Beacon Sharing Fund

The Beacon is the newspaper for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson. We are blessed to be part of this great Diocese and thank the team at the Beacon for their continued support of our important ministry. 

With the Christmas Season upon us, the Beacon will once again be hosting the Christmas Sharing Fund. Over the more than three-decade history of the Christmas Sharing Fund, more than $750,000 in donations and gift cards have come in from individual readers, parishes, community organizations and businesses from the Diocese’s three counties of Morris, Passaic and Sussex. Last year, over $20,000 was given to help those most in need! 

Each Week the Beacon will be publishing a list of stories/scenarios from Catholic Charities' programs and service recipients.  To contribute you may make a donation below or:
Make Check Payable to:
Catholic Charities c/o The Beacon Christmas Sharing Fund
Mail Form with Check to:
Catholic Charities c/o The Beacon Sharing Fund
777 Valley Road
Clifton, NJ 07013

You may donate to all of Catholic Charities or to a particular scenario which will be earmarked and used for an individual program, person or family. 

Along with the screened Catholic Charities scenarios, updated lists of contributions will also be published in the Beacon.  Requests for anonymity will be honored.  

Scroll down to see the list of this weeks scenarios or to make a donation.  You may also view archived scenarios here.  These lists will be updated weekly. 

Merry Christmas! 

This Week's Scenarios

1. Catholic Charities’ food pantries have given out more than 2 million pounds of food since the start of COVID-19 and are helping more people than ever before in their history. They give food to those without anywhere else to turn, and provide dignity to those most in need. One of the food pantry shoppers is A., a single mother whose husband passed away due to COVID-19. A. has an 18-year-old and 8-year-old. A. puts food on her table with support of the Father English Food Pantry in Paterson. Can you help A. and the thousands of people Catholic Charities serves by making a donation to purchase nonperishable food items?

2. O’Connor Hall is a men’s residential halfway house located in Passaic that houses up to 50 men in recovery. J. is a 38-year-old father of two, who after a lifelong battle with addiction is clean and sober for the first time in a decade. J. loves to cook and your support will allow Catholic Charities to purchase bakeware for him to take home. Your kindness will make a great difference in J.’s life as well as those served at Catholic Charities.

3. The S. family is a family of two. The one-year-old baby has Sickle Cell Anemia and has had five hospitalizations lasting several days each over this past year. Mom is unable to work due to her son’s medical needs. They would appreciate age appropriate toys and/or clothing in sizes boys 18 months or 2T.

4. “I am a senior who lives in a low-income housing building in Paterson. I have been receiving food from Catholic Charities senior food bank program since April 2020. I don’t know what I would do without the food being delivered to my door. I am so grateful for their kindness and not forgetting about me as well as all the other seniors in this building. I cannot believe they are able to still give us food. What a blessing!” Please consider making a donation to support this senior citizen and those served by Catholic Charities.

5. No veteran should ever be homeless. Catholic Charities, Veterans’ Services provides supportive services to veterans with low incomes who are literally homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. They help dozens of veterans in need throughout the Diocese of Paterson and beyond each day. When placing a homeless veteran in a new home, Catholic Charities puts together and provides care packages for the veteran or veteran’s family, including food, flatware, and other needed items. Can you help by making a donation to put together care packages for these veterans this Christmas season?