Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America

40 Days 40 Ways

This Lent season, find forty different ways you can do each day to help reduce poverty in America. Click on each image to learn more about it.

This December Make the Campaign to Reduce Poverty Personal

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:

• Research the minimum wage in your county and compare that the average living wage needed: State Minimum Wage and the Living Wage Calculator.
• Learn more about the Earned Income Tax Credit, which can help low-income workers increase their earnings.
• Calculate what you earn for one day's work in you current job. An 8 hour day at the federal minimum wage is $46.80 (pre-tax). Donate the difference to your local Catholic Charities Agency
• Volunteer at your local Catholic Charities agency
• Donate to and/or volunteer at programs that help low-wage workers receive job-training
• Take the Food Stamp Challenge. Many low-wage workers depend on food stamps to supplement their incomes.

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

• Purchase socially just presents, fair trade items or alternative gifts.  Support programs that offer fair wages, job and skills training through your gift purchases, such as these:

  http://gifts.crs.org/

http://www.crsfairtrade.org/crafts/

http://www.usccb.org/cchd/edshopping.shtml

http://www.tomorrowproject.org/

http://www.alternativegifts.org/

http://www.agreatergift.org

http://www.agreatergift.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

Conference Call- Share your ideas!

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.

Help Make Poverty a Priority in the '08 Elections

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.

Download elections_08.pdf

Endorsing the Campaign? What does that mean?

We ask all people of good will to Endorse the Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America, but what does that mean?

By endorsing the Campaign you are making the statement that you agree with the Campaign goals, in essence you want to reduce poverty in America, and that you are going to take action.

Once you've endorsed the Campaign, and provided an email address, you'll receive alerts that show you different ways you can ACT to make that commitment to reducing poverty a REALITY!  We also post actions on this site and local Catholic Charities also are taking steps in their communities that allow you to participate.

As an endorser, you have another key role- You can share your commitment with all those you know. You can forward emails, request flyers and take them with you to your house of worship, your school, your family dinners. You can post your thoughts and ideas on the blog. Join the myspace page, show the video to a friend.....there are so many ways to share and involve others... What are YOU going to do?

Watch the Campaign Video!

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.

Father's Day is coming soon- Write your Local Editors Today

This June, support the Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America by sending letters to the editors of your local newspapers about fatherhood and the importance of strengthening family connections.

Legislation may soon be introduced in Congress that would strengthen low-income families by eliminating government barriers to healthy relationships and strong family connections. This legislation would focus on improving economic stability and cooperative parenting skills among low-income parents. It will also provide incentives to non-custodial parents to fulfill financial and emotional support responsibilities, and increase opportunities for incarcerated parents to be reintegrated with their children and families

We need your help to spread the word!

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.

BACKGROUND: Improving public policies that strengthen the economic security families is a key issue area of Catholic Charities USA’s Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America.

For more tips on writing letters to the editor and working with the media, check out our advocacy manual, Taking Action, Catholic Charities USA’s Guide to Effective Advocacy.

Thank you - you efforts make a difference

Localizing Efforts

37 million people in this country live in poverty; thats an astounding and quite large number. How can you get others in your community to care and then act to reduce poverty when the problem seems so large?      

Try localizing the information- what is it like to be poor in YOUR community? Who are those who are most affected? What actions can you do locally to help the poor?

Paint the picture for others by using resources about poverty in your community. Find out how your state ranks in terms of poverty by using the Catholic Campaign for Human Development's Poverty Map (http://www.usccb.org/cchd/povertyusa/map.htm)

Use statistics from your agency or an agency in your community that serves the poor. Talk about how many people request assistance from food banks, health care clinics, homeless shelters, social service providers in YOUR city.

Take the tools that CCUSA has provided through the Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America and tailor them your community so that more people feel called to ACT!

Do you have the next great idea? Share your great ideas with others by posting them on this blog!

Health Care: A Basic Human Right

Get involved in the Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America by focusing on the well-being of our children.

Access to health care is a basic human right, essential to maintaining the dignity of human life. Yet nine million children in our country do not have insurance and face barriers to accessing doctors, dentists, and preventive care. 

This summer, Congress is expected to move full speed ahead in reauthorizing the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), presenting a major opportunity to protect the health of millions of our children.

As Catholic Charities USA works with your Members of Congress to develop additional policies that nuture, protect, and care for our children, we need your voice.

Submit a comment to this post and tell us why you believe all families and children have a right to adequate health care.

Or, share your personal experiences by visiting these blog posts:

• Do you have children who have been under or uninsured?
• Do you work with under or uninsured children?

Your stories and thoughts will be collected and utilized by Catholic Charities USA as we work with your Members of Congress.  Stories can be as short as a few sentences or as long as a few paragraphs. You do not need to provide your name but please identify the state where you live.

For more information, contact Karen Wong, Legislative Policy and Research Analyst or Christin Driscoll, Senior Director for Policy Development and Advocacy.

Take the Food Stamp Challenge

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:

• 35 million Americans don’t have enough to eat
• Four out of five food stamp recipients in our country are children

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...

• Post a comment to this entry and describe your experience.
• Talk with friends and neighbors about the sacrifices you were forced to make.
• Talk to your pastor and ask if you can share your story at mass one Sunday.
• Learn about and endorse Catholic Charities USA’s Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America and invite friends, family and fellow parishioners to endorse too! Encourage community groups and organizations that you are a part of to endorse the campaign as well.