An exclusive video for you from CROP

WATCH THE VIDEO Dear friend, With only a few days left in 2015, I want to share some thoughts with you about the year and give you a "sneak peek" at how you can change more lives in 2016. Please watch this brief new video, made exclusively for CWS friends like you! Gratefully, Rev. John L. McCullough President and CEO

Give the gift of fishing lessons!

To view this email as a web page, go here.

Photo: Paul Jeffrey/CWS   I am sure you know the old adage, "Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat forever." Tomorrow is Giving Tuesday, a day to give back to the causes that matter to us – and I know that fighting poverty and injustice matters to you. So while you are shopping for Cyber Monday deals on great gifts today, I am asking you to pause and consider giving the gift of "fishing lessons." You know that through CWS, you provide emergency aid to people in crisis, like the flooding in Myanmar (Burma) in October. But you also know that your support creates lasting solutions for families and whole communities plagued by poverty – solutions that are tailored to their individual needs, and that can even help them become more resilient if disaster does strike. Mark your calendar for Giving Tuesday tomorrow, and give a gift that will change lives today and far into the future! Yours in service, Rev. John L. McCullough President and CEO P.S. You don't have to wait until Giving Tuesday to change lives! Get started today if you prefer. GIVE NOW

Al Spillman receives the highest award from Church World Service for his commitment to hunger issues and programs.

On Sunday, May 31, at St. John East United Church of Christ, Al Spillman was presented with the Vanguard Award. John Dolon, former Regional Coordinator for Church World Service, could not be there for the presentation, so the Rev. Phil Hoy presented the award.

Al has been very committed to the local CROP Hunger Walk and raised $8,743.27 over the past five years. In 2014 alone, Al raised over $2,300.

Children in Crisis - CWS Response

Unaccompanied children and families need immediate assistance. CWS is asking for an additional $200,000 to provide legal services, spiritual care and other support for vulnerable children. Read the full appeal here.

Legal Services for Unaccompanied Children

CWS will deploy Spanish-speaking legal staff and volunteers to the Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, to interview children and their families and help them understand how to apply for protection. With additional support, CWS also hopes to provide pro-bono legal services throughout the U.S. where children and families are sent after initial screenings.

Spiritual Care for Unaccompanied Children and Families

CWS staff and volunteers current assist with religious services and provide support in a detention facility in Artesia, New Mexico. With additional resources, we will establish a similar presence in other detention centers, matching federally funded services with private contributions.

Showing Hospitality to Arriving Children and Families

CWS is receiving troubling reports that children and families are being dropped off after their initial screening in potentially vulnerable spaces, such as parking lots and bus stops. Funds are urgently required to meet immediate needs including food, water, clothing, diapers, medical care, housing and bus tickets for those being left without any support.

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Here's how you can help:

Donate

Make a secure, online gift using the form on this page. Your generous help will support our response to the crisis with unaccompanied children and families.

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Advocate

Call your Members of Congress and demand that they reject rollbacks to child protection law.

President Obama and some Members of Congress are proposing to weaken important legal protections for vulnerable children. This is wrong. We cannot allow thousands of children to be put at greater risk.

TAKE ACTION HERE

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Get informed

The number of unaccompanied children fleeing violence in Central America and entering the United States has grown to more than 57,000 so far in fiscal year 2014. More than 300 are reported to be crossing into the U.S. daily. This crisis requires a robust humanitarian response.

Check out these resources for more information:

• UNHCR Report on Why Children are Leaving
• Interfaith Immigration Coalition Resources on Unaccompanied Children
• The U.S. Must Ensure Protection of Unaccompanied Children and Adequate Funding for Refugee Resettlement (CWS statement)
• Do Not Undermine Legal Protection for Vulnerable Children and Families (news release)
• CWS Responds to President Obama's Announcements on Immigration (news release)

For Additional Advocacy and Congregational Involvement Resources, Click here.