CatholicCharitiesAcadiana

This Thursday, October 30, Acadiana diners can enjoy a meal and make a difference at Dine for the Diner 2025. More than 30 local restaurants will pledge 10% of their entire day’s proceeds to St. Joseph Diner, a traditional soup kitchen serving over 5,200 meals weekly to neighbors facing hunger and food insecurity.

Full list of restaurants at www.DineForTheDiner.com

Since 1983, St. Joseph Diner has been a place of welcome and compassion, offering nourishing meals at no cost to those in need. As a donor-funded program, Dine for the Diner invites both restaurants and diners to share in a mission of generosity, ensuring that families, seniors, and individuals experiencing food insecurity are fed with dignity.

BIG 102.1's Shawn Murphy sits down with Ben Broussard, Chief of External Affairs for Catholic Charities of Acadiana, to explore what mercy really looks like. From preparing for and responding in natural disaster, the compassion poured out through the St. Teresa of Calcutta Fund—complete with stories of neighbors whose lives have been touched—to the simple yet powerful act of teaching children mercy by letting them buy food and give it away to families they’ll never meet.

It’s a conversation about compassion, generosity, and the quiet ways Acadiana comes together when it matters most.

A quick Sharing Spirits update, plus a breakdown of our current response in Acadia Parish, and how this summer can be an opportunity for you, your family, and possibly your colleagues.

Shawn Murphy with BIG 102.1 recently interviewed Ben Broussard on the impact of the work of Catholic Charities of Acadiana in 2024.

In this episode, Ben Broussard and Sarah Baquet discuss things that you may have not heard since grade school. Maybe a few times at church, but certainly not coffee table conversation for most. Human dignity, common good, standing in solidarity with those who suffer. Listen in, maybe like never before.

You can support the work of Catholic Charities of Acadiana at bit.ly/Catholiccharitiesacadiana

Picture being hired to lead a disaster relief effort, and facing a major disaster under 30 days later? Ben Broussard visits with Hart Littell, Division Director for Disaster Response at Catholic Charities of Acadiana. Hart gets real about his own story, about being with those who have lost everything, and what it means to accompany them post disaster.

You can support the work of Catholic Charities of Acadiana at bit.ly/Catholiccharitiesacadiana

Ben Broussard and Sarah Baquet discuss what Catholic Social Teaching is, and what it's not. Listen in, you may be surprised as to what plays out.

You can support the work of Catholic Charities of Acadiana at bit.ly/Catholiccharitiesacadiana

This episode of the Need to Serve Podcast features Catholic Charities of Acadiana CEO Kim Boudreaux, covering a handful of commonly held misconceptions regarding homelessness. Kim recalls stories from her 20 years of experience with Catholic Charities of Acadiana, illustrating through story form the often complex experience of homelessness.

You can support the work of Catholic Charities of Acadiana at https://bit.ly/Catholiccharitiesacadiana

Everything you always wanted to know about volunteering with Catholic Charities of Acadiana but couldn't/wouldn't/scared to ask. The top 10 myths about volunteering with Catholic Charities of Acadiana, fully debunked with Ben Broussard and Sarah Baquet.

How about these for commonly held myths:

-I have to have specialized skills or “know what I’m doing”

-I have to have prior experience in service or volunteering

-I have to fit a certain “personality profile” or be the “volunteer type”

-Volunteering is unsafe

-Volunteers are a good opportunity for the individual, but not really essential to the fulfillment of CCA’s work

Lets bust some myths. When you're done, sign up for a volunteer shift at St. Joseph Diner :)

Volunteer at St. Joseph Diner - https://bit.ly/SJDvolunteer

Amelie represents CRS, or Catholic Relief Services, an organization that serves the poor and vulnerable populations overseas. We’ll dig in with Amelie about who she is, what Catholic Relief Services does, who they serve and why that should matter to all of us.