Matthew 25 Giving Society

2019 MATTHEW 25 AWARDEES

Hands of the Holy Spirit Award
This award honors faithful partners who go beyond what was expected, doing so without seeking acknowledgement of their activities. It reflects the belief held in the eyes of the Church that Charity is accomplished when we allow the Holy Spirit to use our hands to provide relief, to console, to teach, to assist, to counsel and to welcome.

Al and Anita Lucero

Truly sharing their gifts of time, talent and treasure, Al and Anita were instrumental in supporting the building of Casa de Corazon and supporting our Companions on the Journey (helping those passing through ABQ on their path toward seeking asylum in the US). They have volunteered in many areas of Catholic Charities, assisting at the monthly Mobile Food Pantry at St Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church, both as sponsors and volunteers.
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We are grateful to Anita, a retired teacher with a love for learning, who spent hours designing and creating the magnificent quilt she made, displayed on our Adult Education floor. We are grateful to Al for his commitment and leadership in supervising a team of volunteers to prepare and assemble playground equipment, for the Children’s Learning Center playground and to both Al and Anita for their commitment to the daylong completion of the playground, a gift that our children use every day!
Al and Anita are the “Hands of the Holy Spirit” for Catholic Charities and those we serve.

Michael "Eddie Gallegos"

Michael "Eddie" Gallegos answers the call of service, trusting in the Holy Spirit for inspiration. Around 9 years ago, Eddie answered the call to serve on the Catholic Charities board, as Board Secretary and then naturally, serving as Vice Chair and then as Board Chair. He became a steady fixture of support, be it attending a staff gathering, or co-hosting the weekly talk show, Dignity in the Community, highlighting the work of Catholic Charities. He also played a major role in the effort to create a new campus in the South Valley (now our Casa de Corazon offices/classrooms) and in helping with our Festival of Trees fundraiser (now the Saint Nicholas Ball).

​Eddie demonstrates what lending a hand means; as a board member, donor, or volunteer and never waits to be called on, always working alongside others to strengthen Catholic Charities. In the style of sincerity and humility, he is a living example of Catholicism. Eddie is indeed is the “Hands of the Holy Spirit” to Catholic Charities and so many others.

Celia Yapita

This year was the first time this recognition went to a Catholic Charities staff member as Celia Yapita was recognized as one of the award's recipients. She has exhibited extraordinary passion in honoring human dignity by helping our brothers and sisters who are fleeing their countries and seeking asylum in the United States.
Celia accepted the challenge to create a framework and to lead an effort that has caught the attention of many religious and civic organizations of all faiths as well as as the City, County, and State. By engaging the help of many individuals, organizations, volunteers, and staff members,

​Celia created a process that gives these weary travelers a comfortable place to rest their head, a shower for themselves and their children, clean clothes and a method to get to their final destination of family or sponsors. She accepted this challenge over a holiday weekend in February, and has done this amazing work on top of her “regular job” as Chief Program Officer, supporting all of our six Centers of Excellence on a daily basis.

We are grateful to Celia for all of her hard work in honoring human dignity and putting faith in action to improve the lives of those in need. And of course the many volunteers and partners who made this humanitarian effort possible. Learn more at our Companions on the Journey page. 

Simon of Cyrene Award
This award recognizes individuals who have helped Catholic Charities by carrying some of the burdens faced in providing assistance to those in need. It represents the assistance Simon of Cyrene provided to Jesus by carrying the cross after He fell on the road to His crucifixion. One recipient is chosen by each of our Centers of Excellence.
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Ryan Flynn, Executive Director of New Mexico Oil & Gas Association
Nominated by Kris Degenhardt, Director of the Center for Educational Opportunity

Ryan Flynn is the Executive Director of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association, a trade group representing the hard-working men and women in New Mexico’s oil and natural gas industry. As NMOGA’s Executive Director, Ryan has worked to strengthen relationships with community partners and members, and better communicate with the public about the role and impacts of oil and natural gas in New Mexico.
 
This year, Ryan and NMOGA provided 250 National Geographic/Heinle Picture Dictionaries to the English as a Second Language students in the Center for Educational Opportunity.  These texts are creating opportunities for greater levels of language acquisition for our students, and they are increasing English literacy levels across the South Valley and the City of Albuquerque.

Annunciation Catholic School 7th Grade Class
Nominated by Diane Lozano, Director of the Children's Learning Center

This year, the Children's Learning Center nominated the 7th grade class at Our Lady of the Annunciation Catholic School. We invited Christina Gonzalez and Chris Spurlin to come up and receive their award.
 
For several years, the 7th graders have participated in Project Give, which allows the ACS students to raise money to purchase and donate items such as jackets, gloves, and sweat pants to the children the Children’s Learning Center etc. Their generosity ensure that children in our center are warm during the winter months. The preschool children also love getting a visit from their 7th grade buddies!

Laura Combs, Director of Family Promise of Albuquerque
Nominated by Annabelle Perez, Case Manager in the Center for Self-Sufficiency and Housing

Laura is humble, welcoming, kind, and so down to earth. She is truly inspiring to me as a social work student.

​Laura currently works for Family Promise, an agency that shelters homeless families. She collaborates and helps create a bridge between clients who are coming from homelessness into our housing program. More often than not, some of these clients can create a wall as it is hard for some of them to trust. Laura and the Family Promise program helps build trust with these families in a short period of time. She is able to do this with phone calls and emails often times she’s meeting with them in person. She helps and guides these families towards becoming housed, self-sufficient and connected with family and community. We know that Laura has even helped one of our families get moved from Albuquerque to Silver City into a new long term housing situation. Laura goes above and beyond!
 
A Catholic Charities case manager heard Laura say, “I don’t see my work as only a job, it is more like a ministry for me.” For this reason, Laura Combs is the Center for Self-Sufficiency and Housing Assistance 2019 Nominee. 

Sgt. Richard Ingram, Albuquerque Police Department
Nominated by Joel Hagaman, VAWA Attorney in the Center for Immigration and Citizenship Legal Assistance

Sgt. Richard Ingram of the Albuquerque Police Department’s Homicide Unit is the Center for Immigration and Citizenship Legal Assistance nominee for the Simon of Cyrene Award. 

​In 2018, he was the Domestic Violence Sargent; and whether it was finding out who the new U Visa certification officer in APD was, participating in collaborative engagements, or more specific client assistance, Sergeant Ingram went above and beyond to be helpful and demonstrate that he was invested in victim safety. I believe his efforts deserve our recognition and thanks. 

Judy Bassett and Max Jaramillo, Community Volunteers
Nominated by Kathy Freeze, Director of the Center for Community Involvement

This year our Center of Community Involvement would like to recognize the amazing work of a brother and sister – Judy Bassett and Max Jaramillo.  Both are parishioners of St. Francis Xavier Parish and 5 years ago, Judy, then president of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, called Catholic Charities looking for a way to feed the hungry in their parish boundaries. Soon the idea for a Mobile Food Pantry through Roadrunner Food Bank was born. We needed funding and volunteers. Now 5 years later, it is going strong and has grown from from serving 50 families to over 100 families a month. There every month was Max Jaramillo. He set up tables, moved heavy boxes of food and stayed to clean up to the very end.
 
This April, Fr. Bijoy, pastor at St. Francis Xavier, generously offered classrooms at his parish to serve as the asylum seeker community donation center. Without a hesitation, Max and volunteers moved furniture, swept and prepared the rooms for all the donations. They did this work quickly and with a joy that comes from serving others.
 
What a blessing to have Judy and Max support our Center for Community Involvement and to work with them side by side.

Joe Gamble, ​Community Volunteer
Nominated by Dolores Nunez, Development Director, Administration

Joe Gamble is one of the finest individuals I know. In spite of his extensive business background, he remains humble and helpful to Catholic Charities in so many ways.  For several years, he has been our “steady Eddie” in the Development office, from maintaining and cleaning up our donor database, to overseeing all aspects of event, auction, ticketing and reconcilement of our Saint Nicholas Ball.  He is the “go to” person for all things database related.  Last year, when it seemed that our guests all showed up at the same time to check in at the St. Nicholas Ball, Joe stepped up to check in individuals in line to expedite check in!
 
In addition to his volunteer role in the Development office, he continues in his role as a driver for the elderly supporting our Senior Transportation Services program. He is a great listener and great conversationalist. When he sees changes in his passenger’s physical or emotional needs, he makes the STS office aware.
 
Joe is more than a volunteer, he is our friend and we are grateful to have him onboard.    

Alden Bruce, Videographer
Nominated by Lisa Trujillo, Vice Chair of Catholic Charities Board of Directors

The Board of Directors of Catholic Charities would like to honor the work of Alden Bruce. You may not know Alden, but you no doubt have been touched by his work.  He is the person behind many of the most recent video presentations for Catholic Charities. Alden has volunteered his exceptional talent and time to produce the St. Nicholas Ball videos for the past 3 years running, from capturing the build of Casa de Corazon, to highlighting the work of each of our Centers of Excellence to last year’s video, “Gabriel’s Story," a compelling video testimonial of the Gabriel Herrera who overcame incarceration, addiction, loss of family with the help of CC’s Self-sufficiency and Housing Assistance La Luz program. 

​We tried something different at last year’s gala, showing Gabriel’s Story and holding “paddle raise” as a last opportunity to donate to CC.  Well, that video and paddle raise garnered nearly $20,000 in about 15 minutes!  So, Alden, thank you for your gift of time and talent to support the programs and services of Catholic Charities!

This year's Matthew 25 Appreciation Event is on Tuesday, September 22nd.
​Please call Elisabeth Loya at 505-724-4637 for more information

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