Self-Sufficiency Programs run by Catholic Charities Lake County Services gave single parent Lumba Kuanda Dove a hand up, not a handout when she needed help.  The Waukegan resident recently graduated from the program that provides case management, job readiness classes, educational support, job coaching and retention services, supportive counseling and financial guidance. 

"I am very thankful for the help this program has extended to my four children and me.  When I was homeless, with no food or clothes, they picked me up and gave me a helping hand.  I am extremely grateful and will always carry Catholic Charities in my heart for the rest of my life.  All the staff, my case manager, my employment case manager and supervisor, went the extra mile and were great examples for my children and me.  I thank God for this program and know it can help anyone at any age, young or older, to be successful in their lives," Dove said.

 Catholic Charities will recognize the educational and employment achievements of Dove and 83 other Lake County single parents at the annual "Achievement Celebration" to be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, June 6 at St. Paul the Apostle Church in Gurnee.  The ceremony honors participants in the Family Self-Sufficiency Program and Substance Abuse Free Environment (SAFE) Housing Program at Mary Pat Maddex Place.

 The men and women who will be recognized at the celebration for educational and employment achievements are single parents who have earned college degrees, professional licenses or certificates; and/ or have completed a minimum of six months of stable employment or have been promoted during the last year or who have had stable, full time permanent employment for more than two years.

 Honorees are from Antioch, Beach Park, Gurnee, Ingleside, Lake Villa, Mundelein, North Chicago, Round Lake, Round Lake Beach, Round Lake Heights, Round Lake Park, Vernon Hills, Wadsworth, Waukegan, Winthrop Harbor and Zion.

 Three honorees will deliver personal reflections, and all will be recognized for their accomplishments.   Joe Glunz, a Grayslake resident and Catholic Charities Board member, will serve as Master of Ceremonies. 

 The Catholic Charities Lake County Family Self-Sufficiency Program began in 1985 as an effort to reform the welfare system and to assist clients in achieving self-sufficiency by obtaining higher education and stable employment. The Catholic Charities SAFE Housing Program began in 1999 in an effort to reunify DCFS-involved, substance-recovering women with their children.  

 Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago, founded in 1917, opened its Lake County Services office in Waukegan in 1945 when 22 people were served.  Last year more than 30,563 Lake County residents received a myriad of social services and assistance with basic human needs such as food, clothing and shelter from multiple locations throughout Lake County.

 The Catholic Charities Self-Sufficiency Programs are headquartered at Catholic Charities' Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Center, located at 671 S. Lewis St., Waukegan.

 For additional information, please call Laura Kuever at (847) 782-4150.

Now in its 90th year, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago is the largest private, not-for-profit social service agency in the Midwest, annually assisting 1.1 million persons in Cook and Lake counties without regard to religious, ethnic or economic background. Catholic Charities fulfills the Church's role in the mission of charity by providing compassionate, competent, professional services that strengthen and support individuals, families and communities