FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JUNE 19, 2023
Contact: Santino R. Thomas
(518) 949-4809 | [email protected]
Funds will directly aid Agency’s Foster and Kinship Care Programs
ALBANY, N.Y. – Recently, RBC Wealth Management’s RBC Foundation has awarded St. Catherine’s Center for Children a $5,000 grant to support the agency’s Foster and Kinship Care programs. These funds enable the continuation of wrap-around services which include supplying food, school supplies, clothing and other essentials needed to support the program’s children and families. In addition, this grant supports continued recruitment and retention of foster families, provides respite services to current kinship and foster families and funds classes in Arts and Culture for children in these programs.
“We learned that happy and healthy children are most often the product of strong, stable families,” said Frank Pindiak, executive director at St. Catherine’s Center for Children. “With the RBC Foundation grant, we’ll be able to ensure our programs meet the needs of vulnerable families.”
St. Catherine’s Foster Care program serves children in a therapeutic home setting. Children are matched with trained foster parents and families who provide a safe and stable home environment. As children thrive in safe and nurturing homes, St. Catherine’s offers foster parents extensive training and support to ensure they are prepared to meet their foster care commitment. St. Catherine’s utilizes an extensive network of professionally trained foster parents to ensure the success of its children and families.
The growing trend when children are removed from their homes, is to find a way to keep them with family. This provides a sense of comfort while keeping a connection to loved ones. When a family member or close friend assumes responsibility of caring for a child, that relationship falls under Kinship Care. St. Catherine’s Kinship program provides services to caregivers in Albany, Schenectady, Greene and Ulster counties. The program aims to connect caregivers to a variety of community and public support services providing these children and families with the tools they need to be successful.
“We are incredibly grateful to the RBC Foundation for supporting our foster and kinship families,” Melinda Gonzalez, director of St. Catherine’s foster care said. “Grants such as these allow our organization to provide children with the proper support system needed to thrive and live up to their full potential.”
Children in foster care programs are often victims of physical, sexual or emotional abuse and neglect. Regardless of why placement is needed, a child needs someone to provide a safe place to heal and grow. St. Catherine’s Foster and Kinship Care programs are at the heart of its mission to provide support, growth and hope to improve the lives of the individuals, children and families in the Capital Region and beyond.
The willingness of St. Catherine’s Center for Children to embrace change and develop new services is, and will remain, our guiding philosophy as we support human service needs, throughout the region, by providing a comprehensive range of services designed to offer hope, foster growth and improve the lives of the children, families and adults we serve.
For more information, http://www.st-cath.org.
