November 10, 2010 // Local

Local CCHD grants awarded in South Bend, Fort Wayne areas

Todays Catholic

The local Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), the Catholic Church’s domestic anti-poverty program, has awarded grants totaling $14,850 to six local and area institutions who demonstrated an ability to attack the causes of poverty by empowering the poor.
Founded by the Catholic Bishops of the United States in 1969, the campaign is an expression of the social doctrine of the Catholic Church and as a way to help carry out the Gospel of Jesus Christ. CCHD was founded to help poor people help themselves escape poverty and address its causes by investing in their development so they can participate in the decisions that affect their families and communities.
Those receiving grants and the amount of the awards are:

In South Bend
• Our Lady of Hungary School — a $1,000 education grant for English Language Learner Instruction for students and adults
• St. Augustine Church — an $850 education grant to support and sustain its African-American Tutor Program

In Elkhart
• St. Vincent de Paul Parish — a $4,000 community organizing grant to provide English classes for Hispanic parishioners

In Fort Wayne
• Catholic Charities — a $3,000 community organizing grant to help support its Immigration Program
• Vincent Village, Inc. — a $3,000 community organizing grant to provide leadership training for members of the Tenant Council
• The Volunteer Center at RSVP — a $3,000 community organizing grant for the support of its Multi-Lingual Free Income Tax Preparation Project

The annual CCHD collection will be taken-up on the Nov. 21 weekend in all parishes of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend. A total of 25 percent of the donations stay in the diocese for local/area distribution through selected grant applications, approved by Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades. Grants are awarded based on need, not religious affiliation.

According to Ann Helmke, director of the CCHD program for the diocese, two types of CCHD funds are available in the diocese: organizing grants — those engaged in empowering the poor and working to bring changes in policies, institutions and laws. The award range for an organizing grant is $500-$5,000; and education grants — those which build solidarity between poor and non-poor, and educate Catholics about the root causes of poverty. The maximum award for an education grant is $1,000.

For 40 years, CCHD has put into practice Catholic teaching on the life and dignity of every human person, the Gospel command to care for “the least of these” (Matthew 25), and the Church’s call to practice “solidarity” in helping poor people help themselves escape poverty.