|
By Voice staff
Four East Bay grassroots organizations are among the
314 projects throughout the U.S. to receive national grants from the Catholic
Campaign for Human Development this year. CCHD distributed more than
$9.5 million to groups working to overcome poverty. The funds come from
the annual CCHD collection taken up each November in parishes throughout
the country.
This year’s collection is Nov. 17-18. Twenty-five percent of the
donations remain in each diocese for local CCHD initiatives and the remainder
is distributed across the country.
The four East Bay groups receiving national grants are:
Contra Costa ACORN ($35,000) for its neighborhood improvement
and crime prevention work in Concord, Pittsburg and Richmond;
La Lucha del Journalero ($40,000) to develop leadership
among day laborers in Oakland;
Natural Home Cleaning Professionals ($40,000) to train
low-income Latino women as worker-owners of eco-friendly housecleaning
businesses;
Oakland ACORN ($30,000) to improve teacher recruitment
and retention and secure passage of an inclusionary housing ordinance
in Oakland.
Major CCHD grants in other parts of the U.S. range from helping low-income
Latino and African American poultry workers in Mississippi get protection
from retaliatory firings to strengthening advocacy programs for disabled
youth in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The local CCHD grants were given to six East Bay organizations: Asian
Pacific Environmental Network ($5,000), Community Recovery Services ($5,000),
Filipinos for Affirmative Action ($5,000), LIFETIME ($5,000), St. Martin
de Porres School Parent Education Project ($6,000) and United Seniors
of Oakland and Alameda County ($6,000).
Established in 1970, CCHD is the U.S. Catholic community’s national
anti-poverty program, administered through the United States Catholic
Conference of Bishops.
|
