Groups that have found creative ways to act in all four key “challenge” areas—praying, learning, sharing and advocating—are invited to submit descriptions, stories and photos of their activities through our online form. Each group that accomplishes all four challenge areas will receive a star on the Solidarity Map, marking the group’s name, location, and additional details about the group’s efforts.

With each new star on the map, we’ll get a richer sense of what solidarity looks like throughout the United States as we encourage, inspire, and exhort one another to confront global poverty.

We’ll also be able to picture how our efforts connect to the work of our brothers and sisters overseas, who are striving to end poverty in their own communities.

And we’ll help others to understand that global poverty is a disease with a cure—a cure that requires both our outrage and our action.

How do I get my group on the Solidarity Map?
Your group will receive a star on the Solidarity Map after successfully completing activities in the four “challenge” areas. Below are a few ideas to help you implement your own four-point strategy to pray, learn, share, and advocate on global poverty. We look forward to putting your accomplishments on the Solidarity Map. Because you’re one in a million!

• PRAY. Incorporate issues of global poverty into regular liturgies or organize a time of communal prayer on issues of global poverty with other families, parishes, schools, or others in your community or network.
  
  Ideas: Include intercessions on confronting global poverty during weekly liturgies. Plan a Catholic, ecumenical or interfaith prayer service. Sponsor a special Mass, rosary, or Eucharistic Adoration event that lifts up people in poverty. Design a retreat in which community members reflect and pray deeply on global issues. If your community’s membership is located across a large geographical area, encourage members to pray at an agreed-upon date and time.
  
  Resources: Prayer, general intercessions, bulletin announcements
   
• LEARN. Pick one or more of the seven focus issues on the Catholics Confront Global Poverty Web site (www.usccb.org/globalpoverty or www.crs.org/globalpoverty), as well as Church teaching on global poverty, and join with others to study these concerns.
  
  Ideas: Form a study group using materials from the CCGP website to educate yourself about the issue. Surface questions, divide up research tasks and set a date to report back about what you have learned. Use the tips for religious educators to create an intergenerational learning event, where children and their parents can learn about global poverty at their own levels.
  
  Resources: Video podcasts, discussion guides, issue overviews, webcasts and webcast recordings.
   
• SHARE. Give of your time, talent, or treasure to help Catholics confront global poverty.
  
  Ideas: Organize events for a broader audience to learn how to confront global poverty, such as inviting an expert (for example, your local CRS representative, diocesan social action director, or former international volunteer) to speak at your parish or school, or including information about global poverty in your bulletin or newsletter. Help your community to give of its treasure by holding a fundraising event to support Catholic Relief Services’ programs to assist poor and vulnerable people worldwide.
  
  Resources: PowerPoints, issue overviews, video Podcasts, webcast recordings.
   
• ADVOCATE. Act to confront global poverty by advocating for policies that respect the life and dignity of those living in poverty throughout the world.
  
  Ideas: Start an e-mail network of people in your parish or school who want to act to influence legislation . Sign up for Catholics Confront Global Poverty action alerts. Use your listserv to send out action alerts and to organize advocacy efforts. Schedule a meeting with your members of Congress in their local offices during a Congressional recess to discuss pending legislation and Catholics Confront Global Poverty issues. Contact your local CRS representative to find out about your members’ positions. Write an opinion editorial about global poverty, or write an article about your group’s efforts for submission to your local secular and diocesan newspaper.
  
  Resources: Issue overviews, action alerts.