COLUMBIA—Caroline Weisberg has been appointed the director of social ministry for the Diocese of Charleston. She will coordinate efforts with Catholic Charities offices around the state to increase outreach to the poor, elderly, imprisoned and other vulnerable members of society.
Weisberg will also work with immigration services to assist people dealing with citizenship and legalization issues.
She is a member of St. Joseph Church in Columbia.
“As a Catholic, I see this job as the opportunity of a lifetime,” she said. I really believe that I can make a difference if I use the talents I’ve acquired over the years. I’ve met the most wonderful people so far in Charleston and around the state, and it’s a real privilege to be able to work with them.”
Weisberg will have offices in both Columbia and Charleston, and her first goal is to learn from the people in the field about the greatest needs.
The rough economy has led more people to seek help from Catholic Charities and other programs, and Weisberg said she wants to draw up a strategic plan to meet social ministry needs.
She also wants to expand the prison ministry program run by Catholic Charities because of the growing number of Catholic inmates in state correctional facilities.
Weisberg was born in Shelby, N.C., and grew up in Maryland. After college, she worked as a registered nurse at Johns Hopkins University Hospital, and earned a master’s in business administration from Loyola University in Baltimore.
She is the former director of marketing for the American Red Cross at its national headquarters in Washington, D.C., and was chief executive officer of South Carolina Regional Blood Services of the American Red Cross from 1993 until her retirement in 2001. During her tenure, the organization received an international quality management award.
After leaving the Red Cross, she taught health administration and business at Webster University’s Columbia campus.
She and her husband Charles have two daughters and two grandchildren.