| Catholic Campaign for Human Development
Grant Recipients for 2011-12
Our local CCHD Committee has approved grants for the following organizations for 2011-12:
Hispanic Ministry, St. Patrick Church, Momence
This program seeks to provide pastoral care such as bilingual sacrament preparation and Spanish Masses and educational opportunities for the low-income, Spanish-speaking residents in Momence. Sister Paulita Philippe is working to create a community where diverse groups can live, work, and worship together; a community which validates the unique cultures that come together at St. Patrick’s Church. The project includes English classes, listening sessions to identify the problems of the poor and vulnerable, and cultural activities to celebrate diversity. Sister Paulita’s work emphasizes the importance of creating Catholic parishes that not only welcome minorities, but also celebrate and value them as equal brothers and sisters deserving of all that the community has to offer its members. A $7,000 grant is approved for this project.
School on Wheels, Congregation of St. Joseph, LaGrange Park was established in 1993 to provide ESL classes for the poor and vulnerable of western Chicago and the suburbs. The School on Wheels bus visits the communities of Woodridge, Hodgkins, Cicero, Summit, and Westmont weekly. The program and volunteer tutors are flexible enough to provide English tutoring that is specialized to the individual needs. More than just providing direct service, the volunteers and students make connections with each other and their communities; develop leadership, community awareness, and appreciation for cultural differences. Some students become volunteers and community leaders. A $10,000 grant is approved for this project.
Warehouse Workers for Justice actively addresses the exploitation and abuse of workers in the warehouse and distribution industry in our area. The group is led by the workers themselves and it seeks to ensure that employees receive adequate wages and basic workplace rights. They are successfully building relationships with churches and other community groups to enhance their ability to organize around issues facing the workers and they participate in leadership training programs as well. Warehouse Workers for Justice with the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) completed a report “Bad Jobs in Goods Movement”, August 19, 2010, that details the low wages and struggles for justice. This group clearly is working for the Catholic Social Teaching goal of dignity for the worker. They are approved for a 2nd year $20,000 grant
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Pembroke/Hopkins Park, Communication Outreach Committee (COC), Improving Food Security in Rural and Underserved Communities in Pembroke – The COC NFP organization sponsors and supports community outreach programs to the poor and vulnerable in the Pembroke area to enhance the quality of life of residents and promote community involvement based on social and spiritual principles to eliminate poverty. Many of these programs seek to eliminate racial bias and prejudice, promote sustainable agriculture, farmers markets, sound nutrition, mental health, and education for life. This small organization (no paid staff) has a large impact on the community. They are approved for a grant of $10,000.
Exodus World Services mobilizes faith-based communities to welcome and assist refugee families. The service successfully builds mutually beneficial relationships between newly arrived refugees and community volunteers. Exodus assists refugee families in their task of developing the knowledge and skills to become full participants in their communities. Recently, the bulk of the refugees have come from Burma, Burundi, Bhutan, Iraq, Somalia, and Sudan. Many of them have lived in refugee camps for extended periods of time to avoid war and persecution in their home countries. Exodus works to welcome these traumatized people into our country with compassion and understanding. They are approved for a grant of $10,000.
One Stitch at a Time, Glen Ellyn, is program for teaching sewing and community relationship to an interfaith community of refugees, Hispanics, Africans, and local poor and vulnerable residents. The well designed program with volunteer instructors teaches much more than basic and advanced sewing skills. It promotes community interactions, problem solving, and leadership with people who have little English reading skill. Students become volunteers and instructors in this very sustainable project. A $2,400 grant is approved for this project.
Immigrant Resource Guide, Southwest Suburban Immigrant Project (SSIP), provides organization, communications, and support resources to the poor and vulnerable of the southwest suburb communities of DuPage County, and northern Will County particularly Bolingbrook. This is a new organization under the guidance of Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR), but independent financially. SSIP board and membership are the poor and vulnerable Hispanic community. The organization promotes the human dignity of every person, family life, and participation in the community, leadership development, and comprehensive immigration reform by peaceful legislative action. A $6,000 grant is approved for this project.
NATIONAL GRANT
CCHD Grant Application Approved by National Review Committee -
DuPage United, National CCHD Grant Application, for Community Action, supports the poor and vulnerable of DuPage County in their struggle for justice. They have organized groups to seek justice through English as a Second Language (ESL) classes at College of DuPage (COD), affordable housing, senior transportation, prevent the misuse of public fund by the DuPage Water Commission, and influenced the DuPage County Board to remove zoning issues and allow a Muslim Community (MECCA) to build a Mosque in Willowbrook, IL. Active youth in the organization have completed surveys and supported a Village Youth Center initiative in West Chicago. Several Catholic Churches and many parishioners actively support and participate in the work of DuPage United. The committee approves and recommends approval of this $75,000.00 (or less) CCHD National Grant request.
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