Ca†holic Ou†reach

P. O. Box 815

509 N. Grand Traverse Avenue

Flint, MI  48501

PHONE (810) 234-4693

FAX (810) 234-9428 – Client Services

FAX (810) 234-1717 - Administration

"..to act justly, to love tenderly, and to walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:8)

HISTORY OF CATHOLIC OUTREACH OF FLINT

Catholic Outreach of Flint is the thirty-two year old creation of Sister M. Claudia Burke of the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor.  In 1977, Sister dreamed of an agency that would be able to assist the poor, the underemployed and those that "fall between the cracks" in the Genesee County area.  Catholic Outreach is honored to be able to serve thousands of individuals of various cultures, ages and creeds. Since 1977, Catholic Outreach has been serving the homeless and needy. We conduct bingos in Genesee and Oakland Counties to raise funds for all of our programs.

Assistance comes in many forms:  eviction assistance, electric/gas and water deposits and shut-offs, and work boots, etc when available.  The food and personal items pantry distributes non-perishable food items, personal needs, diapers, baby formula, baby wipes, male/female hygiene products, laundry soap, etc.

One program we are especially proud of is our St. Christopher Children's Transportation Program which transports seriously ill children for specialized medial treatment in Detroit, Ann Arbor and Lansing.  The St. Christopher's Program has been in existence at Catholic Outreach since 1992.  We currently use 2 mini vans to transport the children and a parent or guardian at no cost to them.  Last year we transported over 100 children on 500 runs.

Daily trips are made to Children's Hospital in Detroit and the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor along with hospitals in Lansing and clinics in Brighton.  This service was established to assist Genesee County children but since then word has spread and we have also transported children from the Saginaw, Houghton Lake, Standish, Croswell and Canton areas as this service is not available anywhere else in Michigan and we provide this benefit for no fee.

Some of the children have to be treated on dialysis or receive chemotherapy treatments three times a week.  We also have children with AIDS, burn victims, and Shaken Baby Syndrome that are transported on a less regular basis. Our drivers are called 24 hours a day, 7 days a week when emergencies arise but feel this is a ministry that needs to carry on and gracefully give of their personal time.  We are currently assisting a little boy from Pakistan whose parents have relocated to Canton and speak very little English; one of the little girls we have been transporting for over 6 years is the only African-American in the world diagnosed with Poland's Syndrome (she was born with no ribs).