Notre Dame and Catholic Charities USA join forces to reduce poverty in America | News | Notre Dame News | University of Notre Dame Skip To Content Skip To Navigation Skip To Search University of Notre Dame Notre Dame News Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Home Contact Search Menu Home › News › Notre Dame and Catholic Charities USA join forces to reduce poverty in America Notre Dame and Catholic Charities USA join forces to reduce poverty in America Published: March 21, 2013 Author: Brittany Collins An innovative partnership between the University of Notre Dame, the nation’s preeminent Catholic university, and Catholic Charities USA, one of this country’s most influential social service networks, was announced recently. The formation of the collaboration, called the Alliance, was driven by the two institutions’ common belief that helping those in need is a core element of the Catholic faith. “I’m so proud of Notre Dame’s partnership with Catholic Charities USA,” said Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., Notre Dame’s president. “By bringing together one of our nation’s preeminent social service networks with a great Catholic university, we are able to live out our mission of putting learning in service to justice by addressing the root causes of poverty in our country.” Taking a multifaceted approach, the Alliance will strive to reduce poverty in America through rigorous academic research and evaluation of anti-poverty programs, a focus on methods to increase entrepreneurship in implementation of poverty relief services, and efforts to unite skilled workers from the academic and service provider arenas to ensure enhanced quality of service delivery. In addition, the Alliance will seek to inform, through advocacy and educational outreach, the development of policies that will change the ways poverty issues are addressed in the United States. A key component of the Alliance is Notre Dame’s Lab for Economic Opportunities (LEO), the first domestic poverty lab in the United States. Leveraging the experience of academic experts with a national network of social services providers, LEO will offer researchers and practitioners an opportunity to come together, research and implement scalable best practices across the Catholic Charities network and the social service sector at large. “We have a moral commitment to not only serve the poor, but to determine the most effective and efficient models for doing so,” said Rev. Larry Snyder, president of Catholic Charities USA. “Through programs like LEO, the Alliance will provide guidance to not only social service providers across the country regarding best practices for poverty relief programs, but will allow us to educate our nation’s policymakers on outcomes of the research enabling them to, in time, alter the way we address poverty as a nation.” The four core focus areas of the Alliance include: Academic: Generating solutions through research by the University’s Lab for Economic Opportunities. Business: Applying the problem-solving acumen of the University’s Mendoza College of Business to the social service field. Church in Action: Utilizing the University’s Career Center, Alumni Association and Center for Social Concerns to connect its vast network of talent and experience to CCUSA’s local agencies across the country. Policy Development and Advocacy: Leading initiatives that will inform the development of poverty-reduction solutions and policies through advocacy and educational outreach. Contact: Rev. William Lies, C.S.C., vice president for mission engagement and Church affairs, Notre Dame, 574-631-1212, lies.7@nd.edu Posted In: Faith Home Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Related October 03, 2022 dCEC to Award 2023 ND Evangelium Vitae Medal to Robert P. George September 22, 2022 In memoriam: Rev. Richard Warner, C.S.C., longtime leader for Notre Dame, Congregation of Holy Cross September 15, 2022 In new book on global Catholicism, Provost John McGreevy explores modern history, current challenges of the Church September 15, 2022 Death penalty abolitionist Sister Helen Prejean to speak at Notre Dame September 14, 2022 Apostolic nuncio to Great Britain to deliver the 2022 Keeley Vatican Lecture For the Media Contact Office of Public Affairs and Communications Notre Dame News 500 Grace Hall Notre Dame, IN 46556 USA Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Pinterest © 2022 University of Notre Dame Search Mobile App News Events Visit Accessibility Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube LinkedIn