USCCB - (Office of Media Relations) - Faith-Motivated Service Topic of New TV Spots from U.S. Bishops' Catholic Communication Campaign

Faith-Motivated Service Topic of New TV Spots from U.S. Bishops' Catholic Communication Campaign

WASHINGTON (May 21, 2004) -- How faith motivates Catholics to serve others will be explored in a series of lively TV spots to be launched this month by the U.S. Bishops' Catholic Communication Campaign (CCC).

With the theme "It All Starts With Faith," the TV spot campaign examines how faith inspires individual Catholics to meet local needs through a series of TV messages and a companion website: www.startswithfath.org.

Speaking in their own words, each featured person explains what they do, why it is important, and what motivates them to serve others. Filmed by New York City-based Digital Shooters, the documentary style spots capture snapshots of both rural and urban America. The campaign puts flesh on the statistics on service highlighted in the Catholic Information Project, www.usccb.org/comm.cip.htm, released by the USCCB last year.

"This public awareness campaign focuses on the individuals' own perspectives on how their faith has shaped their choice to serve others," says Pat Ryan Garcia, CCC Director of Distribution. "There are 65 million Catholics in the United States, and this campaign features some of the many examples of those who are truly living the Gospel and who can inspire all people of faith to reach out to their neighbors."

The "It All Starts With Faith" campaign profiles:

A Snohomish, Washington woman helping and visiting the elderly;
A Jesuit priest who helped develop a unique work-study program to bring quality education to Chicago inner-city teens;
A religious sister in Baltimore who provides a home for neglected and abused teenage girls;
A Houston couple who provide food, clothing and shelter to the needy in their community;
A doctor and a registered nurse who are also religious sisters and operate a clinic in an underserved immigrant community outside El Paso, Texas;
Two young women from Overland Park, Kansas and Woodbridge, Virginia, who are teaching in underprivileged Catholic schools in Ft. Worth and Dallas, Texas, as part of a nationwide teacher recruitment program.

The television messages are available in 30-second and 60-second versions and have been distributed to more than 1,000 broadcast and cable television outlets across the country. In addition, the website will feature longer mini-documentaries on each of the featured people, along with statistics that demonstrate the scope of good works carried out by various U.S. Catholic institutions, including health care facilities, schools and Catholic Charities.

The Catholic Communication Campaign is an activity of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops that develops media programming, public service announcements, and other resources to promote Gospel values. Donations of Catholic parishioners make possible the work of the CCC. For more information, visit www.usccb.org/ccc