Church World Service

Last updated

Church World Service
FoundedJanuary 1, 1946;78 years ago (1946-01-01)
Type Humanitarian aid
Website https://cwsglobal.org

Church World Service (CWS) was founded in 1946 and is a cooperative ministry of 37 Christian denominations and communions, providing sustainable self-help, development, disaster relief, and refugee assistance around the world. The CWS mission is to eradicate hunger and poverty and to promote peace and justice at the national and international level through collaboration with partners abroad and in the US.

Contents

Program areas

Disaster response

When disaster strikes, CWS works with partners on the scene to provide shelter, food and water, blankets, recovery kits, counseling – the basics needed to ensure the survival of individuals and communities at risk. In addition to rapid emergency disaster response, CWS also provides long-term development initiative, helping vulnerable families and communities prepare for and recover from natural and human-caused calamities. For example, in drought-ridden Ethiopia, CWS and partners are assisting 120,000 people with food and seeds to restart farming activities. [1]

In the United States, when disaster strikes, CWS dispatches disaster response specialists where needed in order to provide assistance to local interfaith groups assessing and responding to the material and spiritual needs of their communities. After Hurricanes Ike and Gustav hit the U.S. Gulf Coast, CWS reached out to its network of long-term recovery groups for project development support and also for provision of material resources such as CWS Blankets and Kits. Since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, CWS has partnered with Habitat for Humanity and has invested in building long-term recovery capacity along the Gulf Coast. As a result of this collaboration more than 640 houses were repaired or rebuilt in the targeted area of the Gulf Coast. [1]

Refugee assistance

CWS helps meet the needs of refugees in protracted situations and those who are able to return home. It also serves tens of thousands of refugees, immigrants, and asylum seekers in the U.S. and around the world each year with screening for potential resettlement to the U.S., chaplaincy, legal, and other professional services. Working with denominations and congregational co-sponsors, CWS and its network of resettlement affiliates have welcomed and found new homes in the U.S. for more than 450,000 refugees since 1946. [2]

Immigration

CWS strongly supports comprehensive immigration reform and argued in 2014 that Congress "should enact immigration reform that will provide a permanent solution and a path to citizenship for all our undocumented community members." [3] [4]

CROP Hunger Walks

Raleigh CROP Hunger Walk 2015 Raleigh CROP Hunger Walk 2015 (22283906178).jpg
Raleigh CROP Hunger Walk 2015

The largest fund-raising events for Church World Service are CROP Hunger Walks (Christian Rural Overseas Program [5] ). The first CROP Hunger Walk was in the 1960s. Now more than 2,000 communities across the U.S. join in CROP Hunger Walks each year. A unique aspect of CROP Hunger Walks is that Church World Service does not receive all of the money raised. Up to 25% of the money donated is given to local hunger fighting agencies which include food banks and community gardens. Additionally, those sponsoring a walker can specify whether Church World Service or an alternative global hunger-fighting agency will receive the remaining 75% of the donation. [6]

Blankets+

Through the Blankets+ program, more than 8,000 congregations and groups enable CWS to respond to disasters and assist communities by providing the necessary tools needed to build sustainable lives. [7]

CWS Kits

CWS Kits include hygiene kits, school kits, baby kits, and emergency clean-up buckets. Last year, with the support of affiliated congregations and religious groups, CWS provided 298,000 Kits in the United States and abroad. [8]

Church World Service earned a B+ rating from the American Institute of Philanthropy [9] and was also named one of the Top 100 Highly Rated Charities by GiveSpot.com. CWS currently has a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator. [10]

On August 26, 2009 CWS was part of the 300+ Groups Ask Senate for Stronger Climate Bill letter to Senate. [11]

Participating churches and organizations

The member communions: [12]

List of local resettlement affiliates

The organization has more than twenty affiliate refugee and immigration offices located in seventeen states. [13]

See also

Related Research Articles

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The World Food Programme (WFP) is an international organization within the United Nations that provides food assistance worldwide. It is the world's largest humanitarian organization and the leading provider of school meals. Founded in 1961, WFP is headquartered in Rome and has offices in 80 countries. As of 2021, it supported over 128 million people across more than 120 countries and territories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Rescue Committee</span> Nongovernmental humanitarian organization

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is a global humanitarian aid, relief, and development nongovernmental organization. Founded in 1933 as the International Relief Association, at the request of Albert Einstein, and changing its name in 1942 after amalgamating with the similar Emergency Rescue Committee, the IRC provides emergency aid and long-term assistance to refugees and those displaced by war, persecution, or natural disaster. The IRC is currently working in about 40 countries and 26 U.S. cities where it resettles refugees and helps them become self-sufficient. It focuses mainly on health, education, economic wellbeing, power, and safety.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mercy Corps</span> American humanitarian aid NGO founded 1979

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The Hunger Project (THP), founded in 1977 with the stated goal of ending world hunger in 25 years, is an organization committed to the sustainable end of world hunger. It has ongoing programs in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, where it implements programs aimed at mobilizing rural grassroots communities to achieve sustainable progress in health, education, nutrition, and family income. THP is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization incorporated in the state of California.

Lutheran World Relief (LWR) is an international non-governmental organization that focuses on sustainable development projects and disaster relief and recovery. The organization was founded in 1945 to collect and send aid to people living in post-World War II Europe. Today, LWR helps communities living in extreme poverty adapt to the challenges that threaten their livelihoods and well-being, and responds to emergencies with a long-term view. It is a member of the Corus International family of faith-based international development organizations, which include IMA World Health, CGA Technologies, Ground Up Investing, and LWR Farmers Market Coffee.

The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is the global humanitarian aid and development organization of the United Methodist Church (UMC). UMCOR is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization operated under the auspices of the General Board of Global Ministries. One hundred percent of donations are directed to an earmarked project or relief effort. Administrative expenses are funded by an annual offering collected by United Methodist churches on UMCOR Sunday.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hurricane Katrina disaster relief</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catholic Relief Services</span> Humanitarian agency from the USA

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International Orthodox Christian Charities, Inc., based in Baltimore, Maryland, is the official international humanitarian agency of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America. IOCC works in cooperation with the Orthodox Church and other partners to serve people in need. In carrying out its mission, IOCC applies the highest professional standards and renders itself fully accountable to the public and its donors.

Americares is a global non-profit organization focused on health and development that responds to individuals affected by poverty, disaster, or crisis. The organization addresses poverty, disasters, or crises with medicine, medical supplies and health programs.

Canadian Lutheran World Relief (CLWR) is a humanitarian agency engaged in community development, refugee resettlement, emergency relief, basic commodity shipments, volunteer placement and alternative trade. It classifies its activities as falling into four main areas: humanitarian response, food security and livelihoods, education and skills training, and refugee resettlement. While strengthening food security and economic development, CLWR subscribes to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals in planning community development and has declared a commitment everywhere to environmental protection, gender equality, organizational strengthening and HIV/AIDS prevention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Jewish World Service</span>

American Jewish World Service (AJWS) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit international development and human rights organization that supports community-based organizations in 19 countries in the developing world and works to educate the American Jewish community about global justice. It is the first and only Jewish organization dedicated solely to ending poverty and promoting human rights in the developing world. Its headquarters are in New York City. AJWS has received a Four Star rating from Charity Navigator since 2002.

Islamic Relief USA (IRUSA), based in Alexandria, Virginia, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) humanitarian agency and member of the Islamic Relief Worldwide group of organizations. IRUSA was founded in California in 1993. In addition to international relief and development initiatives, Islamic Relief USA also sponsors and funds domestic projects ranging from emergency disaster responses to assisting the American homeless population and supporting those who cannot afford basic healthcare.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Episcopal Relief & Development</span>

Episcopal Relief & Development is an international relief and development agency of the Episcopal Church. It was established in 1940 as the Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief. Episcopal Relief and Development works in approximately 40 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, North America, and the Middle East. They build partnerships with local Episcopal and Anglican dioceses and related organizations based on need, capacity and available resources.

International Disaster Emergency Service (IDES) is a 501c3 non-profit organization based in Noblesville, Indiana, United States that seeks to meet the physical and spiritual needs of suffering people around the world in the name of Jesus Christ. The organization is primarily funded by Christian Churches and Churches of Christ. Much of its relief effort is done through local churches and missionaries already in place in the countries needing assistance.

Qatar Charity is a humanitarian and development non-governmental organization in the Middle East. It was founded in 1992 in response to the thousands of children who were made orphans by the Afghanistan war and while orphans still remain a priority cause in the organization's work with more than 150,000 sponsored orphans, it has now expanded its fields of action to include six humanitarian fields and seven development fields.

The Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) was an organizational unit within the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) charged by the President of the United States with directing and coordinating international United States government disaster assistance. USAID merged the former offices of OFDA and Food for Peace (FFP) in 2020 to form the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA).

References

  1. 1 2 "Responding to emergencies". Archived from the original on August 4, 2010. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  2. "Church World Service : Co-sponsor a refugee". July 25, 2011. Archived from the original on July 25, 2011.
  3. "CWS Condemns Legislative Proposal to Reverse President's Immigration Action". December 22, 2014. Archived from the original on December 22, 2014.
  4. "Sanctuary Movement". In the face of President Trump's extremist anti-immigrant agenda we must respond with a prophetic and bold voice.
  5. "Frequently Asked Questions about CROP Hunger Walks". Archived from the original on August 9, 2011. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  6. "CROP Hunger Walks". Church World Service.
  7. "What is the CWS Blankets+ Program?". Archived from the original on May 29, 2010. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  8. "CWS Buckets and Kits | Help Communities in Need Around the World". CWS Kits.
  9. "Church World Service - Charity Ratings - America's Most Independent Charity Watchdog - CharityWatch".
  10. "Rating for Church World Service". Charity Navigator.
  11. "300+ Groups Ask Senate for Stronger Climate Bill | Friends of the Earth". August 30, 2009. Archived from the original on August 30, 2009.
  12. "Member Communions". Church World Service. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  13. "Refugee and Immigrant Offices". Church World Service. Retrieved April 11, 2020.