Catholic Charities is a network of charities that aims to help those in need and to help create a system of justice in society. The origins of Catholic Charities can be traced back to an orphanage that was founded in 1727 in New Orleans. It is estimated that the Catholic Charities, along with the local diocesan charities is the second largest social provider in the United States. Only the Federal Government surpasses their reach.

The headquarters of Catholic Charities is in Alexandria in Virginia. The headquarters supports the various divisions in order to enhance the delivery of human services. In this area the Catholic Charities has awarded thousands of dollars through the Centennial Recognition Program and the Casey Family Strengthening Awards Program. Many millions have been donated to Housing and Urban Development Housing Counseling Grant through federal grants.

Catholic Charities supports the local agencies via advocacy, networking, national voice, training, financial support, leadership and disaster response. The organization advocates policy makers with regards to the poverty reduction agenda. It provides networking opportunities so that members can come together and share information, problems and the solutions that were effective. It allows the local agencies to have a national voice, something that would otherwise not have been possible for smaller agencies. They also provide training to new people who join the group. The financial support and guiding principles help the local agencies to act effectively. Catholic Charities USA has also been commissioned by the US Catholic bishops to represent the Catholic community in case of a disaster situation.

Some of the other programs that the organization has include financial benefits, poverty campaigns, race and diversity, human trafficking, immigration, family strengthening, motherhood, fatherhood, volunteer recognition, climate change and housing counseling. Each of these programs follows the basic principles of the Catholic tradition in order to ensure a common thread. This includes feeling the love of God through compassion.

Purpose

Catholic Charities is a non-profit organization that aims at keeping people away from utter destitution. Some of the services that they provide include the basic requirements of every human being and include food, shelter, supportive housing, clothing, financial aid and more. These are all services that help people from going over the edge when everything seems to feel like lost. Over time, the charities have gone a step ahead and started looking at various other aspects in order to ensure that people have an opportunity to live better lives.

Catholic Churches therefore look at strengthening family bonds in order to help people cope with circumstances in a better manner. A strong family bond and strong communities can help various people manage adversity in an easier manner. Some of the areas that Catholic Charities has touched upon include counseling, immigration, refuge services, adoption, disaster response, child care, elderly support and employment training. With this, Catholic Charities is not only ensuring that people stay away from destitution but also find ways and means of supporting themselves, finding opportunities and take charge of their lives. Therefore while the charities help people with food, they also teach them the manner in which they can slowly start fending for themselves and becoming independent.

Catholic charities believe in the sanctity of human life and dignity of man. Based on this premise, they help individuals, families and communities meet their daily needs, eliminating oppression and poverty in various regions. While Catholic Charities work among all faiths, their principles are based on the catholic tradition. The basis of the work is rooted in the scriptures and it is an integral part of the Catholic Church. It believes in respecting the religious beliefs of the people that they work with and recognize that people have different physical, mental and spiritual needs.

History

Catholic Charities has been around for more than 280 years and has made its mark felt in various places through the compassionate work that they have done. The roots of the charities can be traced back to an orphanage in New Orleans in 1727. This orphanage is said to have been started by the French Ursuline Sisters.

When immigration was at its peak in the mid 1800s, many charities mushroomed since they were in high demand. The Catholic agencies were established in various cities along the east coast and since the immigrants needed homes to stay, housing was a major thrust area at that time. It also helped in providing homes to a lot of children who lost their parents to disease, tragedies and war.

Catholic Charities and its network are said to one of the largest social service networks that exist today. There are more than 240,000 volunteers, staff and board members that work relentlessly in order to fight against poverty, discrimination and more. It is estimated that the network impacts the life of about 7.8 million people across the world and these people belong to different faiths too.

It is claimed that 90 cents of every dollar that is donated to Catholic Charities goes towards furthering the programs that they have. This places the organization among one of the most efficient charities that exist across the world.

The programs that the Catholic Charities support differ from area to area depending on the need of the place. While there are guiding principles that dictate the specific causes that are taken up and the manner in which these are served, the handling is done in a local manner.

In 2010, Catholic Charities US celebrated it centennial. A new thrust was provided in order to attract donations, volunteers and to ensure that new programs were identified for a cause.