Correspondent photos / Nancilynn Gatta ABOVE: Linda Gustinella Smrek and her husband, Rick, of Boardman, show the JFK raffle basket they won during Catholic Charities Diocese of Youngstown Voice of Hope fundraiser April 30 at the Eastwood Event Centre in Niles. Linda Smrek has a special affinity for Catholic Charities since she was adopted from Toronto, Canada, to the United States through the agency.

NILES — Catholic Charities Diocese of Youngstown honored members of the six-county diocese who gave their time, talent and compassion to their community at the annual Voice of Hope fundraiser April 30 at the Eastwood Event Centre.

The 2026 event recognized the Rev. William B. Kraynak V.F., pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Ravenna, and the Ashtabula Knights of Columbus Council No. 360.

“Honorees are typically nominated by a Catholic Charities staff member or board member or a member of the Diocesan staff. Nominations are then considered by a special committee, and final approval is given by the bishop,” said Jennifer Luccarelli, Catholic Charities Diocese of Youngstown program manager.

Kraynak, a Youngstown native, sees the work of Catholic Charities and the Catholic Church as a communal effort.

“It relies on each person to see it as their way to answer God’s call to minister in the church,” he said.

He recalled a moment in his life that instilled gratitude and related to the second organization receiving an award.

“After joining the Knights of Columbus, my father declared that grace would be said before every meal. No matter if it was a bowl of cereal in the morning or Sunday dinner, we said grace,” he said.

The pastor explained that this was an example of how his father’s Catholic faith was important to him and that we should be grateful for all that we have.

The second reward recipient, Ashtabula Knights of Columbus Council No. 360, was established more than a century ago.

In his acceptance speech, Grand Knight Terry Guerriero said, “As the fourth oldest council in the state of Ohio, we take the principles of the order — charity, unity, fraternity and patriotism — to heart.”

This commitment to those core principals is displayed in their winter coat drives for children, as participants in their church as lectors, Eucharistic ministers and in other capacities at the church, as well as the donation of an AED machine to the Ashtabula Catholic Charities office to keep clients and staff safe.

In recalling the creation of the Youngstown Diocese, Youngstown Bishop David J. Bonnar said, “From its inception 83 years ago, this local church has always aimed to evoke hope, namely, a ‘hope that does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.’ (Romans 5:5) “This hope is always one that points to a better future. A few years ago, someone gifted me with a small, engraved quote from Pope Francis that sits on a coffee table in my house that says, ‘The future does have a name, and its name is Hope.'”

More than 400 people attended the event and some guests had a personal experience with the agency.

“I was adopted through Catholic Charities,” said Linda Gustinella Smrek of Boardman. She was born in Toronto, Canada, and came to the area at 6 months old as part of an international adoption.

Other people volunteered for the event with a clear vision in mind.

“I had the time, so I volunteered to help set up the event,” said Alice Crosetto of Youngstown. “It is a way to put the Catholic mission of helping others into action.”

Funds raised from the event aid the basic needs assistance program for such things as emergency housing, food, clothing, personal hygiene items and utility payments.

“What we celebrate this evening in this annual event is not just a hope that signals a better future but a hope that grounds our past and sustains our present. But this is also a realistic hope. In my Second Pastoral Letter, ‘Practicing the Virtues of Faith, Hope, and Love,’ published a few years ago I wrote, ‘Hope is an essential mindset for Christians, and one we need to embrace in a world that tends to focus on what’s wrong and what’s not there. Christian hope does not ignore the difficulties of the world, but opens us to a positive mindset, seeing the possibility of what is right with the world. Even when the world is darkest, there is light.'”