The theme of the 2015 Appeal is "Find Good Within."

Catholic Charities of Buffalo has announced several appointments to its leadership team in advance of the 2015 Appeal. The appointments were announced by the Most Reverend Richard J. Malone, bishop of Buffalo, and Sister Mary McCarrick, OSF, diocesan director of Catholic Charities of Buffalo.

James and Mary Beth Basil and John and Suzanne Berger will serve as corporate co-chairs for the annual Appeal. Jake and Katie Schneider, parishioners of St. John Paul II Parish in Lakeview, will serve as chairs for the 2015 Appeal. Nicholas and Nicole Tzetzo have been named vice chairs for the campaign, while Kellie Ulrich will serve as community division chair and Richard Cronin as parish chair.

As corporate co-chairs, the Basils and the Bergers will direct a team  of volunteer business leaders and help develop strategies for soliciting contributions from the area's corporations and small businesses. Local businesses and their employees contributed more than $1 million to the 2014 Appeal.

Mary Beth, directs marketing activity on behalf of the car dealership, in addition to working as a sales associate at Tony Walker and Company. The Basils, residents of Williamsville, belong to St. Gregory the Great Parish and have three children. The couple has been involved with Catholic Charities for nearly 20 years.

John Berger is a partner at Lawley Benefits Group, LLC. He  
and his wife, Suzanne, are parishioners of St. Gregory the Great. They have two children and reside in Williamsville.  

Jake and Katie Schneider, parishioners of St. John Paul II Parish in Lakeview, served as vice chairs for the 2014 Appeal. Jake Schneider is an architect, developer and owner of Schneider Design Architects PC and Schneider Development LLC. A graduate of St. Francis High School and the University of Notre Dame, he currently serves on the board of the Foundation of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo and has served as chair of the board of directors of St. Francis High School.

Katie Schneider owns Katie Schneider Photography in Buffalo. She is a graduate of Nottingham Academy and Wells College and has served as chair of the St. John Paul II Parish Council in Lakeview. Both Katie and Jake serve on the Bishop's Council of the Laity as program committee chairs. They reside in Lakeview and have four children and two grandchildren.

Nicholas and Nicole Tzetzo are parishioners of St. Louis Church in Buffalo. Nicholas serves as the managing partner of The Tzetzo Companies, LLC, specializing in real property development and management, diversified investment and capital allocation.

Nicole Tzetzo is a partner with Jaeckle Fleischmann & Mugel  
LLP. The couple has been actively involved with Catholic Charities since 2012. 

As community chair, Kellie Ulrich will direct a team and develop strategies to reach youth and young adults including schools, youth ministry and faith formation areas of the Diocese of Buffalo, as well as parish organizations.

Ulrich, a commercial litigation attorney with more than 20 years  
of experience, is currently self employed as an attorney. This is her second year on the Appeal leadership team, having served as vice chair of the community division for the 2014 Appeal. Her husband Steve was the general chair of the 2013 Appeal.

Kellie and Steve are members of Christ the King Parish in Snyder  
and have two children, Alex, a junior at Canisius High School, and  
Bridgetta, a 7th grader at Christ the King.

In his continuing role as parish chair for  
the third year, Rick Cronin will help to inform and motivate the Parish Appeal teams, which represent the 170 parishes within the eight counties of the diocese.

Cronin formerly worked for the Social Security Administration  
for 37 years before retiring. A St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute  
alum, he has held leadership roles for the school's Annual Giving Fund campaign and the Alumni Association Board of Directors. He was recently inducted into the Signum Fidei Society for distinguished alumni.

He received his bachelor's degree from Canisius College and his  
Master of Business Administration from the University at Buffalo. An active member of St. Margaret's Parish in Buffalo, Cronin has served as the parish's Catholic Charities Appeal chair since 1993. He and his wife JoEllen reside in the town of Tonawanda.  

With a goal of $10.9 million, the 2015 Appeal will extend from January through June 30. The theme for the 2015 Appeal is "Find  
Good Within" and the patron saint is St. Francis of Assisi.

To make a donation or learn more about Appeal 2015, contact Catholic Charities at (716) 218-1400 or go to the Catholic Charities website. You can also check out Catholic Charities on Facebook and Twitter.