Catholic Charities’ Hispanic Senior Center offers culture, connection, community
Aramita and her husband were born in Puerto Rico and came to Cleveland in 1974. While raising their three sons, he was a machine operator and she worked in laundry services at Kaiser Hospital for 34 years. After retiring, her husband suffered a stroke; Aramita has been his faithful care-giver.
Aramita and her husband were born in Puerto Rico and came to Cleveland in 1974. While raising their three sons, he was a machine operator and she worked in laundry services at Kaiser Hospital for 34 years. After retiring, her husband suffered a stroke; Aramita has been his faithful care-giver.
In 2008, she discovered the Catholic Charities Hispanic Senior Center, originally in the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood and now in her Clark/Fulton neighborhood on Cleveland’s West Side. It is affiliated with nearby St. Michael the Archangel Parish and is devoted to serving Cleveland’s Hispanic seniors. At the center, Aramita said she was delighted to find friends, hot meals, walking and exercise programs, health education, bingo, bus trips, a Spanish dance troupe and more.
For Aramita, it is a special place where she enjoys being surrounded by other seniors who speak Spanish and appreciate a similar culture and connection. When a cook at the center went on vacation, she stepped up to volunteer and has been making homemade Spanish-style meals like rice and beans, fish and pollo guisado for up to 70 seniors twice a week.
“I like to help people,” she said. “They call me an angel, but I just volunteer because it feels good. I get out of the house and it’s my therapy. When my husband comes to the center, he gets his mind on something else like bingo. He is happy and has no pain.”
At the senior center, Aramita said she sees all people treated with dignity. For those who are aging, alone, depressed or hungry, this community brings the love of God to them and provides unique support within Cleveland’s Hispanic community.
“I give thanks to God for the people of Catholic Charities. They bring the light of God to all the people. It is Jesus working in the world, and we need more Jesus in this world,” Aramita said.
The Hispanic Senior Center is one of the ministries supported by the Catholic Charities 2026 Annual Appeal. This year’s theme is “Yours are the hands with which he blesses all the world.”
Fast facts: 2026 Catholic Charities Appeal
Theme: “Yours are the hands with which he blesses all the world”
Goal: $15.3 million
Why: To provide diverse, critical services for people of all races and religions throughout the eight-county Diocese of Cleveland.
How to give:
- Go online and donate on the secure website at catholiccommunity.org/2026Appeal.
- Use the pledge card and envelope included with the bishop’s annual letter.
- Text to donate by texting CCHope to 216.223.9372.
- Call 800.696.6525, Ext. 1910 to give by phone.
- Send your gift to Catholic Charities Appeal, 1404 E. Ninth St., eighth floor, Cleveland, Ohio 44114.
Learn more
Contact Patrick Grace, 216.696.6525, Ext. 5750; email pgrace@CatholicCommunity.org; or visit catholiccommunity.org/impact.
Visit catholiccommunity.org/2026Appeal for more information.
