SOAR! Awards $1.1 Million in Grants to Assist Aging Religious

Washington, DC
– July 15, 2015  –

At its May 2015 meeting, the SOAR! board of directors, members approved awarding  grants totaling just over $1.1 million.  These grants will be distributed to 61 Catholic religious congregations  of women and men in 22 states. The SOAR! board of directors and the grant recipients are deeply grateful to all SOAR! contributors for making the grants possible. Members of the organization’s board of directors hand delivered grant checks to many congregations around the country.

The SOAR! grants will assist congregations of Catholic religious women and men in the care of their aging Sisters, Brothers and Priests.  The grants will help to fulfill very basic needs such as the purchase of therapeutic equipment, the renovation of space for handicapped accessibility and structural safety, and the installation of fire alarms. As a result of this assistance, many more religious will be able to continue to age in place and remain at home with their religious communities.

“I am so very grateful for the efforts of SOAR! and its donors in ensuring that these basic and practical needs of our aging religious can be met,” said Kathryn Pirrotta Caballero, chairperson of the SOAR! board. “These dedicated sisters, brothers and priests have generously dedicated their lives to care and to  serve others.  Now, in their time of need, we can help assure they are living their advancing years in safety and with dignity.”

SOAR! was formed in 1986 by a group of concerned lay people to help ensure financial stability of Catholic religious congregations in the care of their elderly and infirm members. Since its beginnings almost 30 years ago, SOAR! has awarded 1063 grants, totaling more than $15 million, to congregations throughout the United States, Guam  and Puerto Rico.

The organization is separate from the annual retirement collection coordinated by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

For more information, please contact Sister Kathleen Lunsmann at 202.529.7627 or klunsmann@soar-usa.org. SOAR!’s website is www.soar-usa.org.

SOAR! is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization committed to assuring the safety, security, and well-being of elderly and infirm members of Catholic religious congregations in the United States, and augments the efforts of the institutional Church.

Download a printable copy of this press release.

View the 2015 Grant Awards.