Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Many American families are struggling to make ends meet, and the number continues to rise. For over 46 million people in the United States, that is a thin line: between eviction and home, between hunger and health, between unemployment and work, between anxiety and stability. This line is the Poverty Line. The Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) is dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty by funding community programs that encourage independence.
Our faith calls us to work for an end to the injustices of poverty and to recognize the importance of work to aid our fellow humans. For 40 years, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development has joined together with poor and low-income people to identify problems, make decisions and find ways to help them create permanent solutions to poverty in their communities. CCHD supports the poor and low-income in acquiring affordable housing, fair wages and access to health care and vocational training.
The Catholic Campaign for Human Development’s efforts are funded almost entirely through an annual parish collection that will take place on Nov. 19-20. We send 75 percent of your donations to the CCHD national office to invest in anti-poverty projects across the country while 25 percent remains in our diocese for local initiatives. Currently three organizations are receiving CCHD funding in our diocese. The Clinton Council of Social Agencies Getting Ahead Program is working with 25 homeless people with only four remaining homeless after one year. Clean Air of Muscatine (CLAM) is working for cleaner air in an area of Muscatine where minorities and low-income people live. Children living in that area are suffering from asthma and other health issues at a far greater rate than other areas. Quad Cities Interfaith (QCI) currently is working on building job opportunities for minorities and low-income people in the Quad Cities as well as working towards fair immigration reform and leadership opportunities for youth.
CCHD grants to local and national anti-poverty efforts are screened, awarded and monitored in close partnership with our local Catholic diocese.
For more information about the collection for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development and the groups it funds, visit www.usccb.org/nationalcollections and click on CCHD.
Please join me in solidarity with CCHD to put an end to poverty in our community and nation. Each of us should be grateful for our blessings and show our gratitude by helping to make a real difference in the lives of our fellow human beings. Your support will help to fight poverty in America and defend human dignity.
May God bless you for your generosity.
Sincerely in Christ,
Most Rev. Martin Amos
Bishop of Davenport
