Bulletin Inserts for Year-round Promotion of CCHD
Share the Good News of CCHD with Your Parishes
CCHD has created a special series of bulletin announcements, with accompanying clip art, to help parishes tell CCHD's story throughout the year. Copy and paste these into your bulletin layout throughout the year and, most, especially, in the weeks leading up to the CCHD collection.
Consider distributing the announcements by e-mail to all your parish contacts. Ask your local committee members to run them in their parish bulletins. Parishes could print one per week in the bulletins in the 10 weeks prior to the collection, or choose several and print one per month leading up to the collection. These bulletin announcements are in addition to the regular Appeal and Collection weekend announcements and clipart that are sent to all parishes that receive materials.
Directions
It may be necessary to copy the text and the clip art separately.
To download the clip art:
- Click on the image.
- Right click on the bigger image.
- Click on "Save Picture As".
- Select the folder on your hard-drive or disk drive to which you would like to save the clip art file. Note the filename of the clip art file for your future use.
- Click "Save." The clip art file is now ready for your use.
One in six children in the U.S. lives in poverty, which dramatically lowers their chance to secure a good education. That means a little girl never learns to read properly because her family lives school district with poor quality educational programs or that a teenage boy drops out of school because he has no hope that he can ever succeed.
As Catholics, we believe in the dignity and worth of every human life. That’s why the Catholic Campaign for Human Development supports efforts that improve the lives of poor children—like community groups that are achieving lower student-teacher ratios in urban schools. Support the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, which is sponsored by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and help children get a strong start in life. Visit www.usccb.org/cchd to learn more.
Here’s a test Americans surely wish to pass: “A basic moral test of a society is how its most vulnerable members are faring,” write the U.S. bishops in A Century of Social Teaching. Among our most vulnerable citizens are those with disabilities, the majority of whom live in poverty. But a disability doesn’t have to mean poverty and isolation. The Catholic Campaign for Human Development supports self-help efforts among the disabled, such as a Michigan group that is making it easier for those with disabilities to become self-employed and thus to lift themselves out of poverty. Empower our most vulnerable citizens—support the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, sponsored by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Visit www.usccb.org/cchd to learn more
Should the people who pick our food go hungry? With an average family income of less than $10,000 a year, migrant farmworkers are one of the poorest groups in our nation. As Catholics we proclaim “dignity of work and the rights of workers” as one of our core social teachings. That’s why the Catholic Campaign for Human Development funds groups that are making life better for farmworkers—improving pay, working conditions and housing. Uphold the dignity of those who help put food on our plates. Support the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, sponsored by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Visit www.usccb.org/cchd to learn more.
Urban blight is ugly: abandoned buildings, boarded-up storefronts, park benches filled with graffiti. They all convey a sense of hopelessness. Yet our faith proclaims hope and the promise of resurrection. The Catholic Campaign for Human Development is bringing hope to hundreds of deteriorating neighborhoods by supporting groups of residents who are working together with city officials to clean things up. Put hope back into our central cities. Support the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, sponsored by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Visit www.usccb.org/cchd to learn more.
Everyone agrees about the kind of world we want to leave for our children: one with clean water, pure air, and good soil. Pope John Paul II has said that our care for the earth is linked to concern for human beings. That’s why the Catholic Campaign for Human Development supports groups working for healthy environments and healthy neighborhoods, such as a group based in the Bronx that is reclaiming abandoned industrial sites for parkland. Hand on the legacy of a sound environment by supporting the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, sponsored by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Visit www.usccb.org/cchd to learn more.
You work full time, and at the end of the month you’re scrambling to pay the electric bill and put food on the table. That’s the reality for 7.2 million Americans. The working poor represent the majority of the poor people living in this country as well as its fastest-growing segment. The Catholic Campaign for Human Development is doing something about it. For example, it funds a Michigan group that runs an auto-mechanic training program, giving people a marketable skill in a high-unemployment area. Help make hard work pay off for all Americans; support the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, sponsored by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Visit www.usccb.org/cchd to learn more.
When many of us Americans scratch the surface of our family history, we find that we’re here because our immigrant forebears came to America seeking a better life. The immigrants are still coming, and as they bring their talents and energies, they also face daunting challenges of poverty, cultural adaptation and isolation. “We are one human family,” the Catholic bishops wrote in A Century of Social Teaching as they encouraged us to stand in solidarity with those in need. The Catholic Campaign for Human Development stands in solidarity with immigrants by supporting their efforts to help themselves. For example, a Latino group in Ohio connects isolated rural immigrants, bringing them together to celebrate feast days and address social needs. Stand with immigrants by supporting the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, sponsored by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Visit www.usccb.org/cchd to learn more.
Maria is 10-years-old, loves pizza, and doesn’t have a home. She’s not alone; one quarter of the urban homeless population in America are children. As Catholics, we believe in making “an option for the poor,” placing high priority on the needs of the most vulnerable. The Catholic Campaign for Human Development is doing just that by supporting projects such as the Youth Empowerment Program in Ohio, which brings together homeless teens to address concerns about continuing their education, staying in the same shelter with their families, and more. Give homeless children a chance to get ahead; support the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, sponsored by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Visit www.usccb.org/cchd to learn more.
Racism hurts and offends the dignity of all human persons. It means you might not get a job, a house or a loan—all because you’re not the “right” race or ethnicity. Catholics recognize racism as a sin, and our faith calls us to act for racial reconciliation. For 36 years, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development has brought people together across racial and ethnic lines in order to work for justice. For instance, it supports a group in the Southeast that has forged a partnership between Caucasian chicken farmers, African American chicken catchers and Latino poultry-factory workers. The three groups work to resolve issues of mutual concern. Be a part of racial healing—support the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, sponsored by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Visit www.usccb.org/cchd to learn more.
Every 43 seconds another child is born into poverty in the U.S. That child’s life will be diminished by hunger, poor education and limited health care. Yet for some kids, future risks are quickly extinguished because every 53 minutes, a child in this country dies from the effects of poverty. It doesn’t have to be that way. As Catholics, we are compelled to act for justice by promoting life from conception through natural death. The Catholic Campaign for Human Development is helping children and families gain better lives by addressing the root causes of poverty. Choose life and opportunity for America’s children—support the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, sponsored by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Visit www.usccb.org/cchd to learn more.
Yet, there is much we can do, as individuals and as community groups, to work with other Americans in order to address the root causes of poverty. But the first step to solving any problem is understanding it - educating ourselves and others about the true state of American poverty, its enormity, conditions and effects. Visit www.povertyusa.org to see what the Catholic Church, through the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, is doing to break the cycle of poverty across our country and how you can be a part of the solution.
By joining your voice with poor and low-income Americans, and by using that unified voice with elected officials, policy makers and the media, you can help increase awareness of the dimensions of poverty in America and in your local community—and become part of the growing chorus that is calling for its end—forever. Visit www.povertyusa.org to see what the Catholic Church, through the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, is doing to break the cycle of poverty across our country and how you can be a part of the solution.
By joining with others in your community, in your region, across this nation, you lend strength to efforts already underway to end the vicious cycle of poverty affecting one out of eight Americans. In fact, some of the most effective collaborative efforts have been launched by poor and low-income Americans who have established community-based, self-help organizations to break the cycle of poverty. Your help can strengthen their activities. Visit www.povertyusa.org to see what the Catholic Church, through the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, is doing to break the cycle of poverty across our country and how you can be a part of the solution.
No matter what your skills, interests, age or resources, there are ways you can make a difference in the lives of the 37 million men, women, and children who are working for independence from poverty. By volunteering your time, contributing resources, donating materials and money, you can help others find a lasting solution to the problem of poverty. Visit www.povertyusa.org to see what the Catholic Church, through the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, is doing to break the cycle of poverty across our country and how you can be a part of the solution.
Of all the basic Catholic social teachings, the idea of the life and dignity of the human person is the most basic. From the beginning to the end, Scripture speaks to us of the inherent dignity we all share as creatures of God, created in God’s image. How does your community enhance the life and dignity of people? From Sharing the Tradition, Shaping the Future, Catholic Campaign for Human Development, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2001 Visit www.usccb.org/cchd to learn more.
Like Jesus we are called to empower those who find themselves dehumanized by society, not by giving them charity alone, but by enabling them as well to participate fully in our society. Thus, they are empowered to express the life and dignity God has given to all of us. This week, consider the difference between giving charitably to someone and working with that person so that she or he can participate fully in society. Ask yourself how you can work with those who are poor, rather than work for them. From Sharing the Tradition, Shaping the Future, Catholic Campaign for Human Development, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2001 Visit www.usccb.org/cchd to learn more.
The Church recognizes that families communicate and live by positive values, and . . . that these values need to be carried to our larger communities. Like the Samaritan, we need to carry to others the love and concern we learn from our families and friends. How can you respond to the call of Jesus to see and treat others as our neighbors? From Sharing the Tradition, Shaping the Future, Catholic Campaign for Human Development, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2001 Visit www.usccb.org/cchd to learn more.
“Every type of discrimination, whether social or cultural, whether based on sex, race, color, social condition, language or religion, is to be overcome and eradicated as contrary to God’s intent” (The Church in the Modern World, no. 29). How does your community treat those outside the majority? How can we change to better reflect God’s rule of love and justice? From Sharing the Tradition, Shaping the Future, Catholic Campaign for Human Development, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2001 Visit www.usccb.org/cchd to learn more.
At the very heart of Christianity is a need to love the poor. . .By loving the poor, we are loving God. How do you concretely support the efforts of those who are poor? How does this support benefit the whole community? How can it change you? From Sharing the Tradition, Shaping the Future, Catholic Campaign for Human Development, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2001 Visit www.usccb.org/cchd to learn more.
Jesus did not limit himself to the viewpoint of the particular group into which he was born. He respected people for who they were, regardless of the social group to which they belonged. Instead, he lived a ministry of including others. No one was beyond his concern. How do you listen to the poor and marginalized in your community or workplace? From Sharing the Tradition, Shaping the Future, Catholic Campaign for Human Development, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2001 Visit www.usccb.org/cchd to learn more.
By working to bring about the reign of God, we cannot merely work for the poor and marginalized. Somehow, we must enter their world; we must learn to see the injustices of our time as the people who directly suffer from those injustices see them. We can then work with them to bring about change. What is the difference between working for the poor and marginalized and working with them? From Sharing the Tradition, Shaping the Future, Catholic Campaign for Human Development, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2001 Visit www.usccb.org/cchd to learn more.