WORCESTER – Grants totaling $22,000 were awarded to 19 programs by the local committee for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD). Bishop McManus presented the grants Nov. 28 at the St. Peter Parish gymnasium.
The CCHD collection traditionally is taken up on the weekend before Thanksgiving. Funds for these grants came from the collection taken in November 2021, of which 75% is reserved for local use.
CCHD was started by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops more than 50 years ago to address the roots of hunger in the United States, according to its national website. The belief that those who are directly affected by unjust systems and structures have the best insight into knowing how to change them is central to CCHD. The human development campaign works to break the cycle of poverty by helping low-income people participate in decisions that affect their lives, families and communities. CCHD offers a hand up, not a handout.
Bishop McManus made note of a quotation on the back of that day’s program: “St. Paul VI said, ‘If you want peace, work for justice’ and that speaks volumes about the mission of CCHD.” He said, “The classical definition of justice is to give to each person what is due them as a human being.”
“It is heartening to see how our many ministries receiving funding today are embracing Pope Francis’ model of the Church as a field hospital, helping people where they are,” the Bishop said.
CCHD has a complementary mission of educating about poverty and its causes. This strategy of education for justice and helping people who are poor speak and act for themselves reflects the mandate of the Scriptures and the principles of Catholic social teaching.
John Smithhisler, representing the Free Medical Programs at St. Anne Parish, Shrewsbury, and at St. Peter Parish in the Main South area of the city, spoke about the effect the program is having in Worcester and how it is benefitting from the support of CCHD and others in the community.
“It is amazing how people learn about the program by word of mouth from others in the neighborhood, and that volunteers are making such a difference in helping people who otherwise would have no access to healthcare,” Mr. Smithhisler said.
The national collection is taken up on the weekend that coincides with the World Day of the Poor, Nov. 13, that was established by Pope Francis in 2017. In a letter Pope Francis wrote he says, “Where the poor are concerned, it is not talk that matters; what matters is rolling up our sleeves and putting our faith into practice through a direct involvement, one that cannot be delegated.”
Msgr. Francis J. Scollen, who heads the local CCHD committee, shared a story of how, one evening, a volunteer who had grown up in the neighborhood was helping at the medical program at St. Peter’s. That evening he responded to a client who came in to report that her relative was very ill. The volunteers were able to get the woman medical assistance to avoid a medical catastrophe. The sick client lived in the same apartment that the volunteer had grown up in and he was so grateful that he could “pay back” by helping someone in need that day.
The local grants, ranging from $1,000 to $2,000, were made to the following programs which are listed along with their sponsoring parish, agency or religious community:
• Community Garden Project – St. Joseph Parish, Fitchburg;
• Expansion of Medical Supplies Closet – St. Peter Parish, Worcester;
• Housing and Heating – St. Mary Parish, Uxbridge;
• John 21 Community Breakfast – St. Patrick Parish, Whitinsville;
• Marie Anne Center After School Program – Sisters of St. Anne, Worcester;
• Marie Anne Center ESL Program – Sisters of St. Anne, Worcester;
• Maternal and Child Health Care – Pernet Family Health Service, Worcester;
• McAuley Nazareth Home for Boys, Leicester;
• Our Lady of Providence-St. Bernard Food Pantry – Our Lady of Providence Parish, Worcester;
• Our Neighbor’s Kitchen – Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, Winchendon;
• Personal Essential Needs Services – Catholic Charities, Worcester;
• Personal Essential Needs – Catholic Charities, Milford;
• Southbridge Senior Citizens Latino Outreach – St. John Paul II Parish, Southbridge;
• St. Anne’s Food Pantry – St. Anne Parish, Shrewsbury;
• St. Anthony’s Pantry at Sacred Heart – Sacred Heart-St. Catherine of Sweden Parish, Worcester;
• St. Bernard’s Gym – Our Lady of Providence Parish, Worcester;
• St. James Outreach Group – former St. James Parish now Our Lady of Hope Parish, Grafton;
• St. Vincent de Paul Conference – Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, West Boylston;
• Wheels for Change – Catholic Charities, Southbridge.