CHARLOTTE — Does your parish help run a food pantry, operate a thrift store, or sponsor an emergency services program? Perhaps your parish or school has a ministry that offers meals for those who are homeless or sponsors a school backpack program. If so, consider applying for a Catholic Charities Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Rice Bowl Mini-Grant for up to $1,000 in grant funds.
For every $3 collected in the Lenten CRS Rice Bowl Program that are sent to CRS for overseas projects, $1 remains in the Diocese of Charlotte to help fund a local grant program that supports poverty- and hunger-fighting projects of diocesan Catholic entities. Projects must target hunger and poverty in communities in the Diocese of Charlotte.
Only one grant can be submitted per Catholic entity, and grant applications must be reviewed and signed by the pastor of the parish, principal of the school, or director of the diocesan office applying for the grant. Completed and signed applications are due, in scanned PDF, by the email deadline of Friday, April 12. Applications, with guidelines and eligibility criteria included, are available online at www.ccdoc.org/cchdcrs.
— Joseph Purello