CatholicTV and Catholic Relief Services Team Up For Operation Rice Bowl

During Lent, CatholicTV will air videos promoting Operation Rice Bowl (ORB), a Catholic Relief Services (CRS) program which helps the poor overseas as well as in the United States. Some of the videos were shot in the countries where CRS is focusing much of its efforts.

The ORB promotional videos will air at CatholicTV.com and on CatholicTV throughout the season of Lent.

ORB began in 1975 in the Diocese of Allentown, PA as a response to the drought in the African Sahel. For 34 years, ORB has called participants to pray with their families and faith communities; fast in solidarity with those who hunger; learn about the global community and the challenges of poverty overseas, and give sacrificial contributions to those in need. CRS’ website offers a detailed Lenten schedule full of fasting, praying, and almsgiving on their website at http://orb.crs.org/.

Seventy-five percent of ORB gifts will go to CRS to help farmers in Bolivia receive training to improve crop yields, children in Afghanistan gain more opportunities for quality education, communities in Ethiopia access reliable water sources even during times of drought, and fund many other vital projects.

25% of what’s raised in the Operation Rice Bowl stays within each (arch)diocese to support local hunger and poverty alleviation efforts.

Catholic Relief Services was founded in 1943 by the Catholic Bishops of the United States to serve World War II survivors in Europe. Since then, we have expanded in size to reach more than 100 million people in more than 100 countries on five continents. The mission of CRS is to assist impoverished and disadvantaged people overseas, working in the spirit of Catholic Social Teaching to promote the sacredness of human life and the dignity of the human person. Although our mission is rooted in the Catholic faith, our operations serve people based solely on need, regardless of their race, religion or ethnicity. Within the United States, CRS engages Catholics to live their faith in solidarity with the poor and suffering of the world.

As the official international humanitarian agency of the U.S. Catholic community, CRS is governed by a Board of Directors made up of clergy, most of them bishops, religious and Catholic lay men and women.