CHARLOTTE — Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte was honored Nov. 11 at the Carolinas Veterans Day Festival by Veterans Bridge Home as the 2021 Janene Stewart McGee Provider of the Year.
Before her death in 2020, McGee served as the Mecklenburg County Director for Veteran Services. A U.S. Air Force veteran herself, she was known as an avid proponent for healthcare access, housing access and other needs of veterans.
Catholic Charities was selected for this honor because of its work through its Supportive Services for Veteran Families program that helps veterans experiencing homelessness find safe and stable housing, among other services.
Veterans Bridge Home shared that housing requests from veterans were 29 percent of its total requests last year, and Catholic Charities worked to find housing for more than 200 of those veterans.
— Catholic News Herald
CLEMMONS — Allie Cavanaugh, 18, a parishioner of Holy Family Church, recently received the 2021 Bishop Michael J. Begley Award. The annual award given out by the Diocese of Charlotte’s Office of Youth Ministry recognizes youth who exemplify Christian service, Catholic leadership and good moral standards.
Cavanaugh cantors and sings with the parish choir and youth band. She volunteers every year at Vacation Bible School as a leader in the presentations to parish youth. She is also an active member of the parish’s LifeTeen group. Prior to becoming a cantor, Cavanaugh was an altar server. She attended Catholic Heart Work
Camp for two years and the Steubenville Youth Conference for two years.
She is active in the National Christian Forensics and Communication Association, a national speech and debate league, and has had much success in the past few years, qualifying to nationals in all her events for her senior season and taking third place overall at a regional debate competition.
The daughter of Bob and Tina Cavanaugh, she is a member of the parish’s American Heritage Girls organization, serving the needs of Holy Family Parish and the community in numerous programs.
Her pastor, Father James Stuhrenburg, presented the diocesan award to Cavanaugh Oct. 17.
— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter