YOUNGSTOWN – “I love breakfast!” Bishop David Bonnar exclaimed during his opening remarks at diocesan Catholic Charities’ inaugural Breakfast with the Bishop fundraiser, held Nov. 29, at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Hall.
Catholic Charities created the event to complement its online “Giving Tuesday” campaign that day.
Breakfast with the Bishop featured a breakfast buffet, a donation station for nonperishable food and personal care items, education stations displaying information on the diocese’s three Catholic Charities offices (Catholic Charities Regional Agency, Catholic Charities of Ashtabula County, and Catholic Charities Serving Portage and Stark Counties), a bake sale and a basket raffle — and of course, the opportunity to meet the bishop.
Bishop Bonnar described his enthusiasm for the event: “I woke up and I thought, ‘I feel so rested this morning because I knew that I was going to be having breakfast with all of you. It also helped that the Steelers won last night!” The bishop, who served as the chaplain for the Pittsburgh football team for several years, is one of its many avid fans.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this was Bishop Bonnar’s first time participating in Catholic Charities’ Giving Tuesday activities, since his installation as Bishop of Youngstown in January 2021.
“He is very supportive of Catholic Charities and wants to help however he can,” said Rachel Hrbolich, diocesan director of Catholic Charities.
Created in 2012 in New York City, Giving Tuesday is a global initiative that encourages people and organizations to donate their time and money to charitable causes on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving in the United States. The day has grown into an international campaign connecting nonprofits with millions of donors. Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Youngstown began participating in Giving Tuesday a decade ago.
“At first, we did ‘Sip and Shop.’ There was also a ‘Soup and Shop’ and hot coffee bar. We did that for two or three years,” said Hrbolich.
Then, the pandemic changed Catholic Charities’ approach to Giving Tuesday.
“We did online giving and we did a virtual Giving Tuesday last year,” Hrbolich said. She and the three Catholic Charities agency directors did a Zoom event, which provided “an opportunity for people to ask anything they wanted about Catholic Charities. It was kind of a vlog [a video blog], but nobody came.”
Hrbolich continued, “We wanted a new event because Giving Tuesday is so online-driven that I thought, if you want media buzz, it is going to be an event that people can come to because that will bring the cameras and you might get some publicity on TV.”
Catholic Charities welcomed 159 guests at the Breakfast with the Bishop fundraiser.
Diana Colaianni and her husband Dean, parishioners of Boardman St. Charles, attended the event to continue their support of Catholic Charities. Diana worked for the nonprofit when she was in high school, and she noted her appreciation of the donation station for non-perishable food items and personal care items, allowing her to directly support Catholic Charities’ mission at the event.
Scott Smaltz, a parishioner of Youngstown St. Christine Parish, was there representing his company, Church Budget Envelope & Mailing Co., one of the sponsors of the breakfast.
Carla Mattiussi, a parishioner at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Basilica/St. Anthony Parish, said, “I thought it was good to have a breakfast, especially for people that work downtown Youngstown like me. I work at YSU. I came here first, and then I will go to work. It did not disrupt my day,” she said.
Diana Colaianni said, during the breakfast, she made new friends at her table and was delighted to discover some mutual connections. “Scott [Smaltz] knew my son, and Carla [Mattiussi] knew of me from speech tournaments,” she said.
Alice McClay Felden and her husband, David, also St. Charles parishioners, decided to attend after Alice received an email about the event. “My wife bought my ticket as a Christmas gift, so I took off work to come. We support Catholic Charities,” David said.
Darlene Corfman, also a member of St. Christine Parish, said she was glad to support Catholic Charities but had an additional reason to attend the breakfast. “I wanted to learn more about the new bishop,” she said.
Catholic Charities employees staffed the education stations, informing attendees of the various programs and services that are available at the agencies, including Adult Day Services in Stark County, Hispanic Outreach in Ashtabula County, the Christina House domestic violence shelter in Columbiana County, the Voice of Hope homeless shelter in Mahoning County and First Step Pregnancy support in Trumbull County. All of the agencies offer basic needs, financial and holiday assistance.
Even though Catholic Charities created Breakfast with the Bishop for Giving Tuesday, its objectives went beyond fundraising, noted Jennifer Lucarelli, project manager at Catholic Charities.
“The primary goal is education and engagement. It is to be more visible in the community and more visible about what our programs are. Also, to remind people that Catholic Charities does not just serve Catholics [a common misconception], but serves all people,” Lucarelli said.
Hrbolich added that Breakfast with the Bishop is an opportunity to engage with people and increase awareness in a social setting.
“The proceeds from our event will be used to help our Catholic Charities agencies reach out with love and compassion to those who look to us for assistance this holiday season,” said Hrbolich.
Bishop Bonnar recalled telling his family in Pittsburgh how joyful he is about the good work that Catholic Charities does throughout the Youngstown Diocese.
“I am amazed at the work that they do every day … and always with a smile on their faces and joy in their heart,” he said. The bishop praised the executive directors at each Catholic Charities location – Nancy Voitus of Catholic Charities Regional Agency, Jill Valentic of Catholic Charities Ashtabula, and Rick Squier of Catholic Charities of Portage and Stark County – and their staffs for the good work they do in their communities.
The bishop ended the breakfast by giving thanks. “From the bottom of my heart, I want to say thank you for awakening early this morning. Thank you for having breakfast with me. Most importantly, thank you for your participation in what we’re doing here, not just today, but every day. It enables us to bring the joyful face of Christ to those in need.”
