As in any other playoff, candidate rhetoric let loose during the U.S. presidential race can be tough. We’ve held a front row seat to the 2012 showdown for over a year, with tensions still rising as the general election looms nearer. Some of the barbs launched along the campaign trail have been laughable: Newt Gingrich’s television ad incriminating Mitt Romney for his ability to speak French comes to mind. Others are not. The dialogue surrounding U.S. poverty and inequality, two issues that are hotter than ever during a deep recession that the nation has shown incapable of simply shaking off [...]
Charity
Poverty extends reach across St. Louis region
“This is the new poor…the ones who have had the privilege of contributing to agencies like ours and are now coming in because of need,” said St. Louis, Mo., food bank manager Joan Robinson. Increasingly, aid organizations in the area have seen a sharp rise in demand for services even as their government subsidies... »
D.C. area charities struggle to stay afloat
Nearly half of all local charities in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia ran a deficit last year, after trying to meet the increased need of those hit hard by the recession. Now, many of these organizations may not make it through the economic downturn. They have tried to stay afloat by reducing, freezing, or... »
Cyclists cross country to raise poverty awareness
A group of cyclists are pedaling across the country under the leadership of the Rev. Matthew Ruhl, a Jesuit priest from Kansas City, Mo., to raise awareness about poverty in the U.S. The campaign, entitled “Cycling for Change,” seeks to unite faith-based organizations, businesses, and lawmakers to reduce homelessness. Twelve permanent cyclists and various... »
Ohio food pantry expands outreach
Even as the economy slowly picks back up, Charles Bell is seeing an increasing number of families walk into Compassion First Food Pantry. The outreach program, started three years ago by Bell in collaboration with the Chesapeake Church of the Nazarene in Chesapeake, Ohio, has had to significantly expand its facility size to accommodate... »
Misleading charity investigated by Nashville news station
A Nashville, Tenn., news station went undercover to investigate the Veterans Support Organization, a charity gathering money for needy veterans in the state. Men standing outside local stores dressed in fatigues solicit donations from shoppers. The reporters found that although the men say they are volunteers and veterans, the head of the VSO’s Tennessee... »