Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) launched an ad campaign on April 21 encouraging Catholics to love and serve their neighbors by doing volunteer work with local CCUSA agencies.
“Often we think of a neighbor as just someone who lives nearby, but it’s much more than simple geography,” a new 30 second video ad State.
The ad says, “Being a neighbor is how you show up in moments of need, when things are uncertain, when small acts can turn out to be huge, and you are like a light in someone’s darkest moment, coming forward again and again to serve faithfully.” “He’s a neighbor. Be hope in your neighborhoods across the country.”
according to a news releaseCCUSA has 169 affiliates across the country and serves more than 16 million people each year.
Kevin Brennan, CCUSA’s vice president for communications, told EWTN News the organization launched the ads because volunteers “are the backbone of the work of the Catholic Charities network across the country.”
“There is always a greater need, and so it is our priority at (CCUSA) and for agencies across the country to encourage people to volunteer,” she said.
Brennan said specific services vary by location “to meet the specific needs of those most in need in local communities.” The biggest service, he said, is “feeding the hungry” through food pantries or other services like delivering meals to homebound seniors.
Services include support for people with developmental disabilities, companionship to expectant mothers in need, and financial counseling for veterans looking to enter the workforce or change careers, among other things.
He said CCUSA “really serves any category of person in need that you can think of” and that anyone can “contact your local Catholic Charities agency and learn how you can get involved.”
Brennan said each agency is united in the core mission of “living out the gospel call to love your neighbor and serve those most in need.” He said volunteer work “also benefits the person doing the service.”
“We know (serving your neighbor) is important to being a thriving person (and) to being a thriving Catholic,” he said.
According to the news release, the first round of ads will run through the end of May, and the other two phases will run through the summer and fall. They will appear in Catholic media, other Christian media, and secular national media outlets. They will also run on podcasts and digital publications.
CCUSA will run ads in both English and Spanish media.
“Inspired by the compassionate, selfless acts of service that Catholic Charities Network staff and volunteers perform every day, this campaign calls on all of us to find ways, big and small, to provide support and assistance to those struggling among us,” CCUSA President and CEO Kerry Ellis Robinson said in a statement.
He said, “By following the gospel’s call to love and serve our neighbors, we can strengthen our communities, our world, and ourselves.”
This campaign was launched by CCUSA with the launch of the traveling museum people of hopewhich celebrates Christian service with stories of faith-based charity work.
A nationwide tour of the museum began in late March. It features an exhibit with 42 stories of CCUSA employees serving across the country and an interactive data wall on poverty and other challenges.
