Page 4 - MidWeek Kauai - Sep 7 2022

4 KAUA‘I MIDWEEK SEPTEMBER 7, 2022
Honoring 75 years of compassionate work in statewide communities are members of Catholic Charities Hawai‘i’s executive management team. They are (from left) Paul Kobayashi
Jr., Stella Wong, Robert “Rob”Van Tassell, Mary Leong Saunders and Tina Andrade.
so well with that.”
While Catholic Charities
Hawai‘i is proud to offer more than 40 social service programs across the island chain today, this milestone serves as the perfect time to honor its humble begin- nings.
It all started in 1859 when the Catholic Women’s Guild provided food, clothes and medical aid to immigrant plantation workers. De- cades later, the association was reorganized by Bishop James Sweeney, who, after seeing that Hawai‘i was in dire need of social services following World War II, knew just the ones to call. The Maryknoll Sisters, a group of New York wom- en who exemplified their faith by devoting their lives to others, arrived and, thus, Catholic Charities Hawai‘i was born.
When you’re in the line of work that Robert “Rob” Van Tassell is, you’re never really off the clock. Just the other day, someone tapped him on the shoulder when he was waiting in line at a gro- cery store. The shopper had recognized the logo on his T-shirt and felt compelled to share how Catholic Charities Hawai‘i had been a lifesaver.
“The Maryknoll Sisters’ primary emphasis was put- ting their faith into action. I think that tradition, that leg- acy, still lives with us today as we see the work we do and the passion that people have,” shares Van Tassell.
As Catholic Charities Hawai‘i celebrates its 75th anniversary, it continues
to serve as a beacon of hope for the state’s most vulnerable populations — proof that the miraculous really does happen.
worked in the hotel indus- try for over 20 years. When I lost my job during the pan- demic, we received rent re- lief from Catholic Charities and that kept me housed — just to get me through until I could come back to work,’” recalls Leong Saunders.
Saunders and the rest of the staff who make up the committed team at Catholic Charities Hawai‘i are in for quite a few more heartfelt interruptions.
what Saint Francis said, ‘Preach often and use words when necessary.’ Our work speaks for our faith and our faith shapes our work.”
The sisters must have been heaven-sent, as they immediately got to work at local parishes until they secured their first “home,” as vice president of mission integration Tina Andrade puts it, on Honolulu’s South Vineyard Street in 1965.
Believe it or not, this is a common occurrence — and not just for the president and CEO. It happened to vice president of philanthropy Mary Leong Saunders at a Waikīkī hotel a couple of weeks back.
“You don’t even realize all of the lives you touch because there are so many,” she continues. “Having peo- ple come up to you and say things like that is an incred- ible experience. It solidifies that the work we’re doing is impactful.”
Celebrating its 75th an- niversary this year, the non- profit, which has offices on O‘ahu, Kaua‘i, Maui and Hawai‘i Island, has carried out its mission of providing social services for the peo- ple of the state — regardless of their background or reli- gion — each and every day since 1947.
Van Tassell, who came on board in 2019, previous- ly worked in the affordable housing sector in Seattle. When he first heard of the opportunity, he made an ef- fort to learn what Hawai‘i is all about, starting with one word in particular.
Going wherever there was a need, the organization put its focus on senior citizens in the ’70s following the Older Americans Act. Services in- cluded transportation, coun- seling and case management to ensure that kūpuna were able to live independently and stay engaged with the community. Those years also saw a lot of political unrest, and so the nonprofit
“The woman said, ‘I want to introduce myself. I have
While the nonprofit reaches anywhere between 40,000 and 80,000 people annually, statistically speak- ing, Van Tassell, Leong
“Jesus never questioned anybody about their faith. That was never important,” says Van Tassell. “We see somebody in need, and we serve them. I think it’s about
“I looked up the word ‘aloha,’ ” he says. “I love that it was codified here in the state. That meant a lot to me. I saw the similarities between the spirit of aloha and the values of Catholic social teaching, and the val- ues of this organization fit in
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