Dear colleague in ministry,

Each year Catholic Charities USA offers the Applied Institute for Disaster Excellence (AIDE) conference to explore disaster response and recovery best practices. Click here to register and for complete details. 

This year AIDE will be held virtually from December 1-3, and will have a particular focus on the pandemic and the systematic racism that has led to widespread community unrest.

Given your responsibility for parish engagement, I wish to draw your attention to one workshop in particular, which will be offered twice on December 2:

Engaging Parishes: Catholic Disaster Preparedness Program

Active concern for people in need is an integral part of the teachings of the Church and parishes and ministry groups are often looking for ways to bring that to life for their parishioners.  Additionally, parishes have an array of resources and are often interested, but unsure how to engage with Catholic Charities agencies before, during and after a disaster strikes a local community.  This webinar will explore the relationship between Catholic Charities and local churches and how to provide meaningful opportunities for parishes to live out their Gospel mandate. 

• After this webinar, participants will:
• Explore the challenges and opportunities for parish engagement.
• Be familiar with the four parts of the Catholic Disaster Preparedness Program and how to access the links.
• Understand how to provide CDPP training in their Diocese.

Please share this opportunity with your ministry networks.