May 2, 2012 – Contributions from seafood processors allowed Catholic Charities North in Massachusetts to help 10 additional families over the winter heat and housing bills. This was in addition to the five families who received Catholic Charities aid via Sailors Snug Harbor grant money.
With the way federal regulations keep making it tougher for Massachusetts’ commercial fishermen to eke out a living these days, it only makes sense that their need for financial help would be growing. That’s why it’s great to see the state’s fish processing industry stepping in to offer assistance to fishermen in need.
Catholic Charities North has typically helped out each year by distributing $10,000 in grant funds (courtesy of the Sailors Snug Harbor foundation) among the neediest Gloucester fishermen for heat and housing bills. But Sarah Bartley, the charity’s development coordinator, tells me the grants have been falling short of the need lately.
Things went a little differently last year. Mark Leslie, a vice president at High Liner Foods in Danvers, had just joined the board of Catholic Charities North. When he heard about the need, he recruited a wide range of other seafood processors in the region to help. He started making calls in September. By winter’s end, he had tallied up another $10,000 in matching funds, all donated from about 20 processing companies.