Contact:              Lindsay Hansen                  Andrea Aker       

                            Catholic Charities             Aker Ink             

                            (480) 205-6195                (602) 339-7339

                            lhansen@cc-az.org            andrea.aker@akerink.com

PHOENIX – (Jan.18, 2008)… Paul Martodam, chief executive of Catholic Charities in Central and Northern Arizona, announced today the non-profit has joined a new initiative led by Catholic Charities USA.  Locally, the social service agency’s mission will be to educate Arizonans about poverty and racism, and to advocate change.

This includes informing citizens about:

• The reality and history of racial injustice in our nation,
• The moral reasoning and convictions that ground the organization’s concern about these social issues and
• The public policies Catholic Charities advocates to reduce poverty and racism among all faiths and ages.

This mission coincides with Catholic Charities USA, the membership association of Arizona’s own Catholic Charities Community Services.   Last year, Catholic Charities around the nation, including the Arizona chapter, focused their efforts on poverty education, calling for policy changes to reduce the number of Americans living in poverty in half by 2020. Now, efforts have expanded to include race.

“We cannot responsibly address the issue of poverty without addressing the impact of race,” said Martodam. “This is a problem at the local and national levels. At Catholic Charities, we seek to help underserved populations on a daily basis. We’ve seen the worst, and we’re doing our part to change it.”

Locally, Catholic Charities aids underserved populations through dozens of programs, including refugee services, emergency shelter, care for domestic violence victims and prostitution rehabilitation and diversion, foster care and adoption, among many other much-needed services.

Last year’s poverty-reducing mission kicked off at Catholic Charities’ Compassion in Action Breakfast in May. The first annual event attracted 700 guests and raised $300,000, which will directly benefit Catholic Charities programs that help individuals, families and children climb out of poverty.

For more information about Catholic Charities USA 2008 mission, visit:

www.catholiccharitiesusa.org.

About Catholic Charities

Founded in 1933, Catholic Charities Community Services is one of Arizona’s oldest and largest nonprofit organizations which offers a diverse range of social services that strengthen families, protect and nurture children, and support people in crisis.  Catholic Charities serves people of all ages and faiths.  Last year, the charitable organization provided over 50 programs at 100 locations to more than 200,000 people in central and northern Arizona.  Catholic Charities is a member organization of Catholic Charities USA which is the largest private network of social service organizations in the United States working to support families, reduce poverty, and build communities.  The organization is accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Children and Family Services.  To learn more about Catholic Charities visit www.catholiccharitiesaz.org.

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