Original article here, posted January 24, 2018

Today we’d like to introduce you to Susan Stromatt and Margie Bacile.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.

The forerunner of the Charity Guild of Catholic Women began in 1922 when a group Catholic women gathered over lunch to discuss the problem of the growing number of needy children of Houston.
With a collection of $59 to establish a charity fund, these ladies began their work to help these children. At the request of a local Catholic pastor, their first project was the Mexican Free Clinic. They sewed layettes for families too poor to buy them for babies and gave financial support to the clinic which later became known as San Jose Clinic.

In 1940, the group adopted its formal name – Charity Guild of Catholic Women – and elected its first president. Meetings were held in members’ homes until 1952 when the first location of the Charity Guild Shop was purchased. Today’s location – 1203 Lovett, in the Montrose area, – is the third location for the shop each larger than the one before. Over the years and through the generosity of its members and several Foundations, the shop has increased in size and its ability to fund more children’s charities.

What started as a $59 charity fund, today provides an average of $400-500,000 annually, $550,000 was awarded in 2016 to assist children in need. San Jose Clinic remains a permanent focus. We give back-to-school, Christmas, and Easter parties for the children at the clinic. Members give books, supplies, underwear, socks for back-to-school, collect toys for about 400 children for Christmas, and make baskets of candy for Easter.

Today we entertain grant requests from other non-profits that are identified by our members and serve children in the Houston area without regard to race or creed. In February 2018, we will award grants to 46 such organizations. This is our proudest moment each year. Several organizations in the greater Houston Area have recognized the Charity Guild of Catholic Women in the last 15 years for its outstanding volunteerism and philanthropy.

The Charity Guild of Catholic Women volunteers is a multi-generational, multi-cultural, highly diverse group of women. Members volunteered over 96,000 hours for 2016-2017. Our members are former nurses, doctors, teachers, lawyers, CPAs, human resource specialists, bankers, IT specialists and other professionals. We are dedicated to building a better world through service to others resulting in benefiting Houston’s children in need.