Collection for CCHD to help with poverty relief, hope for future
November 10, 2024 at 10:33 p.m.
The fight against poverty will receive another boost Nov. 16-17 as the annual collection for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development takes place in parishes nationwide. Aligning with the World Day of the Poor Nov. 17, the collection is a major support for CCHD, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ domestic anti-poverty campaign.
Catholic social teaching – a set of principles that provide a practical blueprint for modern Christian living – highlights key themes of the Catholic faith: respect for human dignity, solidarity and preferential option for the poor. Through the financial support of the annual collection, CCHD provides funding for grassroots community and economic development organizations that offer help not just for immediate needs, but also for a path out of poverty.
It goes back to human dignity and prioritizing the person, not the malady, explained Brenda Rascher, executive director of the Diocesan Office of Catholic Social Services.
“The way the social services system is set up, it keeps people in poverty,” she said. “We want to provide an opportunity to help people step out of poverty.”
GIVING A HAND UP
Of all funds collected, 75% go to CCHD’s national headquarters for distribution to organizations nationwide, while the other 25% remain in the Diocese in which they are collected. In the Trenton Diocese, grants are awarded from those retained funds to support social service organizations helping to break the poverty cycle. Those organizations considered for either a national or a local grant undergo a rigorous examination by a review committee to confirm eligibility and ensure their agreement with Catholic teaching.
“It’s an element of justice … [These programs] empower people to be able to feed their children without always needing the pantry for help,” Rascher said. “We also educate organizations about how they can tweak their programs so they can provide hope to those they serve.
“We will constantly have repeat customers if we don’t give people a hand up,” she continued. “Jesus never just fed them – he gave them hope. That’s what a ‘hand up’ is about.”
The Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University released a report in September indicating that the child poverty rate nearly doubled from 2021 to 2022, and Census Bureau data show the rate increased to 13.7% in 2023.
“During COVID, the food stamp program was changed to make more people eligible,” Rascher noted. “There was a temporary boost in food stamp eligibility with no plan for a hand up. Some people are now no longer eligible.”
AVOIDING STEREOTYPES
At CCHD, Rascher explained, “we don’t deal with statistics, we deal with people and what they experience on a daily basis. CCHD wants us to focus not just on today, but helping people see the light at the end of the tunnel … with the hope that tomorrow they can see a glimpse of not just surviving.”
Investing in the CCHD collection and therefore the grants it provides is essential to having ownership over the Church’s own house – and a reminder of what tithing includes, Rascher said.
“If we expect programs to eliminate poverty, we have to invest in those programs and the activities that could potentially make that a reality,” she said. “We don’t always know who we’re sitting next to in church. CCHD helps raise awareness not of the stereotypical picture of poverty, but the real picture – and it might be your neighbor next door.”
For more information about CCHD and Catholic social teaching, visit dioceseoftrenton.org/catholic-campaign- for-human-development.
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The fight against poverty will receive another boost Nov. 16-17 as the annual collection for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development takes place in parishes nationwide. Aligning with the World Day of the Poor Nov. 17, the collection is a major support for CCHD, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ domestic anti-poverty campaign.
Catholic social teaching – a set of principles that provide a practical blueprint for modern Christian living – highlights key themes of the Catholic faith: respect for human dignity, solidarity and preferential option for the poor. Through the financial support of the annual collection, CCHD provides funding for grassroots community and economic development organizations that offer help not just for immediate needs, but also for a path out of poverty.
It goes back to human dignity and prioritizing the person, not the malady, explained Brenda Rascher, executive director of the Diocesan Office of Catholic Social Services.
“The way the social services system is set up, it keeps people in poverty,” she said. “We want to provide an opportunity to help people step out of poverty.”
GIVING A HAND UP
Of all funds collected, 75% go to CCHD’s national headquarters for distribution to organizations nationwide, while the other 25% remain in the Diocese in which they are collected. In the Trenton Diocese, grants are awarded from those retained funds to support social service organizations helping to break the poverty cycle. Those organizations considered for either a national or a local grant undergo a rigorous examination by a review committee to confirm eligibility and ensure their agreement with Catholic teaching.
“It’s an element of justice … [These programs] empower people to be able to feed their children without always needing the pantry for help,” Rascher said. “We also educate organizations about how they can tweak their programs so they can provide hope to those they serve.
“We will constantly have repeat customers if we don’t give people a hand up,” she continued. “Jesus never just fed them – he gave them hope. That’s what a ‘hand up’ is about.”
The Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University released a report in September indicating that the child poverty rate nearly doubled from 2021 to 2022, and Census Bureau data show the rate increased to 13.7% in 2023.
“During COVID, the food stamp program was changed to make more people eligible,” Rascher noted. “There was a temporary boost in food stamp eligibility with no plan for a hand up. Some people are now no longer eligible.”
AVOIDING STEREOTYPES
At CCHD, Rascher explained, “we don’t deal with statistics, we deal with people and what they experience on a daily basis. CCHD wants us to focus not just on today, but helping people see the light at the end of the tunnel … with the hope that tomorrow they can see a glimpse of not just surviving.”
Investing in the CCHD collection and therefore the grants it provides is essential to having ownership over the Church’s own house – and a reminder of what tithing includes, Rascher said.
“If we expect programs to eliminate poverty, we have to invest in those programs and the activities that could potentially make that a reality,” she said. “We don’t always know who we’re sitting next to in church. CCHD helps raise awareness not of the stereotypical picture of poverty, but the real picture – and it might be your neighbor next door.”
For more information about CCHD and Catholic social teaching, visit dioceseoftrenton.org/catholic-campaign- for-human-development.