The Archdiocese of Milwaukee will host the annual Justice Celebration on Thursday, June 5, at the Archbishop Cousins Catholic Center, 3501 S. Lake Dr., St. Francis.

The evening will begin with a social at 6 p.m. The dinner and program will get underway at 6:30 p.m. Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan will serve as the keynote speaker.

Seventeen parishes and schools from throughout the 10-county Archdiocese of Milwaukee will be honored for outstanding service and justice achievements. Nine organizations will receive grants totaling $50,000 from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development.

The Justice Celebration is sponsored by the Archdiocese of Milwaukee Department for Parishes, Department for Community Services and Catholic Charities.

The following parishes and schools will be recognized at the Justice Celebration:

Catholic Memorial High School, Waukesha is recognized for the "Tap Into Life: The Power of Water" Lenten Service Project that benefits 300 families in the Langa Valley of northern Afghanistan. The school is also upheld for efforts of the "Catholic Memorial Pro-Life Club" which helps to raise awareness of pro-life issues through education and student activities.

Catholic East Elementary School, Milwaukee is recognized for beginning a "citizenship program" at the school. This effort assists students to be productive citizens by focusing on character traits and skill building in areas such as responsibility, problem solving, positive relationships, honesty, service to others, and respect. Topics are infused into guidance lessons and daily classes. A student "Citizen of the Month" is chosen by the teachers.

Fond du Lac Area Catholic Schools (FACES) is recognized for several service, advocacy and justice education projects including: CROP Walk; school supplies for Nicaragua; raising money for a sister school in Nicaragua; and student outreach to older adults and guests of local shelters.

Gesu Parish, Milwaukee is recognized for hosting a prayerful, respectful listening session in March to hear concerns and questions from parishioners about a possible war with Iraq. The session was facilitated by Fr. Michael McNulty, SJ, professor of philosophy at Marquette University and Ms. Janine Geske, interim dean of the Marquette Law School.

Nativity of the Lord School, Cudahy is recognized for its Stone Soup Meal in which raises global awareness and funds to benefit a Guatemalan family in the Global Partners Program sponsored by the School Sisters of Notre Dame.

Port Catholic School, Port Washington is recognized for the "Gift a Goat" program. The school children helped to raise funds to purchase goats for families in Guatemala seeking to learn skills associated with farming and raising goats. Along with fund raising, the program was tied into global education and the Spanish curriculum at the school.

St. Bernadette School, Milwaukee;
St. Joseph Parish and School in Big Bend; and
St. Paul the Apostle Parish, Racine are recognized for their creative endeavors to educate youth about Catholic social teaching. The schools participated in "That's Not Fair," a program that teaches Catholic social doctrine to middle school children.

St. Boniface School, Germantown is recognized for the global education efforts of the 8th grade class to raise awareness and funds for a sister-parish in Ghana.

On behalf of all St. Vincent de Paul efforts in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, St. Hyacinth Parish, Milwaukee is recognized for its outreach including a food pantry, home visits and assisting people in need in many different ways.

St. James Parish, Mequon is recognized for a variety of educational efforts by the Respect Life committee including: bulletin inserts; poster contest for Respect Life month; gift distribution to expectant couples; "Lights for Life" campaign; baby showers for pregnancy help centers and other projects.

St. John Kanty Parish, Milwaukee is recognized for the efforts of the Christian Women's group to begin a "thrift store" that benefits parishioners and community members alike.

St. Joseph Parish, Waupun is recognized for the work of the Mission Honduras: Intergenerational Work Team 2002, and the Intergenerational Summer Work Camp 2002.

St. Monica School, Whitefish Bay is recognized for its year-long efforts to raise awareness among 8th grade students about the history and culture of Native Americans - specifically the Lakota people. Outreach has included study, service and experiential learning culminating with a class trip to South Dakota.

St. Paul School, Milwaukee is recognized for encouraging children to help less fortunate children in other parts of the world. Every year the Holy Childhood Association (HCA) holds a contest for designing Christmas seals and the proceeds go to support projects for poor children in other parts of the world. Two young students from St. Paul participated and their work will be reproduced on 2003 HCA Christmas seals and sold throughout the United States.


The following organizations received grants from the 2003 Catholic Campaign for Human Development:

Adult Learning Center, Milwaukee - This program offers a variety of educational opportunities that improve basic academic skills along with job readiness and life skills, chiefly to low-income adults from Milwaukee's central city.

Dominican Center for Women, Milwaukee - Community building is the linchpin of this organization. In response to the great need in Milwaukee's central city neighborhood, the focus is on helping residents rise from poverty to homeownership. The project involves financial education, neighborhood leadership and entrepreneurial employment incentives.

Esperanza Unida, Inc., Milwaukee - This project will focus on the Community Union's (CU) local hiring campaign, one of the four initiatives. There will be organizing to secure commitments from the Milwaukee Public Schools' Board to enact a strong resolution requiring that at least 25% unemployed/under-employed neighborhood residents, including at least 5% women, be hired in the $300 million Neighborhood Schools construction activity, as well as other MPS construction commitments. Parents and students will be involved in the areas of school construction in securing this commitment and in monitoring its enforcement.

Hope House of Milwaukee - In partnership with Hope House of Milwaukee, the residents of Clock Tower Acres will collaborate on the expansion of the Clock Tower Acres Community Improvement Coalition (CIC). This comprehensive initiative, which operates in the Clock Tower Acres neighborhoods surrounding Rockwell Automation, will develop leadership training and outreach opportunities for low-income residents in this area. Through the work of CIC, residents will seek to build a powerful voice to influence decision making within local business and institutions, while making real, tangible improvements to the community in which they live.

Layton Boulevard West Neighbors, Inc., Milwaukee - The Grassroots Leadership Development Program will identify and develop community leaders to build LBWN's capacity for community development. LBWN will provide hands-on training in all aspects of identifying, planning, developing, seeking, and mobilizing resources, implementing and evaluating community development projects.

People First Wisconsin, Milwaukee County - People First Wisconsin is a community-based agency that engages in advocacy efforts of the Milwaukee Women's Leadership Network for women with developmental disabilities who reside in Milwaukee County. This organization began with a core group of women leaders who were recruited, trained, and supported to develop an advocacy and support group. These leaders then undertook outreach to reach and involve more self-advocates, and began speaking to decision-makers at the state and local levels regarding systems change needed to improve the lives of women with disabilities living in Milwaukee County.

Racine County Clubhouse, Racine County – The Racine County Clubhouse integrates people with mental illnesses into the economic and social community by expanding employment opportunities and increasing each participant's self-reliance and self-esteem, thereby reducing relapse rates and additional hospitalizations.

Racine Vocation Ministry, Inc., Racine – The Racine Vocational Ministry, Inc. (RVM) is a faith-based organization established to help individuals discover God's presence and action in all aspects of life, including work. RVM offers employment and training services to help participants become self-sufficient productive workers, become skilled and trained in appropriate careers, be placed in meaningful jobs, retain jobs through follow-up and monitoring, address negative issues in their lives including: drugs, alcohol, domestic violence, child abuse, emotional health and chronic work-related problems. RVM helps to strengthen faith by discovering and nurturing spiritual gifts.

Southside Organizing Committee, Milwaukee - The Southside Organizing Committee's Hagase Escuchar (Make Yourself Heard) project seeks to increase voter participation in local elections on the Near South Side of Milwaukee which has seen a dramatic decline in voter turnout over the last decade even while the population there has boomed.