Those who accomplish the most in life are often those who have been fearless enough to try new things, to allow themselves to be lead where they are needed.
Our guest this week, is Larry Smith, CEO and President of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Denver. His career spans working with the start-up team that launched CNBC in New York City. He then came to Denver in 1993 as TCI expanded in Colorado. After that, Smith worked on entrepreneurial endeavors launching Dish Network and a couple of internet services.
Every position we hold in life, leads us where we need to go. Larry Smith is a great example of this. He says;
"The thing about being an entrepreneur is tenacity. It's vision, tenacity, it's the ability to maintain your drive, your focus, in the face of what may appear to be sometimes, overwhelming odds." he adds, "That' s the inspiration I got from all the guys I've worked with. All the men and women who have lead the organizations I've been fortunate enough and blessed enough to be a part of. I would say that's the overriding qualities they have that makes them successful. You know, they've got a vision, they believe in themselves, they're tenacious they don't give up, they stay focused. And that is some of the traits that hopefully we're starting to work with at Catholic Charities."
Now, leading Catholic Charities, the same drive and awareness that built his career, is put to work helping others. Catholic Charities is the charitable arm of the Archdiocese of Denver. They recognize that we are called to serve the poor and needy with dignity and with love and mercy. The organization serves more than fifty thousand people each year, the work organized into thirty two different ministries. Just look at the drop-down box under the Services tab on their website.
Those 32 ministries encompass Family and Child Care Services, such as adoption, foster care, victim assistance, and senior services to name a few.
Women's Services, including Lighthouse Women's Center which provides free medical care and crisis pregnancy services, Gabriel House, which offers emotional and spiritual support, education and training, as well as free baby clothes, supplies, food and diapers for pregnant women in distress. Project Rachel, which provides emotional post-abortive counseling for women, men and families. and Respect Life Resources which champions Church teaching regarding the sanctity of life from conception to natural death.
Also, Housing and Shelter Services which include homeless shelters in Denver, Weld and Larimer counties and the Western Slope, housing 180,00o bed nights each year and twenty-nine apartment buildings which provide low income, government-assisted housing.
These three areas of focus are viewed as interlocking circles of services, as one need typically leads to another, and by serving all areas Catholic Charities can hope to truly help those in need by serving the whole person with dignity.
From our ICOSA perspective, that is what Connection and Collaboration is all about. A perfect example, if we may say so.
Catholic Charities also contributes aid for disaster relief, including the devastating floods and wildfires last year and other disasters in the region.
Learn more about Catholic Charities by visiting their website at www.CCDenver.org.
Listen Saturday at 10:00 AM on KNUS 710 – Please let us know what you think of our program, either by commenting here or on Facebook at Connect & Collaborate with ICOSA or join the discussion on Twitter @ICOSAMagazine.