through promoting pancake breakfasts and wine tasting events, and through direct solicitations from his own friends and fellow Knights.

Bob also formed the Dad’s and Mom’s Sugar Bowl Fund, another collaboration between the Knights and Catholic Charities. The program is aimed at helping families in a financial crisis due to unexpected expenses for car repairs, medical bills, utilities, or rent or mortgage payments. The premise of the program is based on the practice of people of earlier generations, who stashed away a little money from their weekly pay and stored it in the sugar bowl as their home-based bank for emergency funds. Catholic Charities administers the assistance and the Knights raise the funds. Bob organizes two cruises a year with the benefits going to the Sugar Bowl Fund.

Bob was chosen from a group of volunteers nominated by Catholic Charities agencies across the nation for exemplifying the spirit and mission of Catholic Charities in reducing poverty, supporting families, and empowering communities.

Volunteers nationwide provide the backbone of the Catholic Charities movement. Collectively, local Catholic Charities agencies rely on more than 275,000 volunteers to serve more than seven million people of all faiths and diverse needs.

The 2004 award recipient will be announced during National Volunteer Week, April 18–24, and will be honored at Catholic Charities USA’s Annual Gathering on Sept. 25 in Denver.

During the year 2003, Catholic Charities, Diocese of Venice, Florida, provided social services to over 46,000 people. The daunting task of serving needy children, struggling families, lonely elderly, migrant workers and their families is accomplished by the hard work of a small but committed professional staff supported by a corps of hundreds of dedicated volunteers. The organization was recently awarded the highest four-star rating for its management of donations for the second consecutive year by Charity Navigator, the largest evaluator of charities in America. The Council on Accreditation (COA) also has awarded national accreditation to Catholic Charities of Venice.

Catholic Charities USA’s members—more than 1,400 local agencies and institutions nationwide—provide help and create hope for more than seven million people a year regardless of religious, social, or economic background. For more than 275 years, local Catholic Charities agencies have been providing a myriad of vital services in their communities, ranging from day care and counseling to food and housing.