October 21, 2013, Worcester, MA -- Most Rev. Robert J. McManus, Bishop of Worcester, will distribute 45 local grants totaling $14,950 today, October 21 at 2:00 p.m. as part of the Annual Catholic Campaign for Human Development. The awards will be made at a ceremony at the Gymnasium at St. Peter Parish, 931 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 23 and 24.
“Our Catholic faith compels each of us to assist our brothers and sisters in need,” according to Bishop McManus. “Locally and nationally this campaign seeks to move people out of poverty by supplementing other sources of funding from many parish and community efforts. The long list of recipients reminds us that we exercise our faith beyond the pews in so many places in Worcester County.”
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 four decades.
Grants will be awarded to the following: $1,000 grants: ESL Program sponsored by Holy Trinity Evangelization Center, Leominster. $900 grants: ESL Program, St. Peter Parish, Worcester; Marie Anne Center ESL Program in Worcester; Visitation House, Worcester.
$500 grants will be awarded to Pernet’s Linking Mothers and Infants to Long Term Support; Refugee Artisans of Worcester (RAW) sponsored by St. Peter Parish, Worcester. $400 grants are going to Special Education Religious Education (SPRED), Worcester; Youth Mentoring Program at St. Peter Church, Worcester.
$300 grants will go to the following: Assistance to Poor & Needy of Webster & Dudley, Sacred Heart of Jesus, Webster; Client Resource Program at St. Anne Church, Shrewsbury; Dismas House, Worcester; Essential Inedibles at Catholic Charities, Worcester; Fiesta de los Reyes at Blessed John Paul II Parish, Southbridge; Food for Self Sufficiency at Catholic Charities, Worcester; Leicester Food Pantry at St. Joseph & St. Pius Parish, Leicester; Marie Anne Center Teen Talk sponsored by Sisters of St. Anne, Worcester; Mary, Queen of the Rosary Family Wellness Fund, Spencer; “Match Boxes” by St. Vincent de Paul Society at Blessed John Paul II Parish, Southbridge; Mercy Fuel & Food Fund with Sisters of Mercy, Worcester; Neighbors in Action Meal at St. Joseph Parish, Fitchburg; Our Lady of Providence Food Pantry in Worcester; Oxford Ecumenical Food Shelf sponsored by St. Ann Parish, North Oxford; Reuniting Child & Family sponsored by McAuley Nazareth Home for Boys, Leicester; Saint James Outreach, South Grafton; Saint John Soup Kitchen & Food Pantry, Worcester; Seasonal Solutions, Catholic Charities, Worcester; St. Paul Outreach, Cathedral of St. Paul, Worcester; St. Vincent de Paul at St. Joseph, Fitchburg; St. Vincent de Paul at Sacred Heart of Jesus, Gardner; St. Vincent de Paul at Sacred Heart/St. Catherine of Sweden, Worcester; St. Vincent de Paul at Mary, Queen of the Rosary, Spencer; St. Vincent de Paul Food – Fuel Program at Immaculate Heart of Mary, Winchendon; Wheels for Change at Catholic Charities, Worcester; and Women African Affairs, Worcester.
$150 grants will go to Compassionate Care Giver Program, St. Joseph Parish, Gardner; Intergenerational 30 Hour Famine Project at St. Louis Parish, Webster; MIHN Emergency Fund; Montachusett Regional Food Bank Booklet/St. Vincent de Paul at St. Leo Parish, Leominster; Parish Nursing Support Groups at St. Joseph, Fitchburg; Religious Education Program at Cathedral of St. Paul, Worcester; Sacred Heart Child Care Center at St. Joseph Church, Fitchburg; St. Paul Annual Youth Expedition Retreat, Worcester; Stephen Ministry at Sacred Heart Parish, Hopedale; WCAC - GED Program, Worcester; and the Young Parent Program - GED & Life Skills, St. Brigid Parish, Millbury.
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