Media CenterThrough CRS Rice Bowl, a Call for a New Era of Peace This Easter Sunday

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Brittany Wichtendahl
Catholic Relief Services
[email protected]
(757) 748-5003
 

Stand in solidarity with our sisters and brothers around the world through Lenten alms

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, April 14, 2022 – As families around the world struggle to survive amid ongoing armed conflicts, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) calls for U.S. Catholics to turn in their CRS Rice Bowls and welcome a new era of peace and solidarity this Easter Sunday.

“Whenever we see an uptick in fighting, we see an increase in food insecurity,” said Beth Martin, CRS’ director of Mission and Mobilization campaigns. “Countries like Ukraine prove that there is a connection between conflict and families being able to put food on the table. CRS Rice Bowl is one of the best ways that U.S. Catholics can show their solidarity with people who are struggling with hunger and poverty, partly due to these global armed conflicts.”

In 1 Peter 1:3, we are told, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” As we celebrate Jesus’ Resurrection and the promise of eternal life for all who believe in Him, we call upon this Easter to represent a new birth to an era of peace for the world.

Ongoing conflicts in countries such as Ukraine, Ethiopia and Yemen mean more families have been forced to flee their homes and leave behind a sense of security, including knowing where they will get their next meal. Since 1975, CRS Rice Bowl donations have gone to programs overseas dedicated to ending hunger and poverty.

“The small sacrifices made by U.S. Catholics this Lenten season are going to add up to significant help for our sisters and brothers around the world,” Martin said. “We know over the past three years, COVID-19 increased food insecurity globally. Unfortunately, all the armed conflict we have seen has only accelerated that. CRS Rice Bowl donations are more important now than ever.”

While CRS Rice Bowl donations primarily go to programs overseas dedicated to ending hunger and poverty, 25% of the funds stay in the diocese where they are collected. As families continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, supporting efforts to end hunger and poverty in U.S. communities remains of vital import.

In past years, schools and parishes participating in CRS Rice Bowl have held in-person events to collect donations saved during the Lenten season. In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, many parishes have established online community giving pages. CRS Rice Bowl participants are encouraged to reach out to their local parishes to determine whether in-person collections will occur, or if they should donate via a community giving page. Direct donations to CRS are always accepted online, by phone or mail.

Online:

• English: http://crsricebowl.org/give
• Spanish: http://crsplatodearroz.org/donar

By Phone:

• Call 877-435-7277 between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m. Eastern Standard Time and tell the operator that the gift is for CRS Rice Bowl.

By Mail:

• Please write “CRS Rice Bowl” on the memo line of your check and mail it to:

Catholic Relief Services
Attn: CRS Rice Bowl
P.O. Box 5200
Harlan, IA 51593-0700

If individuals or families received a postage paid Rice Bowl envelope from their local diocese, they are encouraged to send their gifts using that envelope.

CRS echoes Pope Francis’ Prayer for Peace, in which the Holy Father prays for God to “Keep alive within us the flame of hope, so that with patience and perseverance we may opt for dialogue and reconciliation. In this way may peace triumph at last, and may the words ‘division’, ‘hatred’ and ‘war’ be banished from the heart of every man and woman.”
 

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Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. The agency alleviates suffering and provides assistance to people in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality. CRS’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance and peacebuilding. For more information, visit www.crs.org or www.crsespanol.org and follow Catholic Relief Services on social media in English at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube; and in Spanish at: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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Online Tools:
CRS Online Press Room: www.crs.org/press-room