The Northwest Area Foundation is holding a conference May 28-30th in Minnesota.
Grassroots & Groundwork: Sharing What Works to Reduce Poverty and Grow Community Prosperity will be held at the Sheraton Bloomington Hotel, Bloomington, Minnesota, May 28-30, 2008. Visit their website, www.grassrootsandgroundwork.org for full information, Candy Hill, Senior Vice President of Social Policy and Government Affairs at Catholic Charities USA will participate as a speaker
Read the new report on Spotlight on Poverty Seizing the Moment: State Governments and the new committment to reduce poverty in America
Catholic Charities USA will host it's first-ever National Town Hall Meeting live Webcast on Wednesday, April 2 from 1 – 4 p.m. Eastern Daylight Savings Time (EDST). The Webcast will focus on our highly acclaimed paper, Poverty and Racism: Overlapping Threats to the Common Good. You only need a PC or laptop to participate.
Join the March! Connect with colleagues in your agency and across the country to identify ways to serve, educate, and advocate for programs and policies that will foster unity in our communities, eliminate racism, and significantly reduce poverty in our lifetime. Learn more and Register Now!
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Today marks the one year anniversary of the Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America.
In 2007, over 4600 individuals and 390 organizations have endorsed the campaign- in 2008 we want that number to GROW! We need all people of good will to endorse the Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America and take action.
How will you mark the one year anniversary?
From Spotlight on Poverty.org
Mil Duncan explores the extent and trends of rural poverty
Mil Duncan, executive director of the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire, explores the extent of rural poverty in America. In a video commentary, Duncan discusses the disturbing trends in rural poverty and urges the presidential candidates and policy makers to address its many sides. To view the commentary in full, click here
December brings about a season of giving. With the average cost of a gallon of gas at $3.00 and winter weather necessitating higher energy bills, families across the country must choose between buying food and paying bills or trying to buy Christmas presents for their children. As we begin this season of giving, let us not forget the 36.5 million people living in poverty in this nation. Millions of who are working in full time jobs that do not pay enough to raise them above the poverty line.
This month as part of the Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America, learn more about a livable wage by participating in one or more of the following activities.
Did you know that the federal minimum wage is $5.85 an hour? If you are lucky enough to earn more than the minimum wage, consider doing one of the following activities:
Christmas giving ideas:
Instead of a gift, donate 46.80 in the name of the person for whom you are shopping
Have each member of your family pick an ornament from a giving tree or donate a present to a toy drive
http://www.crsfairtrade.org/crafts/
http://www.usccb.org/cchd/edshopping.shtml
http://www.tomorrowproject.org/
http://www.alternativegifts.org/
Other News from the Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America
Did you know that Catholic Charities agencies serve one in every 10 people living in poverty?
Read Poverty in America: Beyond the Numbers, a report based on data from Catholic Charities agencies replies to our annual survey.
Who do I contact for more information? Please contact Monica Maggiano, Senior Campaign Manager, mmaggiano@catholiccharitiesusa.org
To call attention to the needs of Americans trapped in poverty this holiday season, Catholic Charities USA will release findings of its annual survey showing how Catholic Charities agencies are working to address the pervasive issue of poverty in this country.
As one of the largest social service networks in the country, Catholic Charities agencies serve 4.1 million people living below the poverty line. That’s 1 in 10 people living in poverty. These agencies understand the consequences of poverty first-hand, and also know the solutions for helping individuals get on a path to self-sufficiency.
Please join us as we address the challenges facing those in poverty and the opportunities for reducing poverty in America by half by 2020.
| When: | 10:00 a.m. Thursday, November 15, 2007 |
| Where: | Hall of States 444 North Capitol Street, NW Room 383/385 Washington, D.C. |
| RSVP: | Monica Maggiano, Catholic Charities USA |
| Media Contact: | Shelley Borysiewicz, Catholic Charities USA sborysiewicz@catholiccharitiesusa.org |
| Speakers: | Janet Valente Pape, chair of the Catholic Charities USA Board of Trustees and executive director of Catholic Charities of Wichita |
Despite
strong support from the U.S. Congress and the American people,
President Bush vetoed the SCHIP bill earlier this month. The bill,
which passed both the House and the Senate on a bi-partisan basis,
would have provided an additional $35 billion over five years to keep
children already receiving health care coverage, and to provide
insurance to nearly four million more children whose health is at risk
due to lack of proper health coverage. The President vetoed the bill
not because the funding passed by Congress exceeded the $5 billion over
five years that his Administration had requested, but because of
ideological differences about how to expand health coverage to poor
Americans. The President has, however, recently expressed a willingness
to compromise with Congress on renewing SCHIP; thanks to those of you
who expressed your disappointment with the White House on this issue.
Contacting your Representative will go a long way to shoring up support
for this important legislation. Click here for more information on our positions on SCHIP. Improving public policies that promote the health of our nation's children is a key issue area of Catholic Charities USA's Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America. This month, be take part in the Campaign by calling on our nation's leaders to protect children's health! Take Action Today
Did you reply to the last action alerts? Are you engaging your colleagues in the Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America? What about other members of your community?
Did you get funding for Campaign events? Do you have a great idea about how to get more people involved?
If you answered yes to any of these questions or you have others of your own, join us on a conference call to discuss the Campaign
Thursday, October 11th at 2pm Eastern
Click here to request the Call in information.
As candidates campaign for elected office at the local, state, and national levels, question the candidates and ask them how they will address the important issue of poverty in our nation. CCUSA has provided instructions, sample questions,and the platform of the Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America to help you raise this issue in candidate forums around the country at the local, state, and national levels.
People ARE making a difference. We heard from NY, OH, IN, ID, MO, MN and OK agencies participating in the Campaign on a conference call. The purpose of our conference call was to share ideas, ask questions and hear from each other. We promised to give you the links for some of the resources and tools mentioned so, here they are:
Field Events from CCUSA: Download CCUSAFieldEvents.doc
Implementation Plans
Homeletic Talking Points
Latest version of Koinonia, the PSM Newsletter
What Call are you talking about? If you'd like to be included on future conference calls about the Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America, or you have great ideas you want to share submit a comment and let us know or Contact us at Poverty(at)Catholiccharitiesusa.org
Watch the Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America Video
This six minute introduction can be downloaded to show to others interested in working for the common good.
When Congress returns from its week-long July 4th recess, committees in both the House of Representatives and the Senate will begin debating legislation to reauthorize the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
SCHIP provides high quality, vital health coverage to 6 million children whose families would otherwise be unable to afford insurance, but more than 9 million children in America go without health insurance. It's time that all our nation's children got the health coverage they need. We need your help to raise awareness in your community about this critical program and the need to ensure that all eligible children receive health coverage by sending letters to the editors of your local newspapers.
We need your help to spread the word!
Take Action! | |
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 issues in your community and what you may be doing to help.
Click here for more information on Catholic Charities USA's positions on SCHIP.
This week, leaders in the U.S. Senate Finance Committee failed to come to an agreement that would move legislation to reauthorize the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Without reauthorization, SCHIP will expire on September 30th, 2007.
Catholic Charities USA continues to urge the Senate and the House to move forward quickly in reauthorizing the program. We continue to call for significant improvements to the program, including simplifying the application processes, providing coverage for eligible but not enrolled children, and removing restrictions to legal immigrant children and pregnant women. In a joint letter from Catholic Charities USA, Catholic Health Association, and United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Catholic leaders urged the Senate Finance Committee to fully utilize the $50 billion provided for SCHIP reauthorization in the budget resolution, both to maintain coverage for children currently in SCHIP and allow states to enroll six million uninsured children who are eligible for SCHIP or Medicaid.
The Senate Finance Committee is expected to move aggressively on SCHIP reauthorization after the July 4th recess. On the House side, staff has indicated that the Energy and Commerce Committee will start discussions during the second week of July. In July, please look for critical opportunities to take action as the Senate and House move forward on legislation.
Since the creation of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), Catholic Charities agencies across the country and Catholic Charities USA have worked aggressively to ensure that children would benefit from the program. During the Children’s Health Matters initiative, we assisted nearly 600,000 families in applying for Medicaid and SCHIP, held 8,500 community education events about the availability of insurance, and worked with state Medicaid agencies to simplify enrollment.
Our commitment to children’s health care remains strong today— we must press on towards the goal It’s time that all our nation’s children got the health coverage they need. Let your Senator know children’s health still matters
ACTION NEEDED the Senate Finance Committee is currently drafting legislation to change SCHIP. Ask your Senator to craft SCHIP policy that:
To see a list of Senators on the Finance Committee, click
BACKGROUND: SCHIP provides high quality, vital health coverage to 6 million children whose families would otherwise be unable to afford insurance.
For more information, please contact Desmond Brown, dbrown@catholiccharitiesusa.org, or Karen Wong, kwong@catholiccharitiesusa.org,
Many children in our country grow up not just in income poverty, but also in the poverty of absent fathers. With numerous studies showing how important fathers are to their child’s development and sense of self-worth, many local Catholic Charities nationwide are offering programs to help low-income fathers become and stay engaged in the lives of their children.
There’s no question that children are better off when both parents are involved in their lives, but this is too often not the case, as nearly 14 million children under age 15 live with a single mother. And sadly, millions of these children have fallen into poverty as a result,” said Rev. Larry Snyder, president of Catholic Charities USA. “By helping low-income dads, these local Catholic Charities programs are reducing many of the challenges that cause families to fall apart and children to fall into poverty.”
One example of a local program that strives to improve the economic stability of fathers and promote the positive involvement of fathers with their children is the Catholic Family Services’ Fatherhood Initiative in St. Louis. The program provides group counseling and education sessions to help fathers develop personally and socially so that they can positively affect the lives of their children.
The St. Louis program’s six-week intensive course, which meets for several hours daily, helps men learn how to engage with their children in positive ways and take on the responsibilities of fatherhood. The program also provides education on job search and interviewing skills, healthy behaviors and lifestyles, anger management, life skills, money management, substance abuse, parenting, and violence prevention. In addition, the men are able to get a physical exam and routine health care, an important support since many of the men have been using drugs and eating poorly for many years.
Building Strong Family Connections is vital to reducing poverty
If we truly want cut poverty in half by 2020, building strong family connections—especially through providing more support for low-income fathers—must be part of the solution. Our nation’s public policies and programs have often left fathers out of the resources that have been made available to children.
By supporting low-income men and fathers in a more comprehensive way, we can reduce many of the challenges that cause families to fall apart and children to fall into poverty.
This June, Catholic Charities USA will leverage Father’s Day to reignite a national dialogue in our country about the importance fathers play in helping their children grow up in safe and supportive families. Creating strong family connections is critical in ultimately reducing poverty.
Within the Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America and this framework, we will:
Most of us will never face the prospect of going without a meal. We can only imagine what a life of hunger and poverty must be like. The reality, however, is more present than many of us realize:
Take the Food Stamp Challenge and see if you can eat nutritious meals on $3.00 a day. Experience the reality faced by millions of Americans living in poverty.
The Challenge:
Take one week and buy your groceries using the average food stamp benefit of $3.00 per person per day and then...
CCUSA President Holds Briefing on Hunger and Testifies to House Subcommittee as Agency Directors from Across the Country Meet with Members of Congress
Today was the busiest single day of activity in Catholic Charities USA's Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America, which seeks to cut the U.S. poverty rate in half by 2020. The following events took place on Capitol Hill:
Click here to view the entire News Release.
Click here to read Fr. Snyder's testimony to the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Poverty.
Click here to read CCUSA's positions on hunger.
For those of you who participated, please share your experiences below.
On a national level, Janet Valente Pape, Chair of the Catholic Charities USA Board of Trustees, mailed a letter to all members of the Board, encouraging them to endorse the campaign as an individual, and as an agency. Click here to view the sample letter.
This letter can also be modified to use for other committees, community groups and partners.
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.
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!
