Archdiocese of Chicago to Announce its Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) 2018-19 Grant Recipients at the CCHD 2018 Community Celebration on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2018
Chicago, IL (October 10, 2018) – The Archdiocese of Chicago will announce its Catholic Campaign for Human Development program (CCHD) 2018-19 grant recipients at the CCHD 2018 Community Celebration at 5:30 p.m., on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2018 at Old Saint Mary’s Catholic Church, 1500 South Michigan Avenue in Chicago. CCHD will award a total of $660,000 to 26 local non-profit organizations that support transformative anti-poverty and social justice work in low-income communities.
“The Catholic Campaign for Human Development helps strengthen families and communities throughout the Archdiocese of Chicago,” said Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, archbishop of Chicago. “Through the generous support of our parishioners, CCHD programs help bring real change for the poor and help break the cycle of poverty in our communities.”
Founded in 1969 as the national, anti-poverty campaign of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), CCHD’s primary source of funding is annual collections from archdiocesan parishes during the third weekend in November. Fifty percent of funds collected during the annual appeal stay in Chicago for antipoverty projects. The remaining fifty percent of the funds supports CCHD efforts in dioceses across the United States.
CCHD recipients are community groups working to make changes at a local level by developing leaders and giving low-income people a voice in decisions that affect their lives, families and society. The grants are screened and awarded with the approval of Cardinal Cupich and distributed to help with economic and community development, job creation, housing, education, workers’ rights, public safety, and advocacy for seniors and people with disabilities, among other issues.
The 2018-19 grant recipients include the following organizations, located throughout Cook and Lake Counties:
• Alliance of the SouthEast
• Arise Chicago
• Chicago Coalition to Save Our Mental Health Centers
• Chicago Housing Initiative
• Chicago Workers’ Collaborative
• Communities United
• Community Renewal Society
• Illinois Hunger Coalition
• Jane Addams Senior Caucus
• Kenwood Oakland Community Organization
• Lake County Sponsors
• Latino Union
• Logan Square Neighborhood Association
• Lugenia Burns Hope Center
• Metropolitan Tenants Organization
• ONE: Northside
• Pilsen Neighbors Community Council
• Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation
• Progress Center for Independent Living
• Saint Agatha Parent and Family Empowerment Initiative
• South Side Community Federal Credit Union
• Southside Together Organizing for Power
• Southwest Organizing Project
• The People’s Lobby Education Institute
• Target Area Development Corporation
• Waukegan to College
Rev. Matthew O’Donnell, pastor of St. Columbanus in Chicago’s Park Manor neighborhood, will be recognized at the Oct. 17 celebration for receiving the 2018 Cardinal Bernardin New Leadership Award at the USCCB’s annual Spring General Assembly in Ft. Lauderdale this past June. In this role as pastor, O’Donnell has helped to address systemic causes of poverty through the creation of one of Chicago’s largest parish food pantries, and the opening of a new parish Community Service Center that offers GED prep and career counseling.
O'Donnell also counters neighborhood violence through parish efforts to console loved ones and lead prayers for peace after local shootings, and by regularly hosting events at the parish that bring together community members and law enforcement officers.
For more information about CCHD and the grant application process, please visit www.CCHDchicago.org.
