$19,000 being awarded in local efforts to fight poverty

October 9, 2012, Worcester, MA -- Most Rev. Robert J. McManus, Bishop of Worcester, will distribute 44 local grants totaling $19,000 today, October 9 at 1:30 p.m. as part of the Annual Catholic Campaign for Human Development. The awards will be made at a ceremony at St. Peter Parish Center, 929 Main Street, Worcester. One quarter of the annual collection taken in November in Catholic parishes is used for local efforts. The remainder is forwarded to the national office for larger scale efforts around the country. This year's collection will be taken up in all parishes on November 17 and 18.

“In Christian charity, we are called to assist our brothers and sisters in need to move out of poverty,” according to Bishop McManus. “Locally and nationally this campaign supplements other sources of funding for many parish and community efforts. The long list of programs receiving grants today underscores the enormous need right in our neighborhoods and how we can respond by putting our faith into action.”

The awards ceremony also provides an opportunity to thank those in attendance for their ongoing efforts to help stem the causes of poverty in our local communities. Reducing the causes of poverty has been the goal of the Annual Catholic Campaign for Human Development for nearly 40 years.
Grants will be awarded to the following: $1,000 grants: Saint John's Free Meal; Saint Peter's E.S.L. Program ; Visitation House, Inc. ; Women African Affairs; HEAL - Health Education and Advocacy for Latinos.

$500 grants will be awarded to: St. Luke’s Adult English Language Learners Outreach Program; St. Joan of Arc’s Computer, Basketball League, ESL, Outreach and Mentoring; Our Lady of Providence Lincoln Street Saints Basketball League; Pernet’s Linking Mothers and Infants to Long Term Support ; Marie Anne Center ESL Program ; SPiN Action (St. Patrick's in Action); Spred (Special Religious Development); St. Peter’s Youth Mentoring Program.

$400 grants will go to the following: Dismas House; St. Vincent de Paul Emergency Assistance to Poor and Needy of Webster and Dudley; Catholic Charities Essential Inedibles; St. Anne’s Helping Hands to the Homeless (HHH) ; Mary, Queen of the Rosary Family Wellness Fund; Sisters of Mercy’s Mercy Fuel & Food Fund; Nazareth Reuniting Child / Family Project; Our Lady of Providence Food Pantry; Saint Anne's Food Pantry / Helping Others; Saint James Outreach at Saint James Church; Saint Joseph's - St. Vincent de Paul Society ; Saint Paul Cathedral Outreach; Saint Vincent de Paul Society; Saint Vincent de Paul Society Spencer; Saint Vincent de Paul Society Winchendon; Seasonal Solutions; St. Brigid’s Young Parent Program - GED and Life Skills Program; Saint Mary's Soup Kitchen Ministry ; Catholic Charities’ A Ride to a Roof.

$200 grants will go to Catholic Charities’ Engage, Educate and Empower; St. Joseph, Fitchburg’s Faith Community Nursing; Marie Anne Center Teen Talk; St. Joseph’s Playground Fence; Religious Education Program at Saint Paul's Cathedral; Religious Education Program at Our Lady of Providence; Saint Joseph's Youth Group & Nursing Home Ministry; Saint Mary's Bereavement Support & Consolation; Saint Paul’s Youth Retreat; Sacred Heart Hopedale’s Stephen Ministry; St. Joseph in Gardner’s Vulnerable Populations support; and the Worcester Community Action Council's GED Programs.
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