St. Cloud Diocesan Youth Rally

The St. Cloud Diocesan Youth Rally took place November 23, 2008 at St. John's University in Collegeville, Minn. The gathering had over 400 youth and youth leaders from throughout the St. Cloud Diocese.

Catholic Aid was glad to partner with the St. Cloud Diocese on this wonderful event. While at rally, Catholic Aid lead a workshop for teens titled, "Survival Guide: Your Cash, Your Credit."

Click here to see more pictures from this event.

Winona Diocesan Catholic Youth Conference

The Winona Diocesan Catholic Youth Conference (DCYC) took place November 22-23, 2008 at the Holiday Inn, Mankato, Minn. The gathering had over 370 youth and youth leaders from throughout the Winona Diocese. Catholic Aid was glad to partner with the Winona Diocese on this wonderful event.

While at DCYC, Catholic Aid lead a workshop for teens titled, "Survival Guide: Your Cash, Your Credit."

Catholic Aid supported the Kids Against Hunger Service project where 10,000 meals were bagged.

Over forty Thanksgiving Day Baskets were created and distributed to needy families in the Mankato area. The home office of Catholic Aid, along with parishes in the Winona Diocese collected canned goods for this service project.

Click here to see more pictures from this event.

Project: Volunteer (Formerly Youth Parish Program)

We have doubled this benefit! This program promotes youth volunteerism in parishes among youth ages 19 and younger. A benefit of $2 per hour, up to $400 with a minimum of 25 hours required, will be paid to parishes. To receive this benefit, complete the Project: Volunteer Application and return it to the Fraternal Department by Dec. 31, 2009. Please note, parish liturgy services and volunteer work done in conjunction with other Catholic Aid youth programs like Project: Multiply do not count toward this benefit.

Purpose:
Combines youth volunteers and valuable assistance to the pastor and parish.
Encourages youth to become involved in their parish.
Promotes volunteerism.

Benefit:
$2 per hour worked by Catholic Aid youth (ages 19 and under) up to a maximum of $400.

Guidelines:
Complete the ‘Project: Volunteer Application’ and return to the Fraternal Department by December 31. (The application is a list of Catholic Aid youth, ages 19 and under, who have participated in service projects and how many hours of service were performed)
Minimum combined total of 25 hours is required to apply.

Not included in hours of service performed:
Parish Liturgy Services.
Volunteer work done in conjunction with other Catholic Aid youth programs like ‘Project: Multiply.’

Project: Multiply (Formerly Youth Grant)

We’ve increased the matching portion of this program from $100 to $500. Catholic Aid provides $25 seed money to help raise funds for the youth programs and provides 20% bonus on monies raised (minus the $25 seed money). Catholic Aid will match 20% of the monies raised up to $500 maximum per council. In addition, the Fraternal department will give two $100 awards annually to groups with the ‘Most Creative Idea.’ This replaces the random drawing that was done in years past. Creativity is judged by event publicity efforts and the unique attributes of the fundraiser. New forms for this program are required both before and after the event.

Guidelines to this program have changed as well, there is a ‘Project: Multiply Seed Money Request Form’ that must be completed six weeks prior to the event to request the seed money and to inform the Fraternal Department about the event. Also, after the fundraiser is completed, there is a ‘Project: Multiply Completion Form that must be filled out and sent to us after the event.

Purpose:
Fund raiser for local youth programs.
Increase awareness of Catholic Aid.

Benefit:
Provides $25 seed money to help raise funds for the youth programs
Provides 20% Bonus on monies raised (minus the $25 seed money) up to $500
Two $100 prizes will be awarded to councils for the 'Most Creative Idea.' Creativity is determined by the creativity demonstrated in publicizing the event and the creativity in planning a unique fundraiser.

Guidelines:
Before the Event: Complete the ‘Project: Multiply Seed Money Request Form’ six weeks before the event.
After the Event: Complete the ‘Project: Multiply Completion Form.’

Examples of Project: Multiply:
Grow Vegetables and Sell Them
Bake Sale
Brat Stand
Holiday Bingo
Ask Parishioners to Fill M&M Tubes with Quarters
Silent Auction
Mother’s Day Brunch
Plastic Easter Egg Sale
Valentine Card Sale
Valentine’s Day Dinner
Soup or Chili Supper