75 years of charity
Source: Catholic Charities Hawaii
1859
The Catholic Weomen’s Aid Society, later to be known as the Catholic Women’s Guild, helps immigrant plantation workers adjust to life in Hawaii by providing food, clothing and medical aid.
1921
Laymen form the Columbus Welfare Association (CWA) promote activities for the general welfare of the Catholic community in Hawaii.
1922
As the population grows, the CWA’s activities increase and it becomes necessary to seek funding to continue their work. The Association is admitted into the United Welfare Fund, now known as Aloha United Way.
1942
Bishop James J. Sweeney reorganizes CWA as Catholic Charities and, prompted by the growing need to provide social services to Catholic families, appoints Sacred Hearts Father Hubert Winthagen as the organization’s first diocesan director.
1944
Recognizing the strong need for social services due to the devastating impact of WWII on families and children, Bishop Sweeney invites the Maryknoll Sisters from New York to provide more specialized, professional social services for Catholic Charities. A group of four sisters, led by a pioneer in modern social work, Sister Victoria Francis, arrives to staff the newly formed agency. The other sisters are Sister Janet McConnell, Sister Ramona Maria Tombo and Sister Gerald Bretts. A fifth, Sister Mary Naab, arrives in August 1944. They provide services for orphanages on Maui and Oahu, place children in foster or adoptive homes, and offer family counseling.
1947
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Honolulu is officially chartered and established by the Maryknoll Sisters. The date of incorporation is July 29, 1947.
1948
The social services division of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Honolulu is named Catholic Social Services (CSS). The name “Catholic Charities” is the overall organization under which are all organized charitable work, including St. Francis Hospital, St. Anthony Home on Oahu and Maui Children’s Home.
Late 1940s
The Maryknoll Sisters see the struggles of immigrant plantation workers and become strong advocates for workers’ rights. Sister Victoria Francis becomes the voice for the sugar workers and participates in the successful settlement of the sugar workers strike.
Catholic Social Services establishes the Family Life Movement to help strengthen families in the community.
1958
CSS shifts its emphasis from foster care placement to preventative family counseling and expands its general counseling services in 1961.
1963
The growing counseling services leads to a reorganization into three units: The Family Counseling Unit, the Unwed Parents and Adoption Unit, and the Fiscal-Clerical Unit.
1965
CSS joins the Community Action Program to provide services for low-income families under the Economic Opportunity Act. The program becomes known as the Kalihi Family Service Unit at Kalihi Valley Homes.
Under the honorary chairmanship of Gov. John A. Burns and State Senator Mitsuyuki Kido, $275,000 is raised to purchase land at 250 S. Vineyard St. The new Catholic Social Services building opens in fall of 1965.
1970s-1980s
Programs are developed to provide professional and paraprofessional services to the elderly, immigrants and refugees, women experiencing unplanned pregnancies, troubled youth in foster care, families experiencing abuse and neglect, and a variety of advocacy services.
Residential programs are offered to the elderly and those in need of supportive living assistance.
Programs expand to the Big Island and Maui.
1982
CSS opens an office on Kauai to respond to the emergency needs of the community after the devastation left behind by Hurricane Iniki.
Catholic Charities reorganizes into three affiliate agencies: Catholic Family Services, Catholic Elderly Services and Catholic Immigration Center.
1988-89
Catholic Charities added a fourth affiliate agency, Catholic Community Services, to address community needs, especially homelessness.
1990s-2000s
Catholic Charities adds more specialized programs including services to medically complex babies, homeless families, and victims and perpetrators of domestic violence. New programs address child abuse and neglect, abstinence education, money management, and long-term care for disabled persons and elderly.
1995
Catholic Charities develops a mission statement which affirms the core values of “Compassion, Dignity, Social Justice and Excellence.” It becomes the integral guide to all aspects of the agency, from hiring and evaluating staff, to advocacy, to program services and development of new initiatives.
1999
Catholic Charities Housing Development Corporation is incorporated as a subsidiary of Catholic Charities to develop affordable rental housing.
2001
Catholic Charities becomes Catholic Charities Hawaii (CCH) to more accurately represent the organization’s statewide presence.
CCH responds to an influx of need for emergency assistance and referrals to programs after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
2004
CCH restructures and combines its affiliate agencies into one fully integrated organization.
CCH receives national accreditation by the Council on Accreditation (COA).
2005
Community offices are established on Hawaii Island, Kauai and Maui as part of CCH’s strategic plan to expand its neighbor island presence.
Catholic Charities Hawaii acquires a permanent site for its programs and services at 1822 Keeaumoku Street (the former First Presbyterian Church) and initiates a capital campaign which raises $21 million.
2008
The new campus is named the Catholic Charities Hawaii Clarence T.C. Ching Campus in recognition of a generous gift from the Clarence T.C. Ching Foundation
2010
Most of Catholic Charities operations and services are moved to its new Makiki campus, maximizing CCH’s outreach and service delivery to the community.
2012
CCH celebrates its 65th anniversary in partnership with Maryknoll School’s 85th anniversary and the 100th international anniversary of its founders, the Maryknoll Sisters.
2015
An anonymous donor bequests a 12-unit apartment building for women and children in need. The building becomes an extension of the Mary Jane Program, providing short-term housing and services to single mothers with young children.
CCH purchases the historic Laulima House next door at 1802 Keeaumoku Street to provide a more homelike setting for some of its programs.
2016
CCH begins operating the state’s Family Assessment Center in Kakaako. This facility provides a safe haven of up to three months for homeless families with young children.
Catholic Charities Hawaii completes its first phase of Meheula Vista senior affordable housing development in Mililani Mauka. The second phase opens on March 1, 2017.
2018
Construction starts on Kahului Lani, a low-income senior rental housing complex on Maui. The first residents move in at the end of June 2020.
2019
Lanakila Multi-Purpose Center, a Catholic Charities program designed to keep seniors healthy and active, celebrates 50 years.
2020
CCH Housing Programs assists the state of Hawaii with COVID-19 rent and mortgage relief services, distributing nearly $38 million to over 9,000 households statewide in a three-month period. The team also designs an online application system and automated payment system to carry out this important program.
2022
Catholic Charities Hawaii celebrates its 75th anniversary.
