Collection takes place on Nov. 23-24
A 2019 Local CCHD Grant provided funds for Out of the Garden Project’s Fresh Mobile Markets, which bring food to families in need throughout the Guilford County area. The adjacent photos show the Catholic community support for this non-profit based in Greensboro that seeks “to nourish families with food to grow, learn and thrive.” In front of the Fresh Mobile Markets truck are youth from St. Pius X Parish in Greensboro who offer assistance at project delivery sites. St. Pius X Parish, one of Out of the Garden Project’s community partners, shared in its letter of endorsement how it “promotes the common good and wellbeing of our neighbors” and that the Fresh Mobile Markets help to meet a “most basic right and need – nutrition.” Out of the Garden Project also relies on community partners for collecting much of the food that is distributed in Guilford County. Bishop McGuinness High School in Kernersville is one such source for food distributed by Out of the Garden Project, and the high school’s gym is a busy place on a day when an Out of the Garden Project food drive takes place. (Photos provided by Carolyn Painley and Don Milholin)The Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) second collection will take place in archdioceses and dioceses across the nation at Masses celebrated the weekend prior to Thanksgiving, Nov. 23-24.
The funds collected target the underlying causes of poverty and related social concerns (such as housing and nutrition) in communities across the United States through the provision of grants that are awarded nationally and locally.
With financial support from 25 percent of the total funds raised in this annual collection, Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte awards local grants every spring to fund projects sponsored by non-profits (including both diocesan and non-diocesan non-profit organizations) in the Diocese of Charlotte. Funded grant projects must target the root causes of poverty and related social concerns, and grant applications must be accompanied by a parish endorsement. A committee of volunteers from across the diocese, chaired by Chanele Jackson of Our Lady of Consolation Catholic Church in Charlotte, review the applications, conduct site visits, and determine grant awards.
From the generosity of many donors across the Charlotte diocese who contributed to last year’s CCHD collection, Catholic Charities distributed 13 grants totaling $36,250 in May. Grantees came from 11 communities in the diocese: Black Mountain, Brevard, Charlotte, Forest City, Greensboro, Hendersonville, Hickory, High Point, Jefferson, Lenoir and Winston-Salem.
This coming year marks the 50th year of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ CCHD Program, founded to help break the cycle of poverty. Find out more information about the U.S. Bishops CCHD Program at www.usccb.org/cchd.
Interested in the Catholic Charities Local CCHD Grant Program? Guidelines and application for the 2020 round of grants will be available to download after Dec. 2 at www.ccdoc.org/cchdcrs. Completed grant applications will be due, via email, on Feb. 17, 2020.
— Joseph Purello is director of Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte’s Office of Social Concerns and Advocacy.
