Mount Saint Mary College received a Catholic Charites Caritas Award for its dedication to the community. At the award ceremony on Thursday, March 23 are, left to right: Shannon Kelly, CEO of Catholic Charities of Orange, Sullivan, and Ulster; Kaitlyn Corrigan of North Massapequa, N.Y, president of the Student Government Association; Fr. Greg Fluet, Campus Chaplain and director of Campus Ministry; Dr. Jason N. Adsit, president of the Mount; Genesis Ramos, executive director of the college’s Desmond Center for Community Engagement and Wellness; and Tom Strahle, Catholic Charities board chair.
Catholic Charities of Orange, Sullivan, and Ulster honored Mount Saint Mary College with a Caritas Award on Thursday, March 23 for the college’s commitment to serving our local community.
The 17th Annual Celebration of Charity and Caritas Awards Dinner, which took place at the Kartrite Resort in Monticello, N.Y., honored the Mount, Anderman Oil Inc., the Community Foundation of Orange and Sullivan, and Dr. Walter Woodley of the Institute for Family Health.
According to Catholic Charities, the Caritas Awards are presented each year to organizations and individuals who exemplify the agency’s mission to provide help and create hope.
The word Caritas is Latin for “love.”
“We are grateful for strong community partners, like this year’s honorees, who embrace our mission, embody the spirit of Caritas, and share in our commitment to creating brighter futures for our neighbors in need,” said Shannon Kelly, CEO of Catholic Charities of Orange, Sullivan, and Ulster. “We are blessed by the spirit of collaboration and generosity displayed by this year’s Caritas honorees.”
The award was presented to the college by Mount alumna Megan Robbins ’17, community engagement specialist for the Catholic Charities Prevention Program.
Receiving the award on behalf of the Mount were Dr. Jason N. Adsit, president of the college; Fr. Greg Fluet, Campus Chaplain and director of Campus Ministry; Genesis Ramos, executive director of the college’s Desmond Center for Community Engagement and Wellness; and Kaitlyn Corrigan of North Massapequa, N.Y, president of the Student Government Association.
“Under the guidance of the founding Dominican Sisters of Hope, service has always been at the heart of the Mount,” said Dr. Adsit. “We are overjoyed that Catholic Charities has honored us with a Caritas Award and we thank our dedicated students, faculty, and staff for always being ready and willing to go the extra mile for our community.”
The Mount was established as a four-year institution in 1959. At the small liberal arts college, located on a 60-acre campus in Newburgh, N.Y., students discover their purpose through hands-on experience, service-oriented programs, and classwork with faculty who know them by name.
Throughout the college’s history, countless members of the Mount family have led with their hearts and opened the minds of people of all backgrounds. Guided by the core belief that service matters, Mount students are taught to become ethical leaders, their greatness sparked by uplifting others. With service built into the college’s DNA, Mount students and faculty have worked with many charitable organizations in the region, engaging in projects such as stocking food pantries, food and clothing drives, facilitating community education, and more. Partner organizations have included the Newburgh Armory Unity Center; Newburgh Ministry; Loaves and Fishes; Catholic Charities; Food Bank of the Hudson Valley; Safe Homes of Orange County; and many more. In one example of the Mount’s dedication to community, students, faculty, staff, and friends of the college band together every holiday season to donate hundreds of toys to Catholic Charities of Orange, Sullivan, and Ulster. This year’s drive yielded more than 1,000 toys.
The Mount has more than 80 academic programs and offers non-traditional academic routes, such as certificate programs and degree completion. The college also provides innovative tracks within their three graduate schools, including master’s and post-master’s certificates in Nursing; master’s and advanced certificates in childhood and adolescent Education with graduates who are teachers and administrators throughout the region; and a master’s in Healthcare Management and online MBA component in Business.