St. Elizabeth Catholic Charities helps clients say ‘we got this’
During a gala on April 16, Raija Oliver shares how St. Elizabeth Catholic Charities in New Albany changed her life. The event to raise funds for the agency was held at the Galt House Hotel in Louisville, Ky. (Photo by Natalie Hoefer)
By Natalie Hoefer
LOUISVILLE, Ky.—As she strode confidently across the stage, 29-year-old Raija Oliver’s face was alight with joy and a broad smile, her eight-month pregnancy adding to her glow.
But when she stood at the podium and tried to speak, emotion overcame her. Fighting back tears, Oliver bowed her head, struggling to regain composure.
Suddenly, the silence was broken as the crowd of more than 700 rallied to her aid, breaking into a round of applause to show their support and love.
It worked. The smile returned to Oliver’s face as she nodded, saying, “Thank you. We got this, we got this.”
Then she shared the story of how St. Elizabeth Catholic Charities in New Albany helped turn a 15-year-old unwed mother into a young woman filled with courage and hope.
The scene unfolded in a ballroom at the Galt House Hotel in Louisville, Ky., on April 16 during St. Elizabeth Catholic Charities’ (SECC) Giving Hope-Changing Lives Gala.
The annual event serves several purposes. It is the agency’s largest fundraiser to ensure the continued support and growth of its eight life-changing services: four housing programs for pregnant and parenting moms, Adoption Bridges of Kentuckiana, Marie’s Blessings distribution center, school counseling and supported living assistance to help those with intellectual and developmental disabilities lead more independent lives.
The event is also an opportunity to bestow the Spirit of Hope Award. Given for outstanding, selfless service to the agency, this year’s recipients were Leaha McCrite and Ken Johnson. (Read more about them in The Criterion’s March 13 issue or at tinyurl.com/McCriteJohnson.)
But the most moving part of the event each year are the witness stories shared by those whose lives were made better by SECC and its compassionate cadre of volunteers, donors and staff.
Together they help those the agency assists say, like Oliver, “We got this.”
A place ‘where girls go to be rebuilt’
Bolstered by the encouraging applause of the crowd—at 714, it was a record attendance for the gala—Oliver shared the story of a young girl faced with hardships almost from birth.
That girl never knew her father, “and he never knew she existed,” said Oliver.
At just 18 months, the child’s mother had abandoned her too, making bad choices landing her in and out of jail, and a great aunt became the girl’s guardian and homeschool teacher.
At just 13, she was given the heavy responsibility of being one of the caregivers for her bedridden great-grandmother.
“While most girls were worried about friends, clothes or what was happening on social media, she was learning how to change the feeding tube, how to empty a catheter, … how to gently roll a fragile 91-year-old woman to prevent sores, how to clean, sanitize and comfort someone at the end of their life,” Oliver said.
The elderly woman’s death was devastating for the teen, “causing her to experience loss at 13 in ways many adults never do,” she said. “Something shifted in her after that.”
A little more than a year later, the child gave birth to her own child, a boy she named Nolan. Loving him “enough to do and to want more for him,” she placed her son for adoption.
Two years later, she gave birth to another son and named him Josiah.
“Now, at 15 years old with two children—one placed for adoption, one in her arms—people had opinions,” said Oliver. “Labels came quickly, judgment came faster.
“But what people didn’t see was this: she wasn’t careless—she was trying to hold on to something that felt like purpose.”
Driven by that purpose, the teen sought help. St. Elizabeth Catholic Charities’ maternity home provided that help—and so much more.
“They didn’t glorify her situation,” but they also “didn’t shame her,” said Oliver.
They provided her with a room, a bed and a nursery for Josiah. But they also gave her “something far more powerful,” Oliver added.
“They structured her, they gave her responsibility, accountability, expectations. They gave her foundation” with “chores, schedules, rules, and she went to school every day. The maternity home did not lower the bar for her—they raised it.”
The teen earned points to choose from new, unused mom-and-baby items in the “points room,” a benefit Oliver called an “investment” rather than “charity.”
“That’s because maternity homes are not places where girls go to be rescued,” she said. “They are places where girls go to be rebuilt, where discipline replaces instability, where guidance replaces chaos, where accountability replaces shame.”
Through its maternity home, SECC “did not just provide shelter,” said Oliver. “It provided dignity. It gave a 15-year-old mother the chance to grow without being discarded.”
That teenage mother went on to finish school, she said. “She grew and learned how to stand on her own. … That girl is proof that when you invest in the right places, lives change.
“And the girl I’ve been talking about tonight is me.”
For the second time that evening, Oliver was given a round of applause, one she met with a broad, joyful smile.
She shared the happy news that she and her partner are expecting their child to be born on Mother’s Day—a girl this time.
“I’m so thankful for St. Elizabeth being what I needed at the time,” said Oliver. “If a structured home could redirect my life at 15, imagine what continued support could do for the next girl who walks through those doors.”
Serving ‘with passion,’ providing ‘incredible dignity’
Mark Casper, agency director of St. Elizabeth Catholic Charities in New Albany, admires the Shepherd of Hope Award presented to him by the agency’s development director Leah Alexander during a gala to raise funds for the agency at the Galt Houe Hotel in Louisville, Ky., on April 16. (Photo by Natalie Hoefer)
The annual event usually includes three witness talks, most often delivered in person. But this year was different.
In his introductory comments, agency director Mark Casper thanked SECC’s staff, volunteers and board members past and present.
They “do the thousands of little things that allow St. Elizabeth to be the place it is,” he said. “It’s not always easy, and sometimes it’s heartbreaking. But they do it with passion and incredible dignity for our clients.”
This year’s witness talk about the agency’s Adoption Bridges of Kentuckiana was a powerful example of Casper’s comments. So powerful it needed extra time to share via video the various angles of a particular adoption journey.
“This story needed to be recorded to allow it to be told in a way that it captures the love of the birth parents, the adoptive family and the St. Elizabeth staff,” said Casper.
The story is intricate. It tells of a mother’s dream, the agency staff’s faith-filled commitment, a couple’s generous love—and the 1-pound, 3-ounce baby boy who united them all. (Read that story here: A story of ‘the love of birth parents, the adoptive family and the St. Elizabeth staff’)
The witnesses that night were powerful examples of SECC’s mission to give hope and change lives.
Figures from the last fiscal year also show the agency’s impact. For example, the four residential programs helped 154 women and children, and 15 adoptions were finalized through Adoption Bridges of Kentuckiana and its assistance to other agencies.
Counselors provided services to more than 1,500 students in six schools. Marie’s Blessings distribution center assisted more than 1,000 families—a quarter of which were first-time visitors—and the Supported Living Program provided more than 8,000 hours assisting 16 adults with intellectual and developmental difficulties.
Funds raised by the gala will help SECC continue to offer its eight programs. Through an advance online auction, live bidding at the gala and donations made that evening, the event raised more than $440,000, with more pledges expected.
There is one other figure to mention: 18. That’s the number of years Casper has served as SECC’s agency director.
A mission ‘present, vital and just’
This year’s gala marked his last as director as he prepares to retire this summer.
“Certainly 18 years have flown by,” Casper told the crowd. “This happens when you love your job, you admire the staff you work with, you love helping people with needs and are blessed to be supported by the most caring and generous community.”
Archbishop Charles C. Thompson attended the gala. Before blessing the food at the beginning of the event, he remarked on Casper’s upcoming retirement.
“Mark Casper has certainly been one who’s focused on mission,” he said. “I want to thank Mark for his many, many years of service … and the great witness he’s given to that mission, his enthusiasm, his spirit.”
As the evening came to a close, SECC’s development director Leah Alexander spoke about Casper’s legacy.
“For nearly two decades, he has led with compassion, dedication and an unwavering commitment to our mission,” she said. “His leadership has helped shape countless lives, strengthened our programs and guided St. Elizabeth with steady faith and hope.”
In recognition of his years of “selfless service,” Alexander said, members of the agency’s advisory council created a new honor called the Shepherd of Hope Award.
“It’s a name that truly reflects the care, vision and heart that Mark has brought to this ministry for so many years,” she added before presenting Casper the award and a heartfelt hug.
Earlier in the evening, Casper expressed his own admiration for the women the agency serves.
“St. Elizabeth provides for many parenting moms in various parts of their journey,” he said. “It is often those very first steps, those baby steps, that are most difficult. And those are the ones that change her life and give opportunity to her children that are often inconceivable in her darkest days.
“I applaud all of our courageous moms meeting their struggles one day at a time, one foot in front of the other. As I often say, St. Elizabeth has always and continues today to offer opportunities for hope of a better tomorrow.”
And it will continue to do so with a new person at the helm.
“Time moves forward, employees come and go, properties and buildings are renovated and programs change,” Casper said. “Yet the mission of St. Elizabeth Catholic Charities is still present, vital and just, and will continue to be so in the future.”
(To learn more about the programs offered by St. Elizabeth Catholic Charities or to donate, go to stecharities.org.) †
