The following individuals and organizations were distinguished as the Catholic Charities Southwestern Ohio “Partners in Hope”:

• The Freestore Foodbank – Cincinnati, for its exceptional mobilization of food to pantries throughout the region, including Catholic Charities which has been able to distribute over 200,000 meals in the first six months of the pandemic;

• United Way of Greater Cincinnati and Greater Cincinnati Foundation, for their immediate response of support, allowing human service agencies to provide emergency assistance to those experiencing job loss, eviction and other new needs;

• Society of St. Vincent de Paul – Cincinnati, for its outstanding partnership in meeting the many new emergency needs arising in our community;

• Officer Anthony Johnson – Cincinnati Police Department, for his compassionate and effective outreach to refugee and migrant communities; and

• AccuracyNow Language Services – Catholic Charities, for those interpreters who stood by our region’s fearless healthcare workers, providing critical interpretation services for COVID-19 positive patients.

Tony Stieritz, CEO of Catholic Charities Southwestern Ohio, shared, “In a time of such challenges and division, we want to highlight those examples when our community has come together, rolled up its sleeves and compassionately responded. We still have a long road ahead with the pandemic, so let’s take a moment to acknowledge our strengths, recommit ourselves to helping those in need, and keep supporting each other as partners in hope.”