Our Story
Maria Creitz & Darenys Radich
Co-Creators
Mr. Radich and I have six children, ages 16-28. Our oldest is a priest here in the Archdiocese of Washington, and he went straight into seminary from high school, so he never went on dates; our second son has special needs and is non verbal so he has not dated either. It wasn’t until our fourth, a son, that we became aware of the challenges of the Catholic dating scene. He went to college as a seminarian but then discerned out while still in college. We thought at that point everything would be easy - he would meet some nice girls, ask them out, go on dates, have a great relationship, and get married.
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We had NO IDEA how complicated dating can be now - it was what I can only describe as a dumpster fire!! One time, he asked a girl out to lunch at the cafeteria (mind you, everyone has a meal plan), and the girl responded intensely and defensively, “What’s your intention in asking me to lunch??” He was only trying to get to know her better! Another story we heard was about a girl at a Catholic college who was asked to coffee by a guy, and explained that she wasn’t sure she should go, “because I’m not sure I would want to marry him.” These and many other examples–both personal and through reading and listening to podcasts and interviews–gave us a pretty clear picture of the intensity with which many people approach even the first date!
But it’s not just a college problem. After college, many people still struggle; in fact, it’s often harder to meet new people and date after you graduate and enter the workforce. Our family has been having big parties for years, where we often host well over 100 people, many of whom are in their 20s and 30s and would love to find a relationship. Our experience has been that they come to our parties and mostly talk to the people they already know, which is great, but doesn’t work well for making new connections and possible dates. So you say, what about Catholic young adult groups? Young adult groups are wonderful for making friends, but time and time again, we have heard that people are not asking others out in these groups either.
In the Spring of 2024, I was talking to my friend, Maria Creitz about all these difficulties. Mrs. Creitz and her husband have seven children, ages 4-21, so we both had young adult children in the dating arena at the same time. She mentioned that her daughter sees many of the same issues at her college. She knows girls who are smart, pretty, and Catholic, but who are 24 and have never even been asked out on a date! As we spoke, we compared the situation to our own young adulthood, when people did seem to date more and certainly seemed to be able to make connections much more easily. Then she said to me, “If there was just a way we could force people to date!” And THAT was the beginning of the Little Dates Club! Obviously, we aren’t forcing anyone to go on dates, but through that conversation and many others, we came up with a plan to make dating in-person, fun and something that people could look forward to!
Since that first session in Summer of 2024, we have grown and have served hundreds of young adults who have gone on thousands of dates as well as enjoyed interactive workshops and in-person events to foster beautiful friendships. We are now an official nonprofit ministry in Maryland with tax-exempt status. We are so honored to be able to accompany so many wonderful young adults in the DMV area on their dating journey and are so thankful for the amazing connections, relationships, engagements and even marriages that have come out of this ministry so far. We look forward with so much joy to what God will do in the future. I hope you will join us in bringing in-person connection and fun back to Catholic dating.
In the Spring of 2024, I was talking to my friend, Maria Creitz about all these difficulties. Mrs. Creitz and her husband have seven children, ages 4-21, so we both had young adult children in the dating arena at the same time. She mentioned that her daughter sees many of the same issues at her college. She knows girls who are smart, pretty, and Catholic, but who are 24 and have never even been asked out on a date! As we spoke, we compared the situation to our own young adulthood, when people did seem to date more and certainly seemed to be able to make connections much more easily. Then she said to me, “If there was just a way we could force people to date!” And THAT was the beginning of the Little Dates Club! Obviously, we aren’t forcing anyone to go on dates, but through that conversation and many others, we came up with a plan to make dating in-person, fun and something that people could look forward to!
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Since that first session in Summer of 2024, we have grown and have served hundreds of young adults who have gone on thousands of dates as well as enjoyed interactive workshops and in-person events to foster beautiful friendships. We are now an official nonprofit ministry in Maryland with tax-exempt status. We are so honored to be able to accompany so many wonderful young adults in the DMV area on their dating journey and are so thankful for the amazing connections, relationships, engagements and even a marriage that have come out of this ministry so far. We look forward with so much joy to what God will do in the future. I hope you will join us in bringing in-person connection and fun back to Catholic dating.