Poverty

Waterfront Rescue Mission, a Christian charity with headquarters in Pensacola, Fla., and two other locations in the state as well as in and Alabama, is preparing for a major Thanksgiving dinner in what will be a continuation of a holiday tradition practiced by the institution since 1949.

The Christian organization has provided food, shelter and clothing to the homeless in the greater Pensacola area for over 60 years. The mission serves luncheons to those in need on an everyday basis, but during the holidays, employees and local volunteers serve a wedding-size banquet to the homeless and disenfranchised, the mission's representative told The Christian Post Friday.

This year also, two big holiday banquets – for Thanksgiving and Christmas – are already under preparation at three of the mission's locations, in Pensacola, Fort Walton Beach, Fla., and Mobile, Ala. more >>

One in every 15 Americans, about 6.5 percent of the population, is extremely poor, according to a study based on recent census data.

Over 20 million Americans are classified in the bottom 50 percent of the poor population. The rate of extreme poverty is the worst since the census began collecting such data 35 years ago.

Extreme poverty is classified as any individual making $5,570 or any family of four making less than $11,175 annually. more >>

Hoping to help restore an impoverished nation’s hope through a sport that many in the country love, a Florida-based ministry has launched a basketball outreach program in the Central African Republic.

With the approval of CAR’s government, OneHope is sending a team of about 15 people to teach basketball and the Gospel to the country’s school children this month.

The ministry, whose mission statement is primarily about sharing God’s love to kids, has one other task at hand on this trip – taking the first steps toward training a national basketball team in order to not only return to its past glory, but to help it qualify for the Olympics. more >>

“ONE Moms,” a group of Mom bloggers selected to visit east Africa with the ONE campaign for a week this summer, met with political leaders in the White House recently to discuss foreign aid.

The ten bloggers selected for the trip to Africa and the White House have been using their social networking skills to raise awareness about a humanitarian crisis currently taking place in the Horn of Africa, caused by war, famine and drought.

The ONE Moms selected blog at websites devoted to the concerns of mothers, such as Momsrising.org, babycenter.com and coolmompicks.com. Emily McKhann, who blogs at themotherhood.com, was one of those selected and spoke with The Christian Post about her recent trip to the White House. more >>

Floodwaters are rising disproportionately higher in poorer neighborhoods around Bangkok, sparking outrage and clashes between residents along the class divide.

Outlying areas sit under more than five feet of water, but the center city remains dry. It is protected by a series of dikes and sandbag walls, according to reports.

The makeshift floodwalls are protecting the commercial heart of the capital city. more >>

WASHINGTON – Congressmen, clergy, and others gathered at the Capitol Hill Safeway Store in Southeast Washington, D.C., to kick off the annual “Fighting Poverty With Faith” program.

The feature initiative was the “Food Stamp Challenge,” in which participants agreed to live for one week on the average stamp food allotment, which is $31.50 a week, or $1.50 a meal.

Speakers at the event, held outside on a rainy Thursday morning, included clergy from religious charities as well as some Congressmen. more >>