Mission

Catholic Relief Services is headquartered in Baltimore, MD and has offices in 99 countries
around the world.  The agency is consistently ranked among the top non-profit charity
agencies in the country for low operating expenses and effective programs.  By working
with the poorest residents in many developing nations, CRS gives people the skills and
tools to live better and develop sustainable income.  Funding for these programs comes
through the annual Operation Rice Bowl collection in Lent, which teaches families about
these countries and builds solidarity with the people who live in them.  Catholic Relief
Services also assists following disasters, either natural or man-made, to provide basic
necessities to communities, evacuees, and refugees.  U.S. Catholics can also support
these efforts by becoming part of the CRS legislative network.

Operation Rice Bowl

Operation Rice Bowl is a Lenten program that combines prayer,
fasting, education and almsgiving. ORB gives the Catholic Community in the United
States the opportunity to learn about and reach out to assist people living in
destitute poverty in other parts of the world. The program has two main components:

Education - It helps the Catholic community gain a better understanding of the plight
of our brothers and sisters living in Third World Countries who live in abject poverty.

Funding Support - Our financial gifts support development programs for poor people
in those countries as well as in our own diocese. 75% of the funds support overseas
development efforts, 25% supports local efforts.

Fair Trade

One of the ways CRS supports people in developing nations is by
partnering with fair trade networks.  Through the fair trade process, local
artisans or farmers collaborate through cooperatives to become a part of a fair
trade network.  The fair trade network eliminates a number of the middle people
in the marketing process and brings goods to market in the U.S. and other countries
faster and with less overhead.  As a result, workers and farmers receive greater
profit, better technical training, a guaranteed minimum price, and stability in
their employment.  CRS markets fair trade coffee, chocolate, and unique handcrafts
through sales in parishes around the country.  An excellent reference on the work
of CRS in fair trade is Solidarity Will Transform the World by Jeffery Korgen,
Orbis Press.

Transformative Education

Catholic Relief Services offers many opportunities for U.S. Catholics to grow in
solidarity with our brothers and sisters around the world.  These include trips
abroad for priests, seminarians, deacons, youth ministers, Catholic high school
teachers, and other diocesan personnel to visit CRS projects and see how lives
are changed by the principles of solidarity.  Youth and young adults can also
participate in Food Fast or a Hunger Banquet to learn about the reality of
living on less than $1 a day.  Going Global with Youth and Campus Connections
provide education and resources to young people, and Cyber Bridges offers schools
the opportunity to interact with students in classes on the other side of the globe. 
To learn more about these programs visit http://crs.org/act/participate.cfm