CHARLOTTE — St. Joseph Vietnamese Church will host its annual Tet Festival Jan. 27-29, celebrating the start of the Lunar New Year.
The festival to welcome in the “Year of the Rooster” will include live music, traditional Vietnamese food and games, as well as performances by the parish’s own Hidden Dragon Lion Dance team.
The festival will be held from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday, Jan. 27; 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28; and 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 29. Admission is free.
— Catholic News Herald
The Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) remains one of the U.S. Catholic Bishops primary efforts to fight poverty at the grassroots level.
The annual CCHD national collection, held in November, is a source of both national and local funds to support organizations addressing the root causes of poverty in America.
Seventy-five percent of collected funds support CCHD’s National Grant Program, while 25 percent of the funds stay in the Diocese of Charlotte to support local CCHD poverty fighting efforts. This past spring, 12 local CCHD grants totaling $39,000 were distributed to non-profits located in nine cities of the diocese: Belmont, Brevard, Charlotte, Gastonia, Greensboro, Hickory, Shelby, Waynesville and Winston-Salem.
In the Diocese of Charlotte, the Local CCHD Grant Program is sponsored by Catholic Charities. Information about this grant program can be found on Catholic Charities’ website at www.ccdoc.org/cchdcrs.
Grant funded projects address poverty (and/or related social concerns) at its root causes. Non-profit organizations that give people who are poor a voice in how to address their struggles with poverty are especially encouraged to apply.
Grants provide funds of up to $5,000. The deadline for completed applications to be submitted via email, for consideration in the 2017 round of grants, is Feb. 15.
All non-profit applicants and their projects for which funds are sought are reviewed according to stated grant guidelines and eligibility criteria, including a review of the conformity of the organization and proposed project with Catholic social and moral teachings.
Applications from non-profits which are not Catholic entities of the diocese must be accompanied by a letter of endorsement from a pastor or deacon familiar with the non-profit’s work.
— Joseph Purello