The St. Mary’s Legacy Foundation and Bishop Richard F. Stika have announced grant distributions for 2016 totaling $720,000 for local charities and nonprofit organizations serving Catholics and non-Catholics across East Tennessee.
Since its creation in 2011, the St. Mary’s Legacy Foundation has now provided more than $3 million to benefit charitable, education, and health programs in the region.
“The St. Mary’s Legacy Foundation continues to reach into all areas of East Tennessee with meaningful and vital services, not just for Catholics, but for people of all faith backgrounds,” Bishop Stika said.
“This effort, which recently surpassed $3 million in total giving, was initiated through the sale of the former St. Mary’s Hospital, is supplemented by the work of the Diocese of Knoxville, and remains a vital part of the legacy of the Sisters of Mercy, who founded St. Mary’s Hospital in 1930,” the bishop added.
Organizations receiving grants include:
- $32,500 to the Ladies of Charity in Knoxville to continue their mission providing food and nourishment to the disadvantaged. The Ladies of Charity provide approximately 234,000 meals for 26,000 people annually.
- $40,800 to the St. Vincent de Paul Societies in Soddy-Daisy, Newport, and Townsend to continue their mission to provide food/rent/utility assistance to those in need.
- $100,000 to Catholic Charities of East Tennessee for transitional housing for the homeless, Pregnancy Help and Adoption Services, and for providing economic and social self-sufficiency assistance for low-income immigrants.
- $34,575 to St. Mary’s Legacy Clinic to help provide a nurse manager for its mobile medical mission of extending the healing ministry of Jesus to rural areas of East Tennessee.
- $25,000 to St. Mary Church in Johnson City to provide access to cost-effective counseling services in the Tri-Cities area.
- $200,000 to Diocese of Knoxville schools for student tuition support.
“Our diocese covers a wide area, but we are unified in our common mission to serve and help others,” Bishop Stika said. “These, and the other grants, reflect our commitment to that mission.”
