Catholic Relief Services Launches Initiative to Engage U.S. Hispanics: Spanish-Language Website to Anchor Outreach Efforts to Country's Fastest Growing Demographic

[Harold Schiffman]

Catholic Relief Services Launches Initiative to Engage U.S. Hispanics

Spanish-Language Website to Anchor Outreach Efforts to Country's
Fastest Growing Demographic



BALTIMORE, July 10 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ -- Catholic Relief
Services (CRS), the official international humanitarian agency of the
U.S. Catholic community, today announced the launch of its new
initiative designed to reach out and engage U.S. Hispanics in a
tangible way through donations, public policy advocacy and global
solidarity. The initiative will be spearheaded by the newly unveiled
CRS Spanish-language website ( http://www.crsespanol.org ) developed
specifically to expand the agency's outreach and enable it to more
effectively interact with U.S. Hispanics. As part of this
comprehensive strategy to engage U.S. Hispanics, CRS will also roll
out Spanish-language public service announcements for TV, radio and
internet sites across the country, direct mail campaigns, and print
ads. Additionally, CRS has hired internal marketing and public
relations advisors specifically tasked with improving the agency's
communications efforts to U.S. Hispanics.

"The new website will allow U.S. Hispanics to learn more about CRS'
work in their home countries and how they can help our efforts to
empower citizens on a local level around the world," stated Lydia M.
Dibos, Senior Advisor for Hispanic Outreach for CRS. "For decades
Catholic Relief Services has been running on-the-ground long term
development projects throughout Latin America and the rest of the
world, while also carrying out major emergency relief efforts after
natural disasters such as Hurricanes Mitch and Stan."

The new website will allow U.S. Hispanics to learn more about CRS'
work in their home countries and how they can help our efforts to
empower citizens on a local level around the world


Online and en espanol

CRS' Spanish-language site contains informative articles on the
agency's outreach initiatives in Latin America and across the globe,
such as its efforts to help Mexican apple growers earn a living wage,
assisting women owned coffee cooperatives in Nicaragua and the 2007
CRS support to flood victims in Tabasco, Mexico, the Dominican
Republic and Haiti.

The site also lists activities that people can participate in from the
United States to make a difference in the lives of others, such as the
CRS Fair Trade network to ensure fair wages for disadvantaged farmers,
workers and artisans as well as the recent Hispanic Food Fast, that
saw Hispanics from several Catholic parishes around the country fast
for a day to empathize with the plight of the undernourished in Latin
America.

Many of CRS' robust overseas programs will also be showcased on the
site, including the following sectors: Emergency Response,
Agriculture, Health, HIV and AIDS, Education, Microfinance, Peace
Building and Public Policy advocacy.

Hispanic Snapshot

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that as of July 1, 2007, the nation's
Hispanic population had reached 45.5 million, representing 15.1
percent of the total U.S. population of 301.6 million. Hispanics are
also the fastest-growing ethnic group, increasing in size at a rate of
3.3 percent year-to-year and currently comprise 39% of the U.S.
Catholic Church. As the U.S. Hispanic population grows, the number of
Spanish-language and bi-lingual speakers remains constant. U.S.
Hispanic purchasing power is also forecast to grow from 897 billion to
1.3 trillion by 2015.

http://www.hispanicprwire.com/news.php?l=in&id=11913&cha=15


-- 
**************************************
N.b.: Listing on the lgpolicy-list is merely intended as a service to
its members
and implies neither approval, confirmation nor agreement by the owner
or sponsor of
the list as to the veracity of a message's contents. Members who
disagree with a
message are encouraged to post a rebuttal. (H. Schiffman, Moderator)
*******************************************