Catholic Charities West Virginia (CCWVa) has a new Southern Region location open, as of Sept. 5, in White Sulphur Springs.
CCWVa serves nine counties in the state, and it has long been a goal to offer more to the often underserved Greenbrier County residents.
The new center is located at 114 W. Main Street in White Sulphur Springs, and is open on Thursdays from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Calls for assistance may be made to 304-536-4177.
While providing critical services to people, CCWVa honors the dignity of each person and embraces all of society regardless of religion, ethnicity or social background. Services include addressing basic human needs, as well as help with paying utility bills and rent.
Jim Justice, owner of the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, has made the opening of the new outreach office possible via a substantial donation to get the ball rolling. Serving as Interim Greenbrier Outreach worker, Carol Bailey of the Princeton office says, “We feel so blessed to be entrusted with the generous gift from Mr. Justice.” Justice’s donation will “help our neighbors in need.”
CCWVa literature states, “It is essential for people to be involved in reducing poverty in the state. Not only are there volunteer situations needing to be filled at the outreach offices, but the list of tangible items immediately necessary include non-perishable food, cleaning supplies, personal hygiene items and school supplies.”
Donations can be made to the Southern Region Office at PO Box 386, Princeton, WV 24740, or by credit card online at www.catholiccharitieswv.org. You may also call 1-888-900-2989 and follow the organization’s Facebook page for up to date activities and news.
Mark Sliter-Hays, executive director of CCWVa, says, “In the coming months, we will be assessing needs for more staffing in the new office, and possible expansion of services, including enrollment for food stamps, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and Medicaid Expansion.
In other news for the organization, CCWVA has collaborated with Concord University’s Master in Social Work (MSW) program. The collaboration has yielded two MSW candidates, Johanna Smith and Jami Clark to intern at the Southern Regional office through Spring 2014. The interns will gain a great deal of valuable hands-on experience in direct social work practice with the poor.