Catholic Charities USA Wins Love Your Neighbor Award

New London, CT, October 08, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Catholic Charities USA, the national office for over 1,700 local Catholic Charities agencies and institutions nationwide, is the 2009 recipient of the Catholic Digest Love Your Neighbor award. As the award winner, Catholic Charities USA received $5,000 to put toward their mission.

Representatives from the organization were presented with a check by Catholic Digest publisher Bret Thomas at the 2009 National Catholic Development Conference (NCDC) in Washington, DC.

"I am pleased to once again offer my congratulations to Catholic Charities USA in winning our annual Love Your Neighbor contest," said Thomas. "It is our pleasure to feature the wonderful work of your organization in our magazine, and to share your mission with our readers. To us, each annual award is an opportunity to illuminate our Church in action, to celebrate and express gratitude for people like you who spend each day making a difference in the lives of others."

Catholic Charities USA will use the award money to keep providing strong leadership and support to enhance the work of local agencies in their efforts to reduce poverty, support families, and empower communities.

Runners up for this year's award were the Catholic Church Extension Society, an organization that sustains and extends the Catholic faith in poor and remote areas, and the Christian Appalachian Project, an interdenominational Christian organization committed to serving people in need in Appalachia by providing physical, spiritual and emotional support through a wide variety of programs and services.

About Love Your Neighbor:
The Love Your Neighbor award is the result of a joint effort between Catholic Digest and the NCDC to assist charities that are making a difference in the global community. Catholic Digest readers choose the award recipient from a list of NCDC member organizations. The 2010 list of eligible organizations and voting ballot will appear in the January 2010 issue of Catholic Digest. To read past Love Your Neighbor stories profiling NCDC member organizations, visit catholicdigest.com

About Catholic Charities USA:
Catholic Charities USA's members-more than 1,700 local Catholic Charities agencies and institutions nationwide-provide help and create hope for nearly 8.5 million people a year regardless of religious, social, or economic backgrounds. For almost 300 years, Catholic Charities agencies have worked to reduce poverty by providing a myriad of vital services in their communities, ranging from health care and job training to food and housing. In 2010, Catholic Charities USA celebrates its centennial anniversary. For more information, visit catholiccharitiesusa.org

Catholic Digest is America's most popular Catholic magazine. Since 1936, Catholic Digest has used the stories of real people to demonstrate that a life guided by faith can be exciting, challenging, enlivening, and joyous. Catholic Digest is owned by Bayard, an international publisher with more than 100 periodicals in Europe, Africa, Asia, and America.

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