Economic Stimulus- What you need to Know
March 19th Catholic Charities USA hosted a webinar on the Economic Stimulus with Amelia Dalton from the IRS. In case you missed it, you can watch the webinar by clicking here
Tools and Resources
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.
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?
As Promised....Things we Talked about Today!
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
- Kansas City, MO Download CCKansasImplementationplan.xls
- Long Island Download LongIslandYearlyPlan.doc
Homeletic Talking Points
- Catholic Charities of Kansas City, MO's Example Download Homeletictalkingpoints.doc
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
Living Wage?
Do you know what the "livable wage" is in your community?
Check out this tool, part of the Livable wage project at Penn State. It allows you to search by state and municipality. From the website:
In many American communities, families working in low-wage jobs make insufficient income to live locally given the local cost of living. Recently, in a number of high-cost communities, community organizers and citizens have successfully argued that the prevailing wage offered by the public sector and key businesses should reflect a wage rate required to meet minimum standards of living. Therefore we have developed a living wage calculator to estimate the cost of living in your community or region. The Calculator lists typical expenses, the living wage and typical wages in the location you have selected.
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.
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!
Advocacy Manual Available
For more tips on writing letters to the editor and working with the media, check out our new advocacy manual, Taking Action, Catholic Charities USA’s Guide to Effective Advocacy.
Into the Pews
Everyone at your parish refers to the parish bulletin as a source of important issues and events on a local level. We have developed text for a bulletin item or to be printed as a bulletin insert.
Use this bulletin item to show your support of the Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America and encourage your local community to get involved.
CCUSA also has brochures available for your parish vestibule. Email Poverty@CatholicCharitiesUSA.org for materials.
Fight poverty on your web site
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We can't reduce poverty in America without your support. Use a web button to show your support of the Campaign and link back to the Campaign Blog.
Download Poverty-Web-Graphic.gif (41.2K)
Here is sample HTML to insert on your web page:
<a href="http://povertyinamerica.typepad.com"><img src="http://povertyinamerica.typepad.com/Poverty-Web-Graphic.gif" border="0" align="right" width="150" height="175"></a>
More web buttons will be available soon and posted on this blog.
Have a web button of your own to share? Submit a comment below and link to the location on your web site where we can find your button.
At your next Board meeting ...
At your next Board of Trustees meeting, after a presentation on the Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America, resolve as a Board to support the campaign and its goals.
Use this template resolution to help shape the conversation with your Board.
Invite Board members to endorse the campaign
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.
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.
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!
Things You Can Do - Volunteer
Learn about volunteering with Catholic Charities in your community. Contact your local Catholic Charities agency to find out how you can serve your community.
Things You Can Do - Get Organized
1) Invite those who are directly impacted by poverty to join your discussions of the paper and become participants in the actions you all take to address poverty.
2) Identify existing resources or advocacy groups working on your issue in your community.
3) Reach out to those living in poverty in your community by participating in parish and community activities and service.
4) Develop a working group within your church and community- to help spread the word and raise concerns about “your issue”- make sure to involve some low-income families on your work group.
5) Share what you have learned with others in your community and encourage them to take action too.
Things You Can Do - Get Informed
1) Educate yourself about poverty in your community and in the United States. Read Poverty in America: A Threat to the Common Good and other facts and stories about poverty. Also, use the study guide to the poverty paper.
2) Identify an issue (such as health care, housing, hunger, economic security, or moral budget priorities) that you are passionate about and can take action on.
3) Make yourself familiar with legislation and policy proposals that impact those low-income families and individuals. Visit Catholic Charities USA’s advocacy page.
4) Reach out to those living in poverty in your community by participating in parish and community activities and service.
Things You Can Do - Reflect
1) Pray for those whose lives are impacted by poverty
2) Use Scripture to deepen your understanding of poverty
3) Familiarize yourself with Catholic social teaching on the poor
Things You Can Do - Get Involved
1) Let your voice be heard by involving yourself in advocacy activities at the local, state and national levels. Visit Catholic Charities USA’s advocacy page.
2) Identify key power brokers within your church and community who can assist you with your advocacy efforts.
3) Join your diocesan or Catholic Charities legislative network and become an active participant.
4) Contact your local elected officials with specific concerns about poverty in your community and ask for a staff contact to follow up with. Follow up with that staff.
5) Engage your state legislators and U.S. Congressional members. Visit Catholic Charities USA’s Legislative Action Center.
6) Once you have a strong understanding of your issue, have organized some community support, and know what changes you would like to see, engage your local media to call attention to what is happening in your community. Visit Catholic Charities USA’s Legislative Action Center.
