Catholic Charities retirees are marshalling former staffers to help support the agency’s mission and further its reach.
More than 50 former employees are joining the newly created “alumni” association under the leadership of Darko Mihaylovich, who retires from Catholic Charities this week after nearly 24 years of service, and Deacon Lucio Caruso, who retired in 2021.
Mihaylovich, who hatched the idea, said that as he ruminated on his approaching retirement, he considered ways to stay connected to the agency, which has been integral to his life in Louisville.
His first contact with Catholic Charities came in 1997, after he fled war in his native Sarajevo, Bosnia. He was resettled in Louisville by Catholic Charities in 1997 and started working there three years later, he said.
Since then, he has had 11 different roles, retiring as chief programs officer.
“After 24 years, I can’t just walk through the door. I have to stay connected with the agency,” he said in a recent interview in his office. “It’s going to be hard (retiring). I’ve spent half of my professional life at Catholic Charities. In some way, the alumni association will help me.”
He said the alumni association is an opportunity for all who, like him, want to remain connected to the agency. The association is so new, members haven’t decided how often it’ll meet.
But they are all excited by the prospect of reconnecting with the agency on this level, he said.
The association has several goals, he noted. Among them are:
- Furthering Catholic Charities’ mission.
- Cultivating Catholic Charities alumni’s continued interest in the agency.
- Serving as a volunteer for Catholic Charities.
- Assisting Catholic Charities to recruit top candidates for open positions.
- Support fundraising efforts by promoting the agency’s annual Rouler — its largest fundraiser.
- Improving the local community through service.
“It’s important we just stay in touch and see how each of us can help the agency with those simple goals,” he said.
Mihaylovich will oversee the association along with Deacon Caruso — who retired as director of mission.
Deacon Caruso’s work with Catholic Charities and his continued involvement inspired Mihaylovich to pursue the idea of an alumni association, Mihaylovich said. “He has been so connected with the agency.”
Deacon Caruso said the association is a “great extension of the church’s reach in bettering the world and the community.”
He noted that having served at Catholic Charities creates a “unique bond” that will benefit the association.
Many of the alumni are “doing incredible work to better the community and the world. … It’s really inspiring to see that,” he said. “There are so many different resources that folks can bring to the agency.”
Having survived in a war-torn country, Mihaylovich said, he learned leadership skills he couldn’t have learned in business school.
“I hope I helped the agency using some of those experiences from Sarajevo,” he said.
Members of the alumni association plan to gather at Catholic Charities’ new headquarters in April.
To learn more about Catholic Charities of Louisville, visit https://cclou.org/.
