Left to Right: James Amato, Secretary for Catholic Human Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia; Dave Henderson, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Stonghold Group; Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez; RJ Lualhati, Director of Business Development for Stronghold Group; Deacon Franz Fruehwald, Chief Financial Officer for CSS.

Families, youth, and individuals who benefit from programs operated by Catholic Social Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia (CSS) and in need of personal protective equipment amid the ongoing pandemic are receiving a boost thanks to a donation of 250,000 3-ply masks from Philadelphia-based and Veteran Owned Small Business, Stronghold Group.

Stronghold Group is composed of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans that have supported various clients, including private companies, non-government organizations, the US government, and various US military organizations since 2016. Stronghold Group recently submitted five FDA 510(K) pre-market applications for their own nitrile glove and surgical gown medical devices.

Yesterday, Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez along with Mr. James Amato, Secretary for Catholic Human Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, and Deacon Franz Fruehwald, Chief Financial Officer for CSS, were on hand to express gratitude to Mr. Dave Henderson, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Stonghold Group, and Mr. RJ Lualhati, Director of Business Development for Stronghold Group, who coordinated the charitable effort.

In speaking on the gift, Archbishop Pérez said, “I was honored to join administrators from our Secretariat for Catholic Human Services in expressing prayerful gratitude to the Stronghold Group for its generous donation of 250,000 masks to benefit the programs operated by Catholic Social Services and those entrusted to its care. We are blessed to work with Dave Henderson, RJ Lualhati, and Stronghold Group who believe in giving back to the communities in which it resides, especially as we continue to navigate the ongoing pandemic and help our brothers and sisters in need.”

The mask donation will support CSS’ community-based programs located throughout the five-county region as well as all CSS’ residential programs including those serving the intellectually disabled, dependent teens, and men and women experiencing homelessness. A portion of masks will also go to Archdiocesan High Schools where CSS staff work with teenage populations.

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