In developing countries, poverty often robs children of the chance to attend school. Some families must prioritize serving a single daily meal over paying for their children’s education. Malnutrition, illness and adult responsibilities, such as caring for younger siblings, are burdens that some young boys and girls carry. Many children are fending for themselves to survive because they have no one to care for them. Education is sacrificed, leaving them trapped in a cycle of poverty with little hope of escape.
Last year, your support helped us provide grants to 44 projects in 13 countries and bless 4,519 students with scholarships so they could pursue their dreams. We also constructed 16 classrooms, provided school meals for thousands of children, funded 10 orphan center feeding programs, and blessed 135,567 children with a Box of Joy® Christmas gift.
Help give hope to the world’s most vulnerable children.
In the poorest places around the world, many boys and girls are burdened by malnutrition, frequent illnesses and adult responsibilities, such as working to provide for younger siblings. Those most vulnerable have been abandoned or orphaned, left with no one to care for them and often scrounging or begging on the streets to survive.
Impoverished children are also at greater risk of falling into the hands of people who do not have their best interests at heart, like human traffickers or street gangs. Longing for a family, children who seek belonging often find it in the wrong place and end up being exploited.
Worldwide
Project 9003
Our partners are on the front lines, providing hope to vulnerable children in developing countries through food, shelter and education. These Catholic ministries are coming alongside children and families to declare that their lives are immeasurably valuable in God’s kingdom and that their stories have been set apart to fulfill a unique purpose.
Each one of these ministries is welcoming children in the name of Jesus. When you give generously to make their works of mercy possible, you help welcome those children too!
Please give generously to bless boys and girls worldwide and restore their hope today.
We recently received a $250,000 challenge gift to inspire an outpouring of support for this project. Your gift, combined with this challenge gift, will have an even more powerful impact!
Send a Christmas gift to a child for $36.
Children are experiencing the joy of opening a gift for Christmas — some for the first time ever! Box of Joy gifts are filled with toys, clothing, school supplies, a rosary and a story about Jesus. Boys and girls like Maria (pictured here) are encountering God’s love through this ministry. An incredible 915,889 gifts have been sent to children in nine countries since Box of Joy began in 2014. Help send our millionth gift this season!
It only costs $36 to send one Box of Joy gift, and $108 will send three boxes. Help share God’s love and bring joy to a child in need — give a Box of Joy today!
Worldwide
By sending a child in a developing country a Christmas present, you are sharing God’s love. Learn more about how Box of Joy is bringing smiles to faces around the world!
Your donations are the driving force behind our mission.
Use it for reflections and notes to grow in your spiritual life. You’ll also receive a prayer request form to mail back so that we can pray for your needs. In effect, this creates a spiritual bridge to connect you to our sisters and brothers in Christ in the developing world!
Cross Mission Partners also receive a semiannual Mission Update with news, insights and information about the good work and accomplishments made possible by your support.
Every dollar helps us bless the least of our brothers and sisters throughout Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Mexico & Central America and South America.
Thank You for Your Special Commitment to Serving the Poor!
The Cross Catholic Outreach Christmas Catalog makes it fun and easy to extend the joy of Christmas to the poor. Instead of being filled with retail items, the catalog contains meaningful gifts for some of the world’s most impoverished families. Some gifts are lifesaving items such as Food, while others are large projects such as Safe Homes or Clean Water. All gifts are sent on your behalf to grateful families in developing countries.
It’s easy to shop through the Cross Catholic Outreach Christmas Catalog. Simply browse through the categories and choose an item within your budget and close to your heart, such as Box of Joy or Catholic School Scholarships for children. Select and sponsor one or more of these gifts, and you’ll make a meaningful impact on the life of a needy child or family overseas. It’s that simple!
Blessing the poor happens year-round. Some gifts in our Christmas Catalog are sourced locally, so there is no need to worry about international shipping. For items that require shipping, Cross Catholic Outreach works with partners in every country we serve to ensure Christmas Catalog gifts are delivered in a timely fashion.
Yes! Making a gift in honor of a friend or family member is a fun and easy way to share Christmas joy. Once you complete the checkout process, let them know by sending a printed certificate or e-Card.
Donations from this campaign will be used to cover any expenditures for this project incurred through June 30, 2027, the close of our ministry’s fiscal year. In the event that more funds are raised than needed to fully fund the project, the excess funds, if any, will be used to meet the most urgent needs of the ministry.