The Archdiocese of Atlanta was recently recognized by the national Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) for its strong support of the Campaign’s anti-poverty mission and for increasing last year’s annual CCHD parish appeal by 22 percent. The award honored Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory as well as the previous CCHD archdiocesan director, Sister Joyce Ann Hertzig, OP, and all the clergy and faithful of the archdiocese.

The annual CCHD collection will be held in parishes and missions in the Archdiocese of Atlanta on Nov. 18-19. Of the funds collected each year, 25 percent are used locally to address poverty issues in North Georgia and to help support the annual Good Friday Urban Stations of the Cross.

This year, the Atlanta Archdiocesan CCHD awarded seven parish grants totaling $7,000. During the same funding cycle, 11 grants totaling $­­­­­­­­­­­­­35,000 were awarded to qualified community organizations. Award recipients included Crossroads Community Ministries for their “Atlanta Cooks” program, a three-month food service training program that enables graduates to secure employment in the food service industry, and Senior Services North Fulton received $4,000 for their transportation program, in which more than 300 seniors were certified to use the new Georgia Unified Transportation System.

Established in 1970 by the U.S. Catholic Bishops, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development is the domestic anti-poverty, social justice program of the United States Catholic community. Its focus is justice education and support of self-help programs initiated and led by low-income people in the United States. Committed to the permanent elimination of poverty and injustice in the U.S., CCHD has supported thousands of programs nationwide that know no racial or religious boundaries—projects that help create jobs, improve neighborhoods and allow people to find a way out of poverty not just for a day, but a lifetime.

The national CCHD office, using funds collected during the 2005 national second collection, provided nearly $9 million in support of over 300 community and economic development projects throughout the United States. Having provided over $280 million to more than 7,800 community-based projects in its 36-year history, the CCHD remains the nation’s largest private fund provider of domestic, community-based, self-help projects. By active participation in such projects, low-income people are able to empower themselves and break the cycle of poverty in their own lives and local communities.

Currently the archdiocesan CCHD is accepting grant applications from community groups who are working in unity with those in need on projects that address poverty, promote systemic change and build both grassroots leadership and community. Organizations can apply for grants up to $4,000. The application deadline is Jan. 5, 2007, with awards to be announced in May 2007.