Give to be The Face of Hope

Spring, 2021

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, Mothers are the great unsung heroes of the pandemic. And they need our help.

The responsibilities and stresses of motherhood have increased tenfold over this past year. Keeping family members healthy, housed, fed, on-task with schoolwork, and supported amidst fear and uncertainty is a staggering undertaking.

Add to this the hospitalizations or deaths of loved ones from COVID-19; lost jobs, wages, and child care; and the complete erasure of what little stability many families could count on, and you begin to understand the devastation the pandemic has wrought for so many mothers.

The health and economic repercussions of COVID-19 have been disproportionate for people already facing the challenges of poverty, food insecurity, mental health challenges and lack of health care. This is particularly true for women of color, who have experienced higher rates of infection, more loss of life, and greater job losses.

Your gift to the Catholic Charities Mother Day Collection means those bearing the most direct impact of this crisis don't have to struggle and lose ground they've worked so hard for. Your gift means they can access the resources—food, rental assistance, counseling-and professional help they need to ensure their families don't fall further behind.

What better way to honor our own mothers and other women we admire than by helping another mom provide for and strengthen her own family? To be part of their resilience and success? To live out the lessons our mothers—many of whom had their own struggles—worked hard to ingrain in us.

You have my sincere gratitude for your past support of the Mother's Day Collection, and my most urgent plea to give again. Contributions can be made at www.catholiccharities.net/donate, or mail your gift to Catholic Charities, 721 N. LaSalle St., Chicago, IL 60654.

This Mother's Day, the face of need is mothers and their children; the face of hope is you. Please join Catholic Charities in bringing God's infinite mercy and profound hope to thousands of mothers who are heroically shepherding their families through this unprecedented time.

Sincerely yours in Christ,
Cardinal Blase J. Cupich
Archbishop of Chicago