St. Mel Church Justice & Peace Committee

Agenda - Oct. 11, 2008

Social Justice
	NEW Fair Trade Festival 2008 The Power of Prayer St. Mel Students Support Families CRS Funding Needs in Malawi

Political Issues
	The Challenge- Faithful Citizenship Parental Notification A Catholic Call- Political Responsibility

Restorative Justice
	California leads in youths life prisoners California Union Outlines Prison Reform Catholic Conference Letter - Prison Overcrowding

Education
	Supreme Court Scholarship Decision

Current Events
	LA Archdiocese "Clergy Misconduct Oversight" CRS: Reaching Out

Archives
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	LINKS to ST. MEL Ministries
	Detention Ministry/Restorative Justice OASIS, Older Adult Services & Intervention System Respect Life St. Vincent de Paul Society

ST. MEL COUPLE ASSISTING SRI LANKAN CHILDREN IN WAKE OF TSUNAMI DISASTER

In the wake of one of the worst natural disasters in modern history, massive fundraising efforts are underway to provide relief to the victims. The St. Mel Justice and Peace Council provides you with the following information regarding two organizations to consider in making your contributions.

Catholic Relief Services (CRS). This organization has committed $25 million to the relief effort. Solicitation materials from CRS advise that 94.2 % of its 2003 revenues were applied directly to relief, development and advocacy for the poor overseas, with only 5.8% used to pay fundraising, awareness and administrative expenses. CRS has personnel in place in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand providing emergency food and water, medical aid and shelter to the affected communities. For more information, visit www.crs.org or call (888) 277-7575.

The Clarendon Foundation. This organization has funded an orphanage, food program for hundreds of pre-school age children and surgical procedures and other medical aid for the poor in Sri Lanka for over a decade. All donations (100%) are applied directly to aid the communities in Sri Lanka which this organization serves. The organization is substantially expanding its orphanage and other programs to meet the current and projected future demands for food, shelter, care and education of the children of Sri Lanka in its community who have been abandoned or orphaned as a result of the tsunami. St. Mel parishioners Frank and Srini Perera are closely connected with this organization and have launched the website www.SriLankaHelp.com to help The Clarendon Foundation provide long-term care for the children who are victims of the disaster and who will require care, food, clothing, education and other financial assistance beyond immediate disaster relief. For more information, including pledge forms, please visit the website mentioned above or www.clarendonfoundation.org or call Frank and Srini Perera at (818) 716-2900.