Local grants awarded to fight poverty

Nineteen grants totaling $11,000 have been awarded in the Diocese of Worcester as part of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD). The collection is taken up nationwide each year on the weekend before Thanksgiving. Last year, 25% of the donations received in the diocese were held for local organizations who are working to combat poverty and the root causes of poverty in Central Massachusetts. This year, 75% of the collection to be taken on the weekend of Nov. 22 will be reserved for local grants.
The Catholic Campaign for Human Development is the domestic anti-poverty program of the U.S. Catholic Bishops, working to carry out the mission of Jesus Christ "... to bring good news to the poor ... release to captives ... sight to the blind, and let the oppressed go free." (Luke 4:18) It began in 1969.
In his letter promoting the collection, Bishop McManus wrote, “It might surprise you to know that 38.1 million Americans, including one in six children, live below the poverty line. Many of these Americans are considered “working poor”— they work but do not make enough money to cover essentials like housing, health care, child care, and food. That’s why the CCHD theme is “Help Those on the Margins.”
Grants ranging from $300 - $650 were awarded to the following programs:
Pernet Family Health Service, Worcester; Assumption Center Mentoring Program at St. Peter Parish, Worcester; Visitation House, Worcester; The Nazareth Gardening Program at McAuley Nazareth Home for Boys, Leicester; Food/Fuel/Rent assistance, Saint Vincent de Paul, Winchendon; St. James Outreach Group, South Grafton; St. Bernard Food Pantry at Our Lady of Providence Parish, Worcester; Wheels for Change, Catholic Charities, Southbridge; Emergency Food Pantry, Catholic Charities, Milford; St. Anne Human Services Food Pantry, Shrewsbury; Our Neighbor’s Kitchen, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Winchendon; St. Anthony Pantry at Sacred Heart-St. Catherine of Sweden Parish, Worcester; Keep People in Housing, St. Vincent de Paul, Uxbridge; Refugee Artisans of Worcester (RAW), Worcester; Personal Essential Needs Services, Catholic Charities, Worcester; Client Assistance for Co-Payments & Prescription, Catholic Charities, Leominster; Saint Louis Multiply Services, Webster; St. John Paul II Parish Community Services, Southbridge; Race Relations - Realizing our Poverty, Blessed Sacrament, Worcester.