The DCJH is an annual collection taken up in parishes of the Springfield diocese on the weekend before Thanksgiving. This year the campaign distributed $83,550, said Sister Jane. All money raised is used locally to help organizations and projects meet the needs of the poor within the diocese. This year’s grants ranged in size from $1,000 to $5,000 and were awarded on the basis of a grant application process.

Not-for-profit organizations applying for grants must be located in the Springfield diocese and the application must be signed by a local pastor or a parishioner sitting on the board of the organization. Priority is given to projects or organizations that address the root causes of poverty as well as programs that promote stable family life and the protection of human life from conception to natural death.

Organizations that receive grants may not promote or participate in activities that contradict the moral and social teachings of the Catholic Church.

Bishop Paprocki suggested those who received the checks think of them as “signs of encouragement and recognition for the good work you do.” He told the recipients that he hoped they would use the grants to “open doors” and would “feel free to tell others that the diocese supports what you do.”

This year’s grant awardees were:

• St. Vincent DePaul Food Pantry, St. Francis Solanus Church, Quincy, to provide laundry and dish detergents, toothpaste, toilet tissue and cleaning supplies not covered under the government food stamp program;
• Food Pantry Expansion of Coles, Douglas and Edgar Counties Catholic Charities, to provide perishable food items such as milk and meats with the purchase of a freezer and a refrigeration unit;
• Compassionate Clothing Closet, Inc., Paris, to serve an average of 42 families weekly, with St. Mary Catholic Church and its parishioners playing an integral role in the ministry;
• St. Vincent DePaul Food Pantry, Catholic parishes of Jerseyville and Grafton, to offer assistance to low-income people with rental and utility bills as well as to provide food;
• Mt. Olive Care Center/Ministerial Association, to provide food for needy families, having served 3,365 people in 2013;
• Open Door Computer Lab, Illinois Coalition for Community Services, Charleston, to provide workshops and training to individuals who are unable to access community services;
• Self-improvement Opportunities Program, MERCY Communities, Springfield, to provide housing and supportive services to homeless mothers and their at-risk children, having served 47 mothers and 75 children in 2013;
• Highland Area Christian Service Ministry, to provide workshops that address basic needs such as healthy cooking, money management, employment and educational skills to low-income clients;
• Jesus Loves You, Transportation Ministry, Taylorville and Pana, to provide outreach to those who suffer from drug and alcohol abuse with transportation and connection to community resources;
• Elizabeth Ann Seton Program, Breaking the Cycle, Springfield, to embrace the sanctity and dignity of life by nurturing impoverished women during pregnancy and parenting through goal-setting, job and education counseling;
• Food and Clothing Program, Ramsey, to strive to meet the needs of households unable to provide adequate food and clothing for their families, having served 1,596 clients in Fayette County;
• St. Patrick Community Center, Pana, staffed by all volunteers, to provide clothing, furniture and referral to other social service agencies and to assist families whose homes have been destroyed by fire;
• Camp Care A Lot Leaders Program, founded by campers ages 16-19, to offer opportunities for volunteering, mentoring and education classes to build skills, and prepare for college and work;
• Pregnancy Care Center of Springfield, Happy “Birth” Day Classes, to offer classes to encourage prenatal care for safe childbirth and to prepare for parenting, having served approximately 400 pregnant women in the last fiscal year;
• Congolese Fraternity of Central Illinois, Inc., to offer assistance to immigrants from Africa through the African American Cultural Center in Beardstown, to help immigrants become acclimated to their new country and environment;
• Diocesan Immigrant Council — Legal Aid Assistance, to provide legal fees on a sliding scale to at least 50 undocumented and/or non-citizen immigrants living in our diocese;
• Immigrants Serving Immigrants, St. Katharine Drexel Parish, to welcome Latinos to the community and to assist them in meeting their basic needs, such as employment, child care, etc.;
• Hearts United Association, Emergency Assistance Program, Litchfield, to provide counseling, education, and temporary housing to low income families in Litchfield, having served 336 households in 2013;
• Grounds of Grace and Cup of Encouragement, to overcome abuse, violence and human trafficking through client assistance, program direction and community resources in Jacksonville and Springfield;
• New Directions Warming/Cooling Center Shelter, Jacksonville to provide help to homeless people to find jobs by teaching basic skills needed to find employment;
• Back Pack Program, St. Agnes Church, Hillsboro, to provide food for low-income and poor students over the weekend;
• Med Assist Program of Catholic Charities, Effingham, to provide help to low-income people to obtain prescriptions by advocating with pharmaceutical companies, physicians and pharmacies;
• St. Clare Food Pantry, Litchfield, to provide assistance to low-income and poor people in Litchfield and surrounding areas, serving approximately 1,600 individuals each month.

For more information on the Diocesan Campaign for Justice and Hope visit the diocese website at www.dio.org/jcjh/home, call (217) 698-8500, ext. 167 or email .