| Catholic Campaign for Human Development
Grant Recipients for 2009-10
Our local CCHD Committee has approved grants for the following organizations for 2009-10:
Companions Journeying Together, Inc. develops innovative ways to assist incarcerated women and men in Illinois prisons and jails so that they can reclaim and rehabilitate their lives. They place a special emphasis on reuniting parents with their children to stabilize and strengthen families. They currently are receiving a $5000 grant for their Fathers Read Project. This project increases the opportunity for intimacy and connection between fathers in prison and their children. The inmates read story books and are recorded on tape and the tapes are then provided to the children. Experiencing this connection to their father can help the children heal some of the stress due to the arrest and incarceration of their parent.
Helping Hands Refugee Assistance Program
This program addresses the needs and resettlement issues of the growing community of African refugees relocating to DuPage County. Helping Hands assists refugees in a variety of ways including employment, adjustment to American culture, English acquisition, managing finances, and maintaining adequate housing. Mentoring is provided for women so that they can learn crafts that can be sold to supplement family incomes. Parents are also assisted with school information and communication so that they can become more involved with their children’s education. Helping Hands uses volunteers from a wide variety of faith communities to help with its work. This helps to foster a sense of mutual respect and cooperation among diverse groups that will hopefully lead to a more balanced, welcoming, and peaceful community in the future. They are receiving a $10,000 grant.
Woodridge Community Pantry
The Woodridge Community Pantry has been in existence for 15 years providing direct service to hungry people. They recently have grown from a purely charitable organization to one that will address root causes of poverty through education and empowerment. Their goal is to offer supportive services that will teach life skills that will enable their clients to improve their ability to be self-sustaining. They provide ESL classes and a class called “A Job for Me” that teaches job search, resume, and interview techniques. They hope to offer parenting classes and computer skills classes in the future. They are receiving a grant for $15,000.
National Hook-up of Black Women
This organization provides a program for at-risk male youth in Joliet called Passport to Success. The program creates a learning environment for young men that focuses on empowering them for self-sufficiency. It teaches social skills, deals with social pressures, and provides educational and leadership training. They hope to give these young people the strength to turn away from gangs and drugs and behaviors that can lead to criminal activity so that they can stay in school and become productive members of their community. The National Hook-up was approved for a $10,000 grant for this work.
JACOB – Joliet Area Congregation-based Organized Body
JACOB has formed a community development corporation, the Unity CDC, and they have requested CCHD funding for their Neighborhood Advisors Council. They are hoping to advance the work of the Unity CDC by solidifying and expanding their base and achieving financial security. This group has done excellent community economic development work on the east side of Joliet. They have been active in immigrants’ rights issues, voter registration, education reform, and extensive leadership training. Their primary work has been focused on revitalizing Joliet’ east side. They are receiving a grant of $10,000.
Neighborhood Partners of Kankakee
This organization works to revitalize neighborhoods through encouraging and assisting with home ownership. Currently, Neighborhood Partners is also engaged in working with homeowners facing foreclosure. They provide education, counseling, and training in all aspects of buying and owning a home, including preventing foreclosure. In collaboration with the City of Kankakee and the Federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program, Neighborhood Partners is currently developing a model for acquiring properties under foreclosure and rehabilitating them for resale with sustainable financing. They were approved for a $5,000 grant for this year.
Spanish Community Center
The Spanish Community Center not only provides for the needs of the Hispanic population in the Joliet area, but also serves the entire low-income community with a variety of services including day care programs, a food pantry, education programs including ESL, and immigration services. This year, the Center is planning a census education program that will significantly improve the accuracy of the 2010 Census in the Joliet area and will help to ensure that government funds will be allocated equitably. Many of the initiatives of the Spanish Community Center go hand in hand with the mission of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development – they meet the direct needs of the poor and they address the root causes of poverty and seek to empower the people to break the cycle and improve their lives. They are receiving a grant of $10,000.
Azzarelli Outreach Clinic
The Azzarelli Outreach Clinic began as a clinic for the uninsured located on the east side of Kankakee. They continue to offer much needed health services for the uninsured poor and they have begun new initiatives to educate and empower their clients through educational programs that provide understanding and skills to manage chronic health issues. Their programs are eligible for CCHD funding because they will allow low income people to take an active role in their own health care, achieve wellness, and maintain healthy habits. The ultimate goal is to create opportunities for these vulnerable people to improve their lives and move out of poverty. They were approved for a $10,000 grant.
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. This new project is receiving a grant of $7000.
Garden of Prayer Youth Center
The Pembroke After School/Out of School Program of the Garden of Prayer Youth Center provides tutoring, recreational activities, and counseling for at-risk children in the poverty-stricken Pembroke community near Kankakee. This important program will help children to become more successful in school and will help them to manage emotional problems that impair their ability to function. The ultimate goal of this program is to empower young people and to equip them with the skills they need to be productive citizens and leaders. They were approved for a $10,000 grant.
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