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Banking on KC – Lauren Solidum of Catholic Charities of NE Kansas

 

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Kelly Scanlon:

Welcome to Banking on KC. I'm your host, Kelly Scanlon. Thank you for joining us. With us on this episode is Lauren Solidum, the President and CEO at Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas. Welcome, Lauren.

Lauren Solidum:

Thank you so much, Kelly for having me.

Kelly Scanlon:

Glad to have you here today and learn more about what you do and about a big event, the Snow Ball that's coming up here in just a few weeks. Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas has been serving this area for more than 65 years now. So tell us about the overall mission of the organization, who it serves and how it fits into the larger international organizations?

Lauren Solidum:

Sure. So put simply, really, we put love into action. That's what we're known for. We are providing help obviously to those in need, hospitality and ultimately hope. We serve people of all faiths or no faith in our geographical area. And we are one of 168 Catholic Charities throughout the United States. And then there are 13 international organizations too that all roll up into what we call Catholic Charities United States. It is an affiliate group where we get to learn about things of best practice in our sector, and it's a lot of fun too, to get to work with our peers on things that would be helpful in our own area.

Kelly Scanlon:

Talk with us about some of the programs that you offer?

Lauren Solidum:

Many people come to us in crisis, unfortunately, and so we kind of bucket our services into really three pillars, if you will. First obviously stabilization. So if somebody's coming to us hungry, we're offering food, shelter, coordination, housing, rent and utility assistance, clothing.

Kelly Scanlon:

Very basic needs.

Lauren Solidum:

Yes, immediate needs, emergent needs. But ultimately our goal is to strengthen individuals and families. And so that second part of the continuum of services, if you will, is more focused on employment, higher education, and credentialing, things that no one can take away from that family that helps really build resiliency and self-sufficiency.

Kelly Scanlon:

So you serve 21 counties, right?

Lauren Solidum:

Yes.

Kelly Scanlon:

Here in the Northeast Kansas area and the programs you just described really encompass about 30 different programs. Talk with us about the range of those programs. Give us a sense of the expanse.

Lauren Solidum:

Yeah, so 21 counties, for those that aren't familiar, that's really the archdiocesan layout. And so if you think about a map, it's Marshall County over to Doniphan, down to Lyon and over to Linn.

Kelly Scanlon:

Quite an area.

Lauren Solidum:

So if you're a visual like I am, you need to see the box on the map. So yeah, our services in that stabilization, we're talking about our food pantries, so our family support centers, which is really the gateway for a lot of our clients to come to us.

Kelly Scanlon:

So on those food pantries, how are they administered? Do you have your own locations that you own or are they through other organizations that you offer them?

Lauren Solidum:

Yeah, so we have eight locations under Catholic Charities, and then we have what we call our resource bus that goes out to the 14 other counties that we don't have a brick and mortar facility in. And we really pride ourselves in the food pantries, they are what we call client choice. They're intended to be supplemental for families, so we're not a Walmart, but those individuals and families actually get to pick and choose the foods that are most culturally and dietary pleasing to them.

Kelly Scanlon:

So they do their own shopping?

Lauren Solidum:

Yes, with the help of some of our steadfast tried and true volunteers at the family support centers.

Kelly Scanlon:

That's one of your programs. What are a few of the others?

Lauren Solidum:

Sure. So we mentioned housing. So we operate a men's transitional living facility called Shalom House in KCK, it houses up to 60 men. There's usually about a 12-month stay, and we're really, again, trying to take those men from crisis to self-sufficiency. And in that program it's really quite amazing because it encompasses a lot of our other strengthening programs. And we're doing everything from financial education, literacy, talking about general hygiene and just self-care, all the way up to higher education and some of our employment programs.

Kelly Scanlon:

A lot of people associate Catholic Charities with adoptions. Are you still doing that actively?

Lauren Solidum:

We are, yes. I can't tell you how many times I've had my Catholic Charities shirt on and someone will walk up to me in a grocery store and say, "Did you know my brother was adopted through Catholic Charities 50 years ago?" That's our founding ministry, and that's how we started as an organization. And we still are actively in the adoption business, for lack of a better word, and we also provide a lot of wraparound pregnancy supports. So even if a mother decides to keep her child and parent, we're still offering diapers and all the necessities that you would need to have a healthy pregnancy as well as a healthy child-rearing.

I should mention our St. Rita program as well. And so this program started with just five students a couple years back, 2017-ish. And we are partnering with higher education institutions, so community colleges and universities. And essentially what Catholic Charities does is we help hold the person while they go to school, so nothing's disrupting them from that degree or credential program. And we're providing supportive services, and I'm really, really excited to share that we have almost 200 students that have gone through that program.

Kelly Scanlon:

Wow, in that short time? Yeah.

Lauren Solidum:

With roughly a 95% success rate of them completing the program. And we're talking sectors, skilled trades, healthcare, employment areas and sectors that are easy to get in, but that have a lot of upward mobility opportunity. And that's the hope is that these folks raise their wages, have more stability in the job, and then ultimately things like benefits in healthcare for them and their families.

Kelly Scanlon:

And in the skilled trades, that's been an issue.

Lauren Solidum:

For a long time, yes.

Kelly Scanlon:

Tell us about the impact. You mentioned how in the St. Rita program, just the tremendous impact you've had there. What are some of the other impacts that you can trace back to your work?

Lauren Solidum:

Well, I think just the sheer volume of people served, over 60,000 just this last year alone. We're seeing an increase in our food pantries of about 69%. Hopefully we can be an agency that allows them to divert resources elsewhere as we supplement the food piece. We did almost $8.6 million in food assistance this last year. Roughly about $1.4 million in housing, so keeping people safely housed through rent and utility assistance. And then I mentioned nearly 200 active students in the St. Rita program who are working towards bettering their life and self-sufficiency. So we're really proud of that.

Kelly Scanlon:

Which is the tip of the iceberg really, when you start thinking about the adoptions and some of the other programs that we haven't even talked about and don't have time to talk about today. But they have a wonderful website that you can go out to that lists all these programs if you're interested in learning more about that. And that's CatholicCharitiesKS.org, because again, this is just a limited number of programs that we're talking about today. Which leads me to, one thing I want to make sure we talk about is your major event of the year, the Snow Ball, it's coming up on January the 20th. And it's a milestone year. It's the 50th anniversary. Congratulations on that. Tell us how it got started. I know it was a cold wintry night, as the story goes, but give us the details?

Lauren Solidum:

Well, I don't know if I'll do the storytelling justice, but yeah, 1974, really, a group of friends got together on a cold night and decided they saw people in need of immediate things that they could help with, and so they did a potluck and raised, I want to say maybe a thousand dollars, a couple thousand dollars that first year. And since then, you said we're celebrating the 50th, and last year we had over 2000 people in the room at the Overland Park Convention Center, and I'm just so grateful to share that we raised over $4.3 million at that event.

Kelly Scanlon:

Wow. So it's grown tremendously both in the terms of number of people that attend, the amount raised and the number of people you serve with that fundraising money. What can people expect when they attend the event?

Lauren Solidum:

I'm biased, of course, but an incredible experience from the decor to the food. We've got a new band this year, we're really excited about the music. Just a bunch of friends in one room celebrating a fantastic cause. And if you've been to other galas or events, for us, the unique thing is that this really is truly a celebration. There's no financial ask at the event. We do all that work beforehand. So it's just an incredible celebration of the generosity and love that people have for Catholic Charities. And all are welcome. This is not just a Catholic event. This is a Kansas City, a community event where we're all rallying around the services of Catholic Charities.

Kelly Scanlon:

Absolutely. Tell us about how the funds from the Snow Ball are used. Is that your major source of income for all of the programs we've just talked about? Or are there specific areas it's devoted to?

Lauren Solidum:

Yeah, so it's about 10% of our total budget, which is significant. These are unrestricted funds that come into our general operations, primarily the area of greatest need. And so as we're thinking about growing programs, maintaining, sustaining our current programs, Snow Ball is just a huge pillar to help us do that.

Kelly Scanlon:

And where can people go to get tickets or to find out more about it? Just to the website or is that the best place?

Lauren Solidum:

They actually can visit SnowBallGala.org. It's a page on the website, but it'll take you directly to the event details. And I have to put a plugin for our Table Committee members that we're about half full, the room's half full already, so if you do want to come, we'd love to have you.

Kelly Scanlon:

How many can you accommodate?

Lauren Solidum:

About 2,500.

Kelly Scanlon:

Okay, so you're halfway there. Yeah.

Lauren Solidum:

Yeah. We want it to be a full room. It's the 50th anniversary. We won't get to do this again, so we're hoping that per the usual Kansas City, we'll rally and be there with us.

Kelly Scanlon:

You mentioned that you have a new band that you're excited about, given that it's the 50th anniversary, do you have anything special that's going to go on there to celebrate that?

Lauren Solidum:

Yeah, the new band. We're shaking up the food a little bit. I don't want to give any spoiler alerts, but there might be some pyrotechnics happening as well. Yeah, we're really excited to celebrate this with everybody.

Kelly Scanlon:

Yeah, so if you haven't been before, this would be a good one to come to.

Lauren Solidum:

Yes, absolutely.

Kelly Scanlon:

Because like you said, you don't get to repeat this, maybe 75th or 100th, but that's always a wave. How did you get into the nonprofit sector, Lauren?

Lauren Solidum:

Yeah. Well, my parents would probably laugh because my undergrad is in cultural anthropology, and I remember my mom distinctly saying, "You just don't want to do math, so you went into social sciences." But yeah, I got a degree in anthropology and sociology, and I loved the study of human behavior and why people do the things that they do, which led me into the nonprofit sector. I started in a career center really helping young people ages 16 to 24 with their career path and their GED and higher education. That was really, really fulfilling. And yeah, I've always been in the sector. It'll be 18 years this year, which is hard for me to believe. And I've loved every minute of it. Yeah, I've had a variety of experiences.

Kelly Scanlon:

How did you get into Catholic Charities? What drew you to their mission?

Lauren Solidum:

Sure. Well, I was actually fortunate to be a part of Catholic Charities in the Dallas-Fort Worth area prior. My husband and I did a brief stint in Texas for about five years and then came back to the Midwest. And so from that time, I just had such a wonderful experience, the diversity of programming, the people I got to meet. And so when we moved back to the Midwest, there was a job opening, and I had never been in this particular seat as the President and CEO before, but threw my name in the hat and just, it's an incredible opportunity to pair my deep faith and devotion with getting to provide humanitarian aid to people in need.

Kelly Scanlon:

I know that you can't do what you do without the support from the community.

Lauren Solidum:

Absolutely.

Kelly Scanlon:

You've mentioned a couple of instances of that already. You have more than 7,000 volunteers, and I believe around 200 employees.

Lauren Solidum:

Yeah, it's about 216.

Kelly Scanlon:

216. So a lot of people, it takes a lot of people to do this work. How can our listeners get involved?

Lauren Solidum:

Well, you mentioned the website. We actually just did an overhaul on the website, so hopefully it provides a lot more continuity and ease. But that's where you can find all of our donation opportunities and volunteer opportunities. We try really hard to specify the things, primarily around food and material goods for volunteers on the website, CatholicCharitiesKS.org. You can certainly call our offices as well. And you said it, Kelly, we need to mobilize people, and again, it's not just Catholic people, it's everybody in our community that we need to really unleash the voice of the poor and help serve the most vulnerable.

Kelly Scanlon:

What are some of the different areas that your volunteers help you take care of?

Lauren Solidum:

Sure. Well mention the food pantries, food's a big one. But you could do anything from mentor programs. You could teach a class in one of our financial education programs. You could help us with grocery store rescue, where we pick up food from local grocery stores, excess food, driving our resource bus. I mean, there's really something for everybody.

Kelly Scanlon:

So you just call and you can tell them, you can help match them up with whatever they have time and experience that they have to offer with some of the programs that you have?

Lauren Solidum:

Yes.

Kelly Scanlon:

Lauren, what is your overall vision? I mean, if time, if money were not a factor, where would you like to see this organization go and the results from that vision?

Lauren Solidum:

My honest answer, I would love nothing more than to work myself out of a job.

Kelly Scanlon:

Yeah.

Lauren Solidum:

That would mean that the services are no longer needed and people are safely housed and fed and clothed in a country that has all of that. That would be the ultimate goal. For us the next couple of years, I mentioned Shalom Men's Transitional Living facility. We would like to open a women's facility as well to help. We've talked about serving women and children in that capacity as well. Our rural communities. We want to make sure that we're infiltrating that as much as we are the metro, so opening a couple more family support centers.

Kelly Scanlon:

There's such a need in the rural communities, and oftentimes people don't even think about that.

Lauren Solidum:

Yes, absolutely. So that's a major hurdle for us, a major goal that we want to accomplish. And then obviously maintaining the success of our current programs, and really, I mentioned St. Rita. We're now in Topeka, Atchison, Leavenworth, Lawrence, the immediate metro, just continuing to expand that to all the corners of our service area as well.

So one unique thing that a volunteer can come and do with us is take what we call a bus tour, and that basically showcases all of our different services and it helps spark interest. With 30 plus programs, it can be difficult. You never want to get stuck in an elevator with me because my pitch is at least 45 minutes. So yeah, we hope that people will take advantage of that. And you can, again, sign up for that on the website.

Kelly Scanlon:

Lauren, thank you so much for your time today and for all that you and your team of associates and volunteers and your relationships with other organizations here in Kansas City, thank you for all that you do to help. We really appreciate it.

Lauren Solidum:

Thank you. Thank you for having me. Thank you for helping us spread the word.

Joe Close:

This is Joe Close, president of Country Club Bank. Thank you to Lauren Solidum for being our guest on this episode of Banking on KC. Catholic Charities stands as a beacon of hope and stability for individuals and families who are at vulnerable points in their lives. The organization's holistic approach not only offers immediate essential services, but also fosters resiliency and other critical skills important to a stable and productive life. As Lauren says, "The mission of Catholic Charities is simple, we put love into action." The organization's dozens of programs are a lifeline transforming lives regardless of a person's religion, gender, or race. In keeping with our history of centric philanthropy, Country Club Bank and the Thompson family have steadfastly supported Catholic Charities for many years. When you assist struggling individuals and families, you stabilize neighborhoods, strengthen the larger Kansas City community, and provide hope for a better future for all. Thanks for tuning in this week. We're banking on new Kansas City. Country Club Bank member FDIC.