By BILL DOYLE
CFP CORRESPONDENT

Each year, Partners in Charity raises funds to support thousands of families and individuals in more than 25 charitable, educational and pastoral ministries in the Diocese of Worcester. As of today it is at 86 percent of its goal.
It’s a challenging, but worthwhile effort.
“It’s exciting,” said Michael P. Gillespie, director of the Office of Stewardship and Development in the diocese, “but it’s a challenge every year because every year there’s always something. There could be an obstacle whether it’s the economy or the pandemic. I see the generosity from the people; you can’t help but feel such sincere gratitude for them making gifts like that of support.”
As of July 19, Partners in Charity had received $4,272,909 in donations, 85 percent of the goal of $5 million. By the next day it reached 86 percent.
As of the same date in 2022, Partners in Charity had collected $4,145,140, 83 percent of the goal.
“I think those are signs of hope,” Mr. Gillespie said. “I’m optimistic.”
The number of donors dropped from 11,140 in 2022 to 10,909 at the same point in 2023, but the amount of the average gift increased. By the end of the fiscal year on Aug. 31, 2022, a total of $4,739,605 was raised, 94.7 percent of the goal.
Mr. Gillespie believes attaining the $5 million goal is possible.
“It’s definitely reachable,” he said.    Last year, 12,257 gifts were made. So far this year, 10,909 have been made. Mr. Gillespie is hopeful that the gap will close and Partners in Charity will reach its goal.
“Not everybody is going to be able to make a gift,” he said, “but if a number of the donors could respond over the next 50 days, it’s doable.”
Partners in Charity last reached its goal of raising $5 million in 2018 with $5,076,252. It also surpassed the goal in each of the previous two years.
Raising money for Partners in Charity became more of a challenge in 2019 when the diocese launched Legacy of Hope, its first capital campaign in more than 20 years, to repair aging churches and other parish buildings, endow priests’ retirement and custodial care, support Catholic education and fund parish-based charitable outreach. That campaign ended last fall, but many parishioners continue to make payments toward their pledges.
In early 2020, Partners in Charity faced another obstacle when the pandemic hit. That year, Partners raised $4,379,895, which was 88 percent of the goal. Despite the recent shortfalls, Mr. Gillespie said Partners in Charity has been able to fully fund all the ministries.
As of July 19, of the 93 parishes in the diocese, 33 had reached their fundraising goals for Partners in Charity. Leading the way was Christ the King Parish in Worcester, which has raised $153,747, which is 139 percent of its $110,700 goal. Msgr. Thomas J. Sullivan, pastor at Christ the King, starts the campaign as early as possible.
“God bless Msgr. Sullivan,” Mr. Gillespie said. “You can see that he reached his goal and he does a great job with it.”
St. Mary Parish in Shrewsbury has raised the most money, $178,375, and is closing in on its goal of $180,500.
“Msgr. Rose and his parish staff, they run a wonderful appeal there in Shrewsbury,” Mr. Gillespie said. “The people respond. He puts a message in the bulletin, he does a parish mailing, he sends messages out and parishioners respond.”
Two other parishes have raised more than $100,000: St. Rose of Lima in Northborough with $112,815 and St. Luke the Evangelist in Westborough with $126,171. Both are approaching their goals.
Several more parishes were close to reaching their goals.
Some parishes hold in-pew solicitation weekends and others accept pledges in a special area in the church.
“Some parishes are really trying to promote the appeal,” Mr. Gillespie said. “Right now, they’re doing mailings and they’re trying to use Flocknote (an email communication tool)to send out to the parishioners to remind them. During the summertime, it’s very common that the appeal tends to slow down at some of the parishes.”
Due to mergers, there are fewer parishes in the diocese. Mr. Gillespie was pleased to see that Our Lady of Hope Parish in Grafton has surpassed its goal of $80,000. Our Lady of Hope was formed last summer by merging St. Mary, St. James and St. Philip parishes.
St. Mary Parish in Uxbridge, which merged with Good Shepherd Parish in Linwood last summer, also easily surpassed its goal of $68,800.
“The parishes of the Worcester Diocese have a history of generously responding,” Mr. Gillespie said.
The parishes usually begin their fundraising for Partners in Charity during Lent, but there is still more than a month to donate.
Donations can be made online at partners-charity.net/donate, by texting DONATE to 84576, by calling 508-929-4366, by mailing a check to Partners in Charity Appeal, Diocese of Worcester, 49 Elm St., Worcester, MA, 01609, or giving directly to your pastor. Checks should be made payable to “Partners in Charity Appeal” and the parish name should be noted in the memo line.
Donations have ranged from less than $300 all the way to $7,500 and more, Mr. Gillespie said. So far, there have been 6,185 donations of less than $300 for a total of $686,555 and 37 people have donated $7,500 or more for a total of $572,440. Many others have pledged other amounts.
Agencies, ministries and departments that benefit from Partners in Charity are: Catholic Charities, Pernet Family Health Service, Priests’ Retirement, Retired Priests Health Ministry, Diocesan Cemetery System, Utility Assistance Fund,
Advanced Studies for Clergy and Laity, Catholic Schools Office, Communications Ministry, Grant-in-Aid for Schools, Office of Religious Education, Ongoing Priestly Formation, Seminarian Education, Diocesan Schools grant, African Ministry, Catholic Campus Ministry, Hispanic Apostolate, Minister to Priests, Office for Divine Worship, Office of Hispanic/Latino Ministry, Office of Marriage and Family, Office of the Diaconate, Respect Life Office, St. Paul Cathedral, Vocations Office, Holy Name of Jesus House of Studies, and Youth and Young Adult Ministries.