Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America

Submit an Op Ed to your local paper

Catholic Charities of Buffalo CEO Denis Walczyk had a Op Ed published in the Buffalo News calling on our leaders to make poverty a priority. Click here to read the article.

Fr. John Estrem, President of Catholic Charities of the Twin Cities had an Op Ed published asking Minnesota to get serious about ending poverty.  Click here to read the article.

Make poverty a campaign issue was the theme of Carolyn Portanova's Op Ed in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.  Ms. Portanova is the President and CEO of the Catholic Family Center.  Click here to read the article and comments online.

Encourage employees to support the campaign

What can you do as an employer to help share the Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America?

One great idea that has worked in Paterson, NJ is to use a one page payroll insert that goes to every employee. It serves more than one purpose; it lets more people know about the Campaign and asks them to make reducing Poverty a priority, and it also makes a statement that your organization believes that its time to ACT to reduce poverty!

Feel free to customize this sample insert to suit your needs!

Can your dinner help reduce Poverty?

“It’s not about the beans. It’s about the women.”

The Tomorrow Project, a program of Rachel’s Women’s Center, sponsored by Catholic Charities of the Diocese of San Diego, helps homeless women learn job-readiness skills and small business expertise. The women, who deal with a range of barriers to self-suffiency including substance abuse and psychological issues, assemble and sell a unique array of homemade soup mixes. They learn job-readiness skills, gain confidence and receive counseling to help them "visualize a brighter future of self-sufficiency and independent living."

Supporting programs such as The Tomorrow Project is another easy way to help reduce poverty.  Learn more about the project and order soups at www.tomorrowproject.org.

Letters to the Editor - Hunger in America

In the April Action Alert, the network was asked to support the Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America by sending letters to the editor of your local newspapers about hunger in your community and the importance of strengthening our nation’s nutrition safety net.

The following are some sample letters that have been published around the country:

• La Crosse (WI) Tribune, 4/9/2007, Letter to the Editor: Gas prices and the working poor
• The Daily Review (Hayward, CA), 4/5/2007, Letter to the Editor: Abolish hunger
• Bellingham (WA) Herald, 4/2007, Letter to the Editor: So many people locally need food
• Modesto (CA) Bee, 4/19/07, Letter to the Editor: Food stamps will alleviate hunger

Click here to learn more about how you can send you own letter to the editor.

Ways to Connect with the Campaign

Submitted by Joseph Duffy, Catholic Charities of Paterson, NJ

I think that an initial and ongoing task of the Campaign to Reduce Poverty has got to be to raise the awareness of people in our local communities about poverty.

One way to do that is to invite people to read and learn about the campaign, sign on to endorse it, and then pass it forward to others to do the same. I think too it is incumbent upon us in leadership at the local level to take the information CCUSA has put together on poverty in this country and then adapt it to the local situation so as we alert people to poverty they will realize it is in their own backyard. Perhaps we can use this blog to share creative ways in which to inform and invite others to learn about and endorse the campaign.

Our national staff created a one page flier with an endorsement form on the bottom that provides an overview of the Campaign and the opportunity to endorse it online or by fax. I took that flier and added comparable local figures and used it as a payroll stuffer for the almost 1000 employees of Catholic charities in Paterson. That same flier is now in stands in the back of the room wherever we go for speaking engagements, health fairs, etc, and in our waiting rooms. In one of our offices, a volunteer who saw it volunteered to sit in the waiting room with a clipboard and invite others to read and sign.

That same flier is also suitable for bulletin inserts. You could provide it  by e-mail or hard copy and invite pastors to duplicate it as a bulletin insert. Monica at CCUSA also developed great sample bulletin blurbs that could be stand alone messages in parish bulletins informing and calling people to action, or used in combination with the flier. Does anyone have some comments or some other original ideas?

Hunger Alert - Action Needed

This April, support the Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America by sending letters to the editor of your local newspapers about hunger in your community and the importance of strengthening our nation’s nutrition safety net.

We need YOUR help to spread the word!

Congress will soon begin debating the Farm Bill, which includes rules regarding the Food Stamp Program. Food stamps are our nation’s first line of defense against hunger for children and families, working adults, and the elderly. Raising awareness about hunger in your community will help bring the issue to your legislators’ attention.

ACTION NEEDED: Click on “Take Action” and enter your zip code to find contact information for your local media outlets and a sample letter to the editor to get you started. We strongly encourage you to personalize this letter to paint a picture of hunger and poverty in your community.

BACKGROUND: Addressing hunger in our nation is a key issue area of Catholic Charities USA’s Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America. Visit Catholic Charities USA's website for more information on our positions on hunger and the food stamp program.

Thank you - your efforts make a difference!

Join CCUSA On April 16 Call: Farm Bill and Nutrition Assistance Programs

The Social Policy Department of Catholic Charities USA will hold a conference call on Monday, April 16th at 1:30 pm (ET) to discuss the latest legislative developments in Washington.

This month, the call will focus on the reauthorization of the Farm Bill and hunger in our nation. Lucreda Cobbs, Catholic Charities USA’s Director of Immigration and Special Populations Policy, will talk about what is happening with reauthorization of the Farm Bill, Catholic Charities positions on hunger, and the importance of strengthening the federal food assistance programs. The call will also address opportunities for action so you can help ensure our nation’s nutrition safety net. Hunger is a key issue area of Catholic Charities USA’s Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America.

When is the call? Monday, April 16th, 1:30-2:30 pm (Eastern Time).

How do I call in? Dial 1-888-428-4479 and ask for the Catholic Charities Monthly Policy Call.

Do I need to register ahead of time? No, simply dial in on April 16th.

Will there be policy calls every month? Policy conference calls will be held monthly when Congress is in session. Click here for a schedule of upcoming calls.

Can I still find out what’s happening if I miss the call? Yes! Click here for more information on Catholic Charities USA’s position on the Farm Bill. Recordings of the calls will also be posted here several days after the call. Also, be on the lookout for reports in Washington Weekly and Action Alerts from Catholic Charities USA.

Who can I contact for more information on the call? For more information, please contact Christin Driscoll, Senior Director for Policy Development and Advocacy, at cdriscoll@catholiccharitiesusa.org.

Campaign Reaches 1200 Individuals

As of April 5, 2007 Catholic Charities USA' s Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America has reached over 1,200 individuals!

The 1,200 each individually decided that now is the time to take action to reduce poverty in this country. We must hold our leaders accountable so that all have access to health care, food, safe affordable housing, and economic stability.

Click here to join the campaign.

Why a Campaign Blog?

By using a blog, we are able to build and maintain an interactive site to post information about Campaign activities on a daily basis. Blogging allows anyone interested in reducing poverty in America to read what's new, instantly respond to messages and retrieve current, valuable ideas and resources. Blogging allows us to easily search and archive a comprehensive anthology of Campaign activities, news stories, field events, etc.

The success of a blog hinges upon current, compelling content that encourages the visitor to come back day after day. The content should be interesting and thought-provoking so that the visitor wants to voice their opinion, share their ideas and express their concerns. Blogs create a sense of community and comraderie and are a wonderful way for one person to learn what agencies and individuals across the country are doing to reduce poverty in America.

CCUSA hopes the blog will continue the discussion on poverty and move more people to take action. Please continue to send your ideas and comments!