CHARLOTTE — In what has turned out to be another record year, the Diocesan Support Appeal campaign concluded Dec. 31. The theme, “Your every act should be done with love,” resonated with parishioners who gave very generously to fund the annual campaign.
The 2017 DSA campaign received $6,205,619 from 17,616 donors across the diocese – 11 percent over the campaign goal of $5,670,000 and the most ever raised in this annual appeal.
Overall, 64 percent of parishes across the diocese reached or exceeded their goal. The average DSA gift was $352.
The annual campaign funds more than 50 programs, including the core operations of 23 ministries and agencies that serve thousands of people across the diocese – most notably, Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte for its counseling, food pantries, pregnancy support, refugee resettlement, elder ministry, Respect Life and other programs, as well as the programs and ministries of the Education Vicariate. The DSA also supports multicultural ministries, seminarian education, the permanent diaconate, the annual Eucharistic Congress, and the diocese’s Housing Corporation.
“More and more of our parishioners are giving to the DSA for two reasons,” noted Kerry Tornesello, associate director of development. “First, they want to give back in gratitude of their treasure for all of the blessings they have received from God. And second, they know that the gifts they give change the lives of those who receive the services.”
Parishioners in all 92 parishes and missions in the Charlotte diocese fund the annual DSA.
Parishes that exceed their goal keep the extra funds they collect, while parishes that fall short of their goal in donations from parishioners make up the shortfall from their operating budgets.
Some of the parishes receiving rebate funds include: St. Peter Church, Charlotte; St. Thomas Aquinas Church, Charlotte; Our Lady of the Annunciation Church, Albemarle; St. Mary Church, Greensboro; Our Lady of Mercy Church, Winston-Salem; and Our Lady of the Mountains Mission, Highlands.
St. Eugene Church in Asheville was among the parishes that surpassed their 2017 DSA goal. In recent years the parish has used its extra DSA funds for a World Youth Day pilgrimage and stateside mission trips. This year, Father Pat Cahill, pastor, said the parish will use the $25,872 in extra funds towards a first-ever international mission trip to Grenada to provide hurricane relief.
“Our young people were deeply moved by the suffering they saw in Puerto Rico and the other island countries as a result of Harvey, Irma and Maria,” he explained. “We had already scheduled a 2018 Catholic Heart Workcamp domestic mission to Kentucky, and they pushed to add an international mission!
“It’s a great thing our DSA rebate helps offset the costs associated with these mission trips. It motivates and inspires the parish when they see the excess DSA donations making a difference in the lives of our youth, as well as our needy brothers and sisters here and abroad.”
– SueAnn Howell, enior reporter