Community Catalysts

What does it take to truly understand a community's needs? Well, sometimes, it starts with a glass of wine, a few good appetizers, and an honest conversation!

This spring, Community Catalysts took a more intentional step toward connection by hosting a series of four small-group gatherings right here at our Grand River Avenue office.

Here's a little more about that... ⤵

How Small Conversations Are Building BIG Community! What does it take to truly understand a community's needs? Well, sometimes, it starts with a glass of wine, a few good appetizers, and an honest conversation!This spring, Community Catalysts took a more intentional step toward connection by hosting a series of four small-group gatherings right here....

PROUD!!!!!

We are extremely thankful to the Herrick Foundation for investing in capacity building for three Livingston County nonprofit organizations.
Carrie Newstead, Executive Director of Livingston County United Way; Eileen Zilch, CEO of Community Catalysts; and Austin Dunlop, Senior Manager of Fund Development at LACASA were awarded scholarships to attend the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and each of them just successfully completed four courses to obtain certificates in Fundraising Management.

Last night, our Grand River office was vandalized, along with several other nearby businesses.

Firstly: all Community Catalysts team members are safe, and the building is being cleaned up as we speak!

What could have been a scary, frustrating situation quickly turned into a blessing and reason for gratitude: within hours of us reaching out for help, local business Kosin's Glass had people on the scene, helping us clean up broken glass, debris, and securing our shattered front door.

THANK YOU, Kosin’s, for being a good neighbor and helping us turn someone’s sad choices into an opportunity for thankfulness and community support! 🙌🏽

We hope to have our office restored soon—but in the meantime, if you’re looking for a company to help with some glass repair, we know a guy. 😉

Remembering those who gave it all so that we could live free. 🇺🇸

One more day of celebrating three years of Bethel Suites! 👏🏽🏡

In addition to housing people who have become homeless, the team at Bethel Suites feeds them and connects them to key community resources.

Over the years, Bethel's food program has grown from a small freezer of meals to fresh, nutritious meals delivered multiple times a week, an onsite food pantry, a personal care pantry, and donated cooking appliances that guests can take with them when they leave! 🥙 🍕 🥬 🍔 🔌

Our incredible community partners (you know who you are!) have joined with us to make feeding our guests a top priority, allowing individuals and families to experience comfort and nourishment year-round.

We also have onsite community resources to assist guests with finding a job, getting weekly counseling, finding healthcare and child care that they can afford, developing a budget, and finding and moving into housing that they can afford. 📈🧑🏽‍🔧

As we close out this week of celebration, we invite you to join us in loving and serving our neighbors—whether that's in the form of a volunteer day, a monetary donation, a business partnership, or something else.

Learn more about Community Catalysts and Bethel Suites at the links below:

🟢 VOLUNTEER: https://www.community-catalysts.org/contact
🟢 DONATE: https://www.community-catalysts.org/donate

We're continuing to celebrate three years of our flagship transitional housing project, Bethel Suites, with good news and stories of hope! 🎉

Did you know our Bethel Suites guests stay with us for an average of 9 months, as they work to stabilize their lives from the trauma that caused them to become homeless?

And here's something truly incredible:

We have been able to help about 70% of the people who stay with us move into PERMANENT housing that they can afford. That compares to the national average of a 10% success rate! TEN!