Champions of Hope

2025 Catholic Charities Caritas Honorees

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Catholic Charities is in the business of hope. We build bridges between crisis and stability. Every day, we disrupt cycles of poverty & empower individuals and families to find success based on their own potential.

During Hope from Home: A Bridge to Stability, our largest and most important annual fundraiser, we celebrate those in Southwestern Pennsylvania who agree that tomorrow’s dreams take personal investment today.

We are thrilled to announce a $100,000 matching gift opportunity, doubling the impact of your contributions. Now is the time to make a difference - give today, and your donation will go even farther to help our neighbors in need. Please join us as we honor our 2025 Community Caritas Award recipients.

Kevin
Acklin

Fr. Frank
Almade

Pam & Steve Blanco

Pittsburgh
Cultural Trust

Greg
Weimer

Basic Needs Assistance

Without the basics like housing, food or safe shelter there is no living, only surviving. We help meet basic needs such as essential provisions, rental and utility assistance for residents in SWPA living without 200% of the Federal Poverty Guideline.  

Counseling

Emotional health is the foundation on which everything else stands. Our licensed therapists offer creative solutions to trauma, counseling, and therapy. We offer both in-person and teletherapy to address anxiety, depression, anger management and coping skills.

Free Health Care Center

We believe every person deserves ready access to high-quality health care.  We offer routine and advanced medical and dental care free of charge for adults who live within 250 percent of the Federal Poverty Guideline or those who face significant barriers to access care.

Gismondi Job Training 

With a successful pilot year almost completed, we’re expanding our telecommunications training program, offered free of charge to motivated students. We offer hands-on instruction in needed broadband skills – and the connections to area businesses that offer living wages. 

Housing & Shelter

Safe shelter is increasingly beyond many in our area as availability to affordable housing decreases. Our housing and shelter services include residential shelter for families and individuals without homes. We also provide assistance with rent and eviction avoidance for those whose only alternative is living on the streets. 

Pregnancy & Parenting

Our Roselia Pregnancy and Parenting Support program is one of our most important areas of service and is emblematic of our work overall – serving the most vulnerable among. We provide non-judgmental pregnancy and parenting assistance for single moms, struggling families and new parents through supportive counseling, parental education and tangible goods. 

Senior Support

As the Area Agency on Aging in Lawrence County, our program Challenges: Options in Aging provides individualized support services, protective services, daily meals, in home care, recreational and social opportunity, fitness centers and a computer lab.

Kevin Acklin

From his early years at Central Catholic High School (where he led his hockey team in the most penalty minutes), Kevin Acklin has been part of the character and mainstay of the Pittsburgh region. From overseeing all aspects of day-to-day operations when he served Mayor Bill Peduto as Chief of Staff to his long leadership with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Kevin has spent countless hours advocating for those who cannot speak for themselves, including youth, marginalized communities and survivors of domestic violence. 

Fr. Frank Almade

As a thought leader and passionate advocate for Catholic Social Teaching, Fr. Frank Almade remains highly regarded as one of the Church’s most powerful intellects. As a co-founder of the Jubilee Soup Kitchen, he had a particular heart to pastor those unable to meet their basic needs. With an eye for addressing reality directly, he was gifted in combining truth and grace. Though Fr. Frank entered into eternal life in August of 2024, the ways in which he used his heart to shape others will continue in perpetuity.

Pam & Steve Blanco

Pam and Steve Blanco are champions of many causes throughout Southwestern Pennsylvania. Pam serves parish ministries that care for mothers and the homebound. They are passionate about the Catholic Charities mission and serving the most vulnerable. Steve is a past Catholic Charities Board President. He serves as President and CEO of MSA Safety. Steve serves the board of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, the board of the National Association of Manufacturers, and is a board trustee for the Manufacturing Alliance. Pam & Steve are members of the Tocqueville Society for United Way, and Steve was the 2024 honoree for the JDRF gala.

Pittsburgh Cultural Trust

Since 1984, The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has stood as a national example of marrying creative and economic development while preserving cultural heritage and fostering next generation revitalization.

The Cultural District, a 14-square-block area in Downtown Pittsburgh that features theaters, galleries and installations, is one of the Trust’s most visible – and appreciated – projects. The Trust has successfully steered much of the City’s blighted areas from ruin thanks to consistent vision and stable leadership, which we’re pleased to honor.

Greg Weimer

Greg Weimer serves as the Chief Executive Officer and Chair of Confluence Financial Partners, where he’s dedicated to helping people maximize their lives and financial legacies. It’s a theme that resounds through his philanthropy work as well.

He is currently the Vice-Chair of the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation. Additionally, Greg is a Knight in the Order of Malta and serves on the Board of Directors of the South Hills Catholic Academy of Pittsburgh.