When hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, winter storms and other natural disasters strike communities across the United States, our natural urge is to reach out with the same compassion and support we’d give our next-door neighbors. The only question is “how?” Packed with sponges, cleaning supplies, trash bags, disinfectants and more, a CWS Emergency Cleanup Bucket offers essential resources for families beginning …

George McGovern was a friend to humanitarian agency Church World Service and to anyone concerned about the issue of hunger and malnutrition in the world. As the one-time United Nations Ambassador to the Hungry, Senator McGovern had always made battling hunger a top concern, even when the political winds did not favor that fight as a topical concern. But, unfortunately, …

CARAZO DEPARTMENT, Nicaragua –– As of this week’s World Food Day (October 16-18), one in eight people worldwide suffer from chronic undernourishment. But a growing crop of small grain silos in the poor rural farming communities of Nicaragua’s Carazo department are icons and testament to the fact that hunger battles are being won. The community-scaled, zinc seed bank silos, introduced …

As Americans prepare to vote and with immigration simmering as a 2012 elections issue, global humanitarian agency Church World Service (CWS) is preparing to honor both the achievements – and struggles – of immigrants to the United States. At a 7 p.m. cocktail reception October 25 at the Museum of the City of New York, CWS will present its first …

The Pamoja (Swahili for “together”) Garden for refugees in Hudsonville, Mich., has its roots in Hudsonville’s Immanuel Christian Reformed Church, a co-sponsor of refugees since 1999. “We started with five of us in a men’s Bible study,” said member Marion Vande Steeg.  “We were asked, ‘What have you personally done to help the poor and oppressed?’ and all five of …

Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and New York – Today’s World Food Day has special poignancy for a humanitarian agency committed to improving life in rural Haiti. Though commemorated every October 16 to honor the founding of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization after World War II, the day has become a more expansive event about the need to alleviate hunger and …

New York City –- In FY 2012 (Oct. 1, 2011-Sept. 30, 2012), Church World Service resettled 5,871 refugees toward a U.S. Refugee Admissions Program total of 58,238. “Those numbers represent a chance at life for some of the world’s most vulnerable people,” said Erol Kekic, Director of the CWS Immigration and Refugee Program, New York.  “We are glad to be …