# How to Build a Movement from Your Kitchen Table: with Kathie O'Callaghan

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/making-change-with-your-money-6046388/how-to-build-a-movement-from-your-kitchen-table-with-kathie-o-callaghan
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/making-change-with-your-money-6046388/how-to-build-a-movement-from-your-kitchen-table-with-kathie-o-callaghan.md
Podcast: [Making Change with your Money](https://stenobird.com/podcast/making-change-with-your-money-6046388)
Published: 2026-02-07T17:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://api.riverside.com/hosting-analytics/media/c8d74418c529008403ea233728efaa09416ed8a5a8370974c68ee2e72a122110/eyJlcGlzb2RlSWQiOiI0ODg0MzZlNi02MTgwLTQ3OTMtOTlkYS1lMWUxMjU3MWI0OTEiLCJwb2RjYXN0SWQiOiI3YTk3MWU4NS01MTAzLTQyMjUtOWM1MC0zNGUyOWFlMmYzODUiLCJhY2NvdW50SWQiOiI2OTJlMTFhYmZmYmExODU1NmI3ZTY1MTYiLCJwYXRoIjoibWVkaWEvY2xpcHMvNjk4NjQ3MTJmY2M2N2QzN2U1MTJmNGQ5L2xhdXJhLXJvdHRlcnMtc3R1ZGlvLWNvbXBvc2VyLTIwMjYtMi02X18yMC01NC01OC5tcDMifQ==.mp3
Audio file: https://api.riverside.com/hosting-analytics/media/c8d74418c529008403ea233728efaa09416ed8a5a8370974c68ee2e72a122110/eyJlcGlzb2RlSWQiOiI0ODg0MzZlNi02MTgwLTQ3OTMtOTlkYS1lMWUxMjU3MWI0OTEiLCJwb2RjYXN0SWQiOiI3YTk3MWU4NS01MTAzLTQyMjUtOWM1MC0zNGUyOWFlMmYzODUiLCJhY2NvdW50SWQiOiI2OTJlMTFhYmZmYmExODU1NmI3ZTY1MTYiLCJwYXRoIjoibWVkaWEvY2xpcHMvNjk4NjQ3MTJmY2M2N2QzN2U1MTJmNGQ5L2xhdXJhLXJvdHRlcnMtc3R1ZGlvLWNvbXBvc2VyLTIwMjYtMi02X18yMC01NC01OC5tcDMifQ==.mp3
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Duration seconds: 2892

## Resource

What happens when you combine childhood memories of your mother opening your home to refugees, a crisis playing out on television screens worldwide, and the belief that ordinary people can make extraordinary change? You get Hearts and Homes for Refugees—a movement that has helped resettle and support over 1,000 refugees in the Lower Hudson Valley and inspired a national shift in how America welcomes those fleeing persecution. In this conversation, Laura sits down with Kathie O'Callaghan, founder of Hearts & Homes for Refugees. Kathie shares her journey from breaking barriers as the eldest daughter in a large Catholic family in Louisville, to working on Capitol Hill and in New York corporate PR, to stepping back to raise four teenagers, to founding an organization that would change the refugee resettlement landscape in America. When the Syrian refugee crisis erupted in 2015, Kathie remembered the Vietnamese family her mother helped resettle in the 1970s through their parish. She knew there was a model that worked—faith communities and neighbors providing extended support beyond what government-funded resettlement agencies could offer. So she gathered people around her kitchen table in Pelham Manor and said: We can do this. And they did. Now, the community sponsorship model Hearts & Homes pioneered has spread nationwide, with millions of Americans stepping up to welcome Afghan and Ukrainian refugees. This episode is essential for anyone who's ever thought "someone should do something" about an issue they care deeply about, for women wondering if they can make a difference after stepping back from careers, and for anyone seeking inspiration about what's possible when you trust your gut, mobilize your community, and refuse to accept that the way things are is the w…

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