Forklift operator thanks God, and Catholic Social Services, for job

Published: 2006-06-15

PHILADELPHIA (CNS) -- There's isn't a day when 37-year-old Omar Mendez, a forklift operator for Kraft Foods in Philadelphia, doesn't say, "God, thank you for this job -- I'm happy." "I'm always thanking God for this well-paying job and benefits to provide for my family," said Mendez, a husband and father of two who belongs to Visitation B.V.M. Parish in the Kensington section of Philadelphia. Mendez is also grateful to Candice Koveleskie, the job development coordinator at the Cardinal Bevilacqua Community Center, who helped him acquire his forklift job five months ago. "I told Candice, 'You're not just somebody who helped me find a job -- you just made a friend,'" he added in an interview with The Catholic Standard & Times, newspaper of the Philadelphia Archdiocese. The center -- named for Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua, the retired archbishop of Philadelphia -- operates under the auspices of the archdiocesan Catholic Social Services, and receives funding from the annual Catholic Charities Appeal.

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