In a small room at the Farmworker Center in Mount Vernon, Marta Martinez Olivera likes what she sees — a “dignified way of shopping” for patrons of the Catholic Community Services outreach and resource center.

“I remember how important it was to be welcoming,” said Martinez Olivera, who grew up in a farmworker family and as a child visited clothing banks with her mother. Purchasing new clothes is a luxury many families cannot afford, she said, so “it’s important to feel welcomed and not judged.”

But until earlier this year, families in need of clothing had to rummage through plastic bags scattered across the floor at the Farmworker Center. Martinez Olivera and Guillermina Bazante, the center’s program coordinators, did not have time to sort and organize clothing donations or help families find what they need.

That all changed when parishioners at Sacred Heart Parish in nearby La Conner reached out to CCS for help in discerning where they could best spend $10,000 in parish outreach funds.

Their first project, using about one-third of their budget, was creating a “clothing closet” at the Farmworker Center. A crew of parish volunteers installed shelves and hanging racks, giving patrons a place to browse through neatly organized clothing.

Supporting the Farmworker Center helps Sacred Heart parishioners answer the call to “open hearts” as stated in their parish mission and vision statements, said Denny Doneen, chair of the pastoral council.

And it’s creating relationships among parishioners, staff, volunteers and farmworker families.

The Farmworker Center, which offers cultural activities, classes and resources, serves 100 to 150 families each week, Martinez Olivera said — and more families are coming because of the clothing closet. The “overwhelming number of donations” received means families can take what they need without limits, she said. “It’s a true blessing and help to have the closet here.”

Partnership with CCS is key

The project might have been a missed opportunity if Doneen had not connected with Mary Escobar Wahl, Catholic Community Services’ network builder for the Northwest Region.

In her role, Wahl helps parishioners live out their call to deepen their faith by serving others as they discern, develop and launch or expand outreach efforts to vulnerable neighbors.

It was exactly what Sacred Heart needed.

When Doneen met Wahl while volunteering at a neighboring parish’s COVID vaccination clinic during the summer of 2021, he took the opportunity to chat with her about Sacred Heart’s outreach budget and seek her help.

“We know the work they do, and support the work they do, so we thought that was a good start,” Doneen said of CCS.

He gave Wahl a challenge: find the parish an opportunity to meet its mission statement with hands-on service nearby, so parishioners could see the results of their efforts.

Immediately Wahl thought of the “thousands and thousands of migrant workers coming to town.” The Farmworker Center had a need for clothing because most migrants arrive with little clothing and money to sustain their families until a job opens, Wahl explained.

Doneen, who has roots in a farming community, said he was intrigued by the opportunity to help at the Farmworker Center — besides being close to home, the parish could support it immediately by expanding its annual clothing drive for homeless men to include clothing for women and children.

After the initial discussion, CCS and Sacred Heart developed the Skagit Collaborative Project, gaining approval from the parish council to distribute the parish’s outreach budget to three projects: establishing the clothing closet, creating a regional Prepares program to support young families, and helping furnish CCS supportive housing apartments expected to open in 2023.

“We needed Mary and her team to lay out the opportunity for us,” Doneen said. “Without CCS, it would have been a tough sell.”

Getting parishioners ‘out of the pews’ 

Sacred Heart’s pastor, Father Tom McMichael, introduced the initiative to parishioners in a letter. “We as a parish live out our call to serve God and our neighbors through this unique collaboration with Catholic Community Services,” he wrote.

Earlier this year, parishioners began preparing the clothing closet space by installing the shelves and hanging racks, donating clothing and helping organize the donations. Parishioners like Julie Anderson, a member of the pastoral council, arrive regularly to sort, organize and resupply the inventory.

The work, Anderson said, is teaching her about gratitude and appreciation.

“We often forget that others have a much tougher life than us,” Anderson said. “My problems are minimal when I see individuals who relocate to work in fields often struggle to find housing, along with feeding, clothing and providing for their families’ most basic needs.”

Wahl hopes the three projects will get Sacred Heart’s parishioners “out of the pews” to live their faith and create relationships with those in the community, as is already happening at the Farmworker Center. In addition, parishioners are finding other opportunities to give at the center, such as helping with sewing classes, a children’s art studio and literacy education.

“It’s a parish project and it’s going to grow with wonderful relationships,” Wahl said.

Wahl sees Sacred Heart as the lead in these outreach projects, encouraging other parishes to walk with them.

Sacred Heart belongs to a cluster of four parishes, a mission and a school in the Skagit Valley. Doneen hopes to build multi-parish momentum so that support for the Farmworker Center’s clothing closet eventually equals that of the Tri-Parish Food Bank based at St. Charles Parish in Burlington, where he also volunteers.

During the fall, the Gospel readings and homilies about the Good Samaritan and Lazarus “really resonated” with Sacred Heart parishioners, Doneen said. “Taking care of our neighbors — that message has been coming across strong.”

And, Doneen said, you “can’t help but get a good feeling from a day of helping people.”


CCS appeal for the poor 

To support the CCS Appeal for the Poor, visit ccsww.org/donatenow.