Press Releases – St. Catherine's Center for Children

St. Catherine’s Awarded $20,000 KeyBank Grant to Support Award-winning Kinship Care Program

July 24, 2024

ALBANY, N.Y. – Recently, the KeyBank Foundation announced that St. Catherine’s Center for Children is the recipient of a $20,000 grant to support the continued work of its award-winning Kinship Care program and aid local low- to moderate-income families. The program provides kinship families with resources and programming to help them thrive. Kinship is a subset of foster care in which family members or close family friends assume the responsibility for and care of a child that has been removed from their biological parents, as an alternative to traditional foster care placement.

Albany County Bar Foundation Awards $5,000 Grant to St. Catherine’s

April 22, 2024

ALBANY, N.Y. – St. Catherine’s Center for Children was recently awarded a $5,000 grant from the Albany County Bar Foundation to support St. Catherine’s Access and Visitation program. This program – one of many under St. Catherine’s Family Services umbrella – offers supervised visitation in a safe and supportive space for a non-custodial parent to visit with their child.

St. Catherine’s Earns Reaccreditation: Affirming Excellence in Human Services

March 13, 2024

ALBANY, N.Y. – St. Catherine’s Center for Children, a Capital Region-based, comprehensive human services organization, recently achieved reaccreditation with the Council on Accreditation. St. Catherine’s completed a nearly year-long internal review process which culminated in an independent and objective verification against standards of best practice. This review assessed every program, department and process within the Agency to ensure complete compliance with COA standards.

$25,000 ARPA Grant from City of Kingston Supports St. Catherine’s Foster Care & Kinship Programs

February 29, 2024

ALBANY, N.Y. – St. Catherine’s Center for Children was recently awarded a $25,000 American Rescue Plan Act grant from the City of Kingston Nonprofit Services program to support the agency’s Foster Care and Kinship Care programs which serve children removed from parental care in a therapeutic home setting in the Hudson Valley. This grant also supports the recruitment and retention of foster families and provides respite services and more for kinship families.unity, including continued recruitment and training of foster families, identifying and supporting kinship families and promoting available services.

$7,500 Pictotte Foundation Grant Supports St. Catherine’s Kinship & Foster Care Programs

February 20, 2024

ALBANY, N.Y. – Recently, St. Catherine’s Center for Children was awarded a $7,500 grant – by The John D. Picotte Family Foundation – to support the agency’s Kinship & Foster Care Outreach and Wrap Around – Support Initiative. This grant is given to organizations that improve the quality of life in the Capital Region, with emphasis on health, education, the arts and housing.

These funds will enable the Kinship Care and Foster Care programs to continue providing wrap-around services which include the supply of food, school supplies, clothing and other essentials needed to support the program’s children and families. In addition, this grant funds St. Catherine’s direct outreach in the community, including continued recruitment and training of foster families, identifying and supporting kinship families and promoting available services.

St. Catherine’s Center for Children Announces New Executive Director for Agency

February 5, 2024

ALBANY, N.Y. – Today, St. Catherine’s Center for Children, a health and human services agency operating in the Capital Region and beyond for nearly 140 years, announced the hiring of Cindy L. Kouhout, MPA, as its new executive director. Kouhout, originally from New York State, most recently served as executive director of Pregnancy Support Services in Chapel Hill and Durham, North Carolina.

$5,000 Grant Supports St. Catherine’s Food & Housing Insecurity Initiatives

December 1, 2023

ALBANY, N.Y. – Recently, St. Catherine’s Center for Children was awarded a $5,000 grant – by the Make Sense Foundation – to support the agency’s Pathways to Health program. This grant is presented to nonprofit organizations whose mission aligns with the mission of MSF: to help children and women in need. These funds allow for the continuation of St. Catherine’s direct outreach and engagement in the community, including the Pathways to Health “Care-A-Van,” a mobile unit that allows the team to set up on the street, in parking lots and anywhere else that is needed to meet with individuals and families in crisis. Additionally, this grant sustains the Care-A-Van’s on-the-spot healthcare resources, which includes access to telehealth and telemedicine benefits, appointment scheduling, and transportation, as well as providing food, household essentials, and hygiene supplies.

St. Catherine’s Awarded Troy Savings Bank Foundation Grant

November 29, 2023

ALBANY, N.Y. – In advance of the global movement, “Giving Tuesday,” which occurs the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving, the Troy Savings Bank Charitable Foundation held a ceremony to present St. Catherine’s Center for Children with a check for $17,500. This funding, a grant which provides operating support to organizations delivering vital community services, allows the continuation of St. Catherine’s Pathways to Health community outreach program. “We are incredibly grateful to the Troy Savings Bank Charitable Foundation,” said Michele Puleo O’Hare, executive director of the Foundation of St. Catherine’s Center for Children. “This time of year, it is increasingly important to connect community members with essential healthcare benefits, primary care, housing, food and more. That is how the Pathways to Health program helps our community. Generous contributions from organizations like the Troy Savings Bank Charitable Foundation ensure St. Catherine’s can continue to provide these services, uninterrupted.”

Arrow Family of Companies Awards $10,000 to St. Catherine’s Center for Children

November 21, 2023

ALBANY, N.Y. – St. Catherine’s Center for Children and its Pathways to Health community outreach program were recently presented with a $10,000 check from the Arrow Family of Companies – the parent company of Glens Falls National Bank and Trust Company and Saratoga National Bank and Trust Company. This grant is part of Arrow’s fourth annual Thankful Campaign. “What a wonderful contribution from the Arrow Family of Companies,” said Michele Puleo O’Hare, executive director of the Foundation of St. Catherine’s Center for Children. “This grant will help our Pathways to Health program deliver mental health resources to low- and moderate-income individuals and families in our community. This time of year can be especially taxing on one’s mental health, so this funding comes at a crucial time.”

St. Catherine’s Honored with Outstanding Organization of the Year Award

September 19, 2023

ALBANY, N.Y. – Today, St. Catherine’s Center for Children was honored with the 2023 CURA Award for Outstanding Organization. This award is presented to a nonprofit organization in New York state, providing kinship care, or that has had a significant positive impact on kinship care. The award – presented by the New York State Kinship Navigator and New York State Kincare Coalition – was accepted by St. Catherine’s executive director, Frank Pindiak, as well as staff members from St. Catherine’s Kinship Care Program at a ceremony at the Crowne Plaza Albany – the Desmond Hotel. “This is a tremendous honor for our organization, specifically for our Kinship Care Program,” said Frank Pindiak, executive director of St. Catherine’s. “The work performed by our dedicated team, allows children to remain with family or close friends, which provides them a sense of stability as they learn to overcome challenges and heal from the traumas they have experienced. Without the support provided by our team, many of these families would not be together, let alone successful. We’re grateful to the New York State Kinship Navigator and New York State Kincare Coalition for this recognition, and we’re incredibly proud of our Kinship Care staff.”