Q: What is your name, occupation and how long have you volunteered to serve on the St. Joe Foundation Board?

My name is Maria Krach, I am a Registered Dietitian in private practice and see referrals from physicians and other providers. I teach the GI Nutrition courses for the second year IU medical students, I do quarterly and annual nutrition assessments for the residents in 12 Benchmark group homes, I also co-own a small business that makes Adult Dignified clothing protectors (called bonTops), and I volunteer on several different boards and have served on the St. Joseph Community Health Foundation board since 2019.

Q: What inspires you about the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ and their Foundress Saint Katharina? Are there particular values or works that you find especially important?

I am inspired by Saint Katharina Kasper’s love for the Lord, which is in turn what led her to see other’s needs before hers.

Q: Please share a memorable interaction you have had with a grantee and their staff/clients.

I volunteered for over 20 years at Matthew 25 and was able to provide individual and group education for many adults in the Fort Wayne area who would not have been able to see a registered dietitian. I have also been involved with working with the local food pantries that receive St. Joe Foundation funds. We are striving to help those pantries secure highly nutritious foods with their funding and outside donation requests.

Q: What do you enjoy most about serving on the St. Joe Foundation Board?

I admire each and every person’s commitment to the board, and everyone’s diverse backgrounds. Everyone is committed to the mission and we are a “working board”!

Q: Tell us about an accomplishment in your professional or private life that you are proud of.

Something I am very proud of is my children, but more important, is what my husband and I have instilled in them regarding giving back to those who are burdened for many different reasons. They all volunteered a lot while in junior high and in high school, but when they left for college, I encouraged them to continue to think of others (when most college kids can become very egocentric). The whole four years while in school, each of them in a different way, spent weekly time with someone in need. Both my boys were Big Brothers to siblings in the South Bend Big Brothers Big Sisters Program, and one of my girls was a “Sister Buddy” to one of the nuns at St. Mary’s Retirement Home, and my other daughter was a Best Buddy with an elderly woman with cerebral palsy who lived in a group home. Our whole family became close to each of their friends. We just wished Sandy in Bloomington a happy 81st
birthday this week.