Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens and The New York Times Neediest Cases Campaign

For over 100 years, The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund has provided direct assistance to children, families and the elderly in New York.  As one of the seven beneficiary agencies of The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund, Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens continues to help thousands in need. The New York Times will publishes articles appearing daily from November 6, 2012 through January 25, 2013, featuring inspiring stories of those who have been helped.

Without the continued support of The New York Times  Neediest Cases Fund, many would be without the help they so desperately need. Contributions from supporters like you ensure the continuation of this Fund and, more importantly, the survival of our programs and services for children, youth, adults, seniors, the developmentally disabled, and the mentally challenged or isolated. Please make your check payable to “Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens,” note that it is a “Neediest Cases” gift, and then mail it to: Office of Development & Communications, 191 Joralemon Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201. Or you can donate via our website, by clicking here.

 You can also donate to the Fund through The New York Times website.
 

Below are stories from the campaign, of individuals helped through Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens who’ve courageously shared their stories in 2012-2013 campaign.

Diplomat Who Fled Chad Finds a New Life in Queens
by: Thomas Gaffney
Published: January 21, 2013
“We went to the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan,” Koumtog Laotegguelnodji said proudly, smiling as he reminisced about one of the highlights of his United Nations diplomatic career. “It was a good opportunity to be with President Bush and Laura.” ... Read more

Recuperating, and Focusing Anew on Elusive Goals
by: Marvin Anderson
Published: January 19, 2013
Although Chola Mapoma is recovering from a battle with prostate cancer, the last thing on his mind is rest. “I need a job,” said Mr. Mapoma, who lives at Miracle House, in Brooklyn, which provides housing for people undergoing medical treatment. “I need money so I can get my own apartment and more opportunities.” .. Read more
 

Losses Mount for a Family Struggling to Keep Afloat
by John Otis
Published: December 22, 2012
Flooding in the basement of George and Patricia Smyth’s home in Gerritsen Beach, Brooklyn, ruined the remnants from the ice cream shop they had owned... Read more
 

Fighting Anxiety, Sludge and Ruin
By Sam Dolnick
Published: December 22, 2012
Her years of drug abuse and homelessness were behind her, her anxiety problems were under control, and her job selling maternity clothes provided satisfaction and, best of all, a paycheck... Read more

Denied Insurance, Then Facing a Spiral of Depression
By John Otis
Published: December 12, 2012
Severe back pain had sent him into the emergency room at Interfaith Medical Center, just steps away from his home in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Doctors found a kidney infection and though Mr. Gonzalez, 57, was hospitalized, he felt secure... Read more

A Time for Dying, and a Final Gesture of Love
By John Otis
Published: December 3, 2012
Catalina Jimenez with her daughter, Sophia, in their apartment in Jackson Heights, Queens. ...Read more

Fighting Hidden Illness Whose Draining Effects Are Noticed Every Day
By John Otis
Published: December 2, 2012
His spacious two-level apartment in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, is cozy and warm, shining spotlessly from floor to ceiling on a rainy fall morning. Mr. Costanzo sits in an armchair with his wife, Maria, and 11-year-old daughter, Barbara, at his side... Read more
 

Mother Promotes College, and Then Comes the Cost
By John Otis
Published: November 30, 2012
The meeting with Berkeley College’s financial aid office last spring had not gone as Yvette Rivers had hoped. Worse than the disappointing information she received would be relaying it to her daughter Nyjhia Jones, who was soon to finish high school... Read more

Following Her Dream, and Hoping for the Dream Act
By John Otis
Published: November 25, 2012
Tucked in a box of photos and other mementos kept by Angie Escobar is a newspaper article from several years ago. It is one of the first articles Ms. Escobar, 23, read about the Dream Act, the proposed legislation intended to give certain undocumented young people a path to citizenship... Read more

Breezing Through College Coursework, and Helping to Care for Grandchildren
By Ann Farmer
Published: November 13, 2012
While attending Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn in the early 1980s, she was happily enrolled in a work-study program doing data entry for the National Lawyers Guild. Just after she reached the halfway point, though, she suddenly fell quite ill... Read more
 

Battling Breast Cancer, Single Mother Takes Strength From Her Children
By John Otis
Published: November 10, 2012
Josmery Batista, 34, had braced herself for many of the side effects that would result from her palliative chemotherapy treatment. She knew about the dizzy spells, the head pain and the body aches, just as she knew about the fatigue... Read more

Love Endures Amid Health Problems
By Jessica Mascia
Published: November 9, 2012
Two decades ago, millions of Eastern Europeans greeted the fall of the Soviet Union with relief and optimism. But Galina and Grigory Bobarykina, married parents of two who were living in Belarus, found little to celebrate... Read more

Campaign Is Established to Benefit Storm Victims
By Sharon O’Neal and John Otis
Published: November 7, 2012
The New York Times Company is beginning a special campaign to raise money to assist victims of Hurricane Sandy in New York and New Jersey... Read more

A Flair for Spontaneity Is Dimmed by a Painful Disease
By John Otis
Published: November 3, 2012
During the first six years of his marriage, Pat Marino — fueled more by spontaneity than hunger — would rouse his wife, Theresa, in the middle of the night and propose a jaunt to a nearby diner... Read more