OREANDA-NEWS. June 25, 2015. Holland America Line hosted a “Home from the Sea” fundraiser luncheon for the Catholic Seafarers’ Center aboard ms Statendam at the Port of Seattle. The event was attended by Stein Kruse, chief executive officer of Holland America Group, along with the Most Reverend J. Peter Sartain, Archbishop of Seattle, and Father Paul Magnano.

Before the luncheon, attendees gathered at a ceremony to honor Fr. Tony Haycock, the Catholic Port Chaplain at the Catholic Seafarers’ Center, who has served the facility for nearly two decades. In addition, a raffle for a free Holland America Line cruise was held to raise funds for the center. After lunch guests were invited to tour the ship.

“The Catholic Seafarers’ Center provides support to our crew members that is valued and appreciated by everyone in our organization,” said Kruse. “It is an honor to have had such a longstanding relationship with the center and to support them in return so they can continue serving our community.”

The Catholic Seafarers' Center is a social-service agency in the Archdiocese of Seattle. Its mission is to meet the spiritual and practical needs of seafarers and maritime workers visiting and living in Seattle. The center provides a number of services to workers coming to the city, including shipping goods on their behalf, arranging transportation and coordinating recreational activities. For more information, visit catholicseafarercenter.org.

“Partners like Holland America Line allow us to make the Catholic Seafarers’ Center a comfortable and welcoming place for crew members to visit while their ships are in Seattle,” said Sartain. “We always enjoy coming on board for this wonderful luncheon and seeing many of the familiar faces that we’ve come to know over the years.”

Each year, Holland America Line hosts more than 25 shipboard charity luncheons for nearly 5,000 guests in its home port cities. In addition, Holland America Line and its corporate foundation’s charitable-giving programs provide cash sponsorships, in-kind donations, free- and reduced-fare cruise donations for nonprofit fundraising events, donations of usable shipboard items around the world, employee volunteerism and other philanthropic activities.