Rachel Hrbolich, the diocesan director of Catholic Charities, is a Diocese of Youngstown lifer. Well, almost—her family moved to Newton Falls when she was five, and since then she’s called the Diocese of Youngstown home, attending Catholic schools her whole life, and eventually graduating from John F. Kennedy High School in Warren.
Hrbolich first started working for the diocese 24 years ago, as the coordinator of special programs for social concerns, after graduating from the University of Akron with a master’s in English literature. In 2003, Hrbolich became the associate director of social services, working closely with the director of social services. When the director retired in 2017, Hrbolich was chosen to fill the role, which was newly retitled Director of Catholic Charities.
As director, Hrbolich spends most of her time communicating with all the Catholic Charities agencies around the diocese. “My primary role is to coordinate the agencies and to bring them together,” Hrbolich said. “Now, I’m not their boss—they’re all separately incorporated agencies. They are responsible to their boards of directors. But I’m the point person at the diocese.”
In a practical sense, Hrbolich and the rest of her team provide administrative and fundraising support to help lighten the load at the agencies, while creating standardization for operations and communication.
“[We] bring about a unified brand, a unified image,” she said. “That’s why we share a website and we share social media platforms. So that—although we’re separate—we come across as a very unified system.”
In addition to maintaining constant contact with the agencies and the day-to-day management of her diocesan team of four employees, Hrbolich also serves as the diocesan liaison for Catholic healthcare organizations, Catholic long-term care and the St. Vincent De Paul Society. Hrbolich responds to these organizations on behalf of Bishop David Bonnar, ensuring that there is always a healthy working relationship between them and the diocese.
If it sounds like a lot—it is. But Hrbolich is inspired by her faith every day. “The work that we do at Catholic Charities is really the most beautiful part of our Catholic faith,” she said. “It’s feeding the hungry. It’s sheltering the homeless. It’s making sure that families have all they need for their children. It’s really doing what Christ asks of his followers—we’re doing that.”
Catholic Charities’ Season of Giving runs through December 31, followed by the Warm Hearts for Warm Homes campaign in January, which helps provide utility assistance to families with children, working poor adults and older adults on fixed incomes. Visit www.ccdoy.org for more information.
