Diocesan grad aids Middle East

The Times Union reported this week on a local connection to the Middle East:

As thousands of Americans were being evacuated from Lebanon during the fierce fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, Troy native Mark Schnellbaecher was planning to return to his office in Beirut.

"I'm not cavalier about the danger, but I also can't wait for a cease-fire,'' the regional director for Catholic Relief Services in the Middle East said Wednesday by cellphone from a hotel in Cairo.

"I don't take sides,'' said Schnellbaecher, 44, a 1980 graduate of Catholic Central High School in Troy. "Suffering civilians are suffering civilians, and we intend to help them.''

The entire story is here. For information how you can involve yourself, your school or your parish in this important work, go here.