From her spot in the former convent of St. Frances of Rome Parish in west suburban Cicero, Dalia Rocotello is directing a dedicated staff of personnel at the Catholic Charities Emergency Assistance Center. The demand has never been so high, the need so great. In 2008, Rocotello’s staff served 14,900 individuals food and other basic necessities. Last year, that number nearly doubled to 29,400. And the numbers, Rocotello said, are continuing to rise. “We’re serving well over 3,000 people monthly and the demand is not slowing,” Rocotello said. “It’s simply amazing the level of need in our community and the changing faces of those community members needing these services.” Rocotello, the regional-services representative for Catholic Charities’ west Cook County region, is not alone in sharing the story. At Catholic Charities’ nine other emergency assistance centers in Cook and Lake Counties, demand for assistance has climbed to unseen levels, prompting the 92- year-old social-service agency to seek new avenues to raise awareness, money and goods. March 1 kickoff On March 1, Catholic Charities will kick off its first “Have a Heart and Help Your Neighbor” drive for nonperishable food and financial donations. The 31-day effort, running the entirety of March, aims to support 10 Catholic Charities food pantries. The campaign asks the public to collect donations for drop off at an emergency assistance site. The donations will be given to families and individuals most in need. “It is difficult right now for already struggling families to get by because their household budgets are often stretched to the limit paying for rent, health care costs and transportation. Many have lost jobs or their wages have decreased,” said Catholic Charities spokesperson Kristin Ortman. “So we are doing everything we can to keep the shelves full at our food pantries and that means we need to collect more donations.” NBC-5 helps Catholic Charities was successful in landing a partnership with NBC-5 Chicago, a relationship that will help raise awareness about both the burgeoning need for assistance and the organization’s month-long campaign. On March 5, Catholic Charities’ staff, volunteers and supporters will gather at the NBC-5 Plaza on Michigan Avenue from 6 a.m to noon to collect donations of goods and cash. Ortman says that Catholic Charities has been blessed to have the support of many parishes, parish schools and community groups that conduct regular food drives. The “Have a Heart and Help Your Neighbor” campaign represents a unified effort to help each of the emergency assistance center locations at the same time. “It’s a wonderful way for us to reach out to new people who might be interested in supporting us … and raise awareness about the needs in our communities,” she said. Rocotello says nonperishable food items are always welcome and the agency remains willing to assist with the planning or guidance of community or individualled drives. Cash donations, meanwhile, can multiply the group’s efforts. Through a relationship with the Greater Chicago Food Depository, Catholic Charities can purchase food at a significantly lower cost than the consumer. “We’re able to stretch a cash donation very far thanks to this partnership,” Rocotello said.