Delivering food, shelter, and hope to the poorest of the poor
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Cross Catholic Blog
- January 26, 2011
Reflecting on 10 Years of Serving the Poor
Cross International Catholic Outreach was founded in 2001 with a staff of three sharing one donated office space. Today the organization has more than 100 employees, and has served the poor in more than 30 countries through more than $1 billion in donations over the last decade. Approaching our 10th anniversary, co-founder and President Jim Cavnar wondered…why have we enjoyed such success? Why have we been able to experience such growth?
Jim thought back to one of the first overseas ministries he visited on behalf of Cross Catholic—St. Catherine’s Academy in Belize. Little did Jim know, the foundation that had sponsored the school’s scholarship program for poor students had just pulled their funding after 20 years. This prep school had such an excellent reputation that its graduates were sought out by the nation’s best employers. A diploma from this school was quite literally a scholarship student’s ticket out of poverty.
Cross International recently celebrated our 10 year anniversary!
That morning the principal and her assistant had knelt down and earnestly prayed for God to provide scholarship funds—and to please answer before 5pm. That’s when she was scheduled to meet with the parents to tell them their children no longer had scholarships.
Well, Jim arrived at the school around noon. When he learned of their need, he made a call to the office and found out a record-breaking amount of donations had come in just that morning — in the exact amount needed for scholarships. He was able to fund the program on behalf of Cross Catholic—before 5 pm!
The more Jim thought back on the last 10 years, the more accounts like this came to mind. And so did the answer to the question why we have enjoyed so much success: Because people are praying for help. God answers their prayers and uses anyone willing to help, including Cross International Catholic Outreach.
