Cathy Schnittker’s Story

Cathy Schnittker

                Of the unsung heroes and heroines in our midst, many are uncelebrated because of their innate modesty and their commitment to their contributions, not to their glory. None fits this image more than the decidedly humble, yet deeply dedicated, Catherine P. Schnittker.

                In an era in which punishment without rehabilitation is the simplistic answer given toward criminal offenders, and so many of our young people are growing up without a sense of direction or a sense of hope, Cathy Schnittker has given up on neither. Instead, for the past two decades, she has guided youthful offenders, along with their adult counterparts, through thought-provoking and meaningful  behavioral changes and healthy integration into their communities.

                As the founder and coordinator of the community service program of Offender Aid and Restoration of Arlington County, Inc. (OAR), since 1978 Mrs. Schnittker has annually supervised hundreds of individuals as they perform thousands of hours of court-ordered community service. In the past year alone, 645 workers provided over 19,000 hours of service to over 150 non-profit and public agencies in Arlington County and surrounding jurisdictions. This number included 407 juveniles and 238 adults.

                Few people know the extent to which the many fairs and ethnic  festivals, fundraisers for cultural organizations, work in our libraries and parks, clerical work in our local governments, and environmental clean-up activities benefit from the work of these individuals.  Along the way, they repay their communities, learn about responsibility, and see, sometimes for the first time, that they are part of a larger community that offers opportunities to become educated, lawful, contributing members.

                It often starts with the steadfast, patient, firm, and caring hand of Cathy Schnittker. Rules are set and responsible performance expected. Clarity of expectations is never in question, and accountability required. The successful completion of community service for almost all clients in this program is largely influenced by Mrs. Schnittker’s expectation of that success. She communicates not only that she expects exemplary work, but that she believes each individual is capable of providing just that. This belief, while helping others at a difficult time in their lives, is a key to her motivation.

                Mrs. Schnittker is a person of deep faith, motivated by her life-long living out of the principles of her Catholic faith. That faith is seen in her abiding belief in human beings as well. Those who have known her for many years have never heard her utter a negative statement about anyone, and have only seen her communicate her belief that each person is inherently deserving of respect.

                Mrs. Schnittker’s work for OAR reaches far beyond the scope of a “job”, or even a career. Rather, it is a commitment. Her “scheduled” 40 hour work week is the beginning , not the end, of that commitment. Since so many clients are in school or at work during the day, each evening is spent on the telephone setting appointments, checking on assignments, making certain the accountability factor is working. Weekends see her at environmental clean-ups, neighborhood fairs, and other locations where check-in or supervision of community service workers is needed. She doesn’t watch a clock; she lives out a commitment.

                In addition to running OAR’s community service program, Cathy Schnittker participates in other aspects of the work of the agency. Fifteen years ago she began OAR’s annual, “Project Christmas Angel,” which provides Christmas gifts to the children of inmates at the Arlington County Jail. Gifts are donated, wrapped and sent, in the name of the absent parent: assuring the children that they are not forgotten. Mrs. Schnittker, young community service workers in tow, is a familiar sight at the post office in mid-December as hundreds of packages are mailed.

                She was the driving force behind the work of the Frank Young House, a residential alternative sentencing program open in the 1980’s. Mrs. Schnittker ensured that the residents participated in community service activities and were part of the proper maintenance of the home in which they lived. For at least fifteen years, not only has she coordinated activities of community service workers to assist at the Arlington County Fair, but she has taken an enormous role in soliciting donated prizes from the business community for the annual instant raffle OAR conducts each year at the Fair.

                Lest it be thought that Cathy’s contributions to her community stop with her quiet, effective coordination of this important program, her familial and volunteer activities extend considerably further. She began volunteering in earnest in 1949 and has continued to make a difference throughout the years.

                Cathy Schnittker is the mother of five, the grandmother of seven, and the sister of five brothers and two sisters. As a lay Eucharistic minister for her parish of St. Agnes Church in Arlington, she delivers communion to the elderly and the sick in their homes. She is a layperson with the Third Order of Franciscans and sponsors a child with the World Vision Program. She is an active member of Arlington’s Committee of 100 and a board member of the Arlington Community Action Program.

                Along the way, she has garnered awards such as Kansan of the Year, a 1992 Laureate from the Virginia Cultural Laureate Society, and recognition from the Green Valley Civic Association. In her statement of philosophy submitted for the Laureate award, Mrs. Schnittker said, “I want to be an authentic person who is accountable for my life, not waste time, energy or opportunity pursuing goals that take away from my fellow man. People are important. Helping them discover their potential and arrive at a conviction of their worth and purpose is motivation enough for me. Individuals make up families and families make up a community. To be a part of creating a better community is my purpose and goal.”

                 Postscript: This account describes the life and work of Catherine Schnittker in Arlington,Va. through 1995. She continued this life and work for seven more years until she was disabled by a stroke at the end of 2002. Now, nine years later, she still lives in Arlington and has continued to participate in her community.                                      December 2011

Category: Stories, Written Stories