The collection for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development will take place in most parishes this weekend.
This year’s collection has the theme «Families Are Struggling. Faith Is Calling.» The fund drive comes as U.S. census figures show that the number of poor people in the United States is up almost 3 million since last year.
«The mission of CCHD is crucial in 2009: To uplift and embolden all who are one layoff or one medical scare away from the poverty line — and all who are already there,» said Bishop Roger Morin of Biloxi, Mississippi, chairman of the Subcommittee on CCHD.
The campaign’s primary source of support is the once-a-year collection held in U.S. parishes. Twenty-five percent of the proceeds support projects in the diocese where the funds are collected.
In 2008, CCHD-funded groups involved 776 Catholic parishes, 18 Catholic Charities agencies and 51 religious communities. In 2009, almost $8 million was awarded to 250 grantees throughout the United States.
