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Respect Life Fund grants given

The diocese’s Respect Life Fund has given a total of $114,356 in grants to 34 organizations.

Another $14,700 was allocated to two diocesan programs — Respect Life and Natural Family Planning.

“The Respect Life Fund is made possible by generous contributions of parishioners to the diocesan Respect Life Collection taken up in January of each year,” said Michael Stone, director of the diocesan Office of Justice and Peace which administers the fund.

Applicants must be non-profit, non-partisan organizations open to public scrutiny and engaged in activities that promote the Church’s consistent ethic of life.

Of the total amount $76,256 went to programs which seek the end of abortion and help women in crisis pregnancies. Among those receiving such grants were:

• the Virginia Society for Human Life, Virginia Council of Churches Project Elizabeth, Commonwealth Catholic Charities and Crisis Pregnancy Center, all of Richmond

• Catholic Charities of Eastern Virginia, Virginia Beach

• Birthright of Norfolk

• Pregnancy Support Center, in both Petersburg and Farmville

• Pregnancy Solutions Hotline of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Newport News

• The Gift of Life of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Salem.

Programs which deal with criminal justice received $11,600 in grants. They include:

• Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, Girl Scouts of Virginia Skyline Council, both of Charlottesville

• Livin’ It Prison Project, Richmond

• Onesimus Ministries, Norfolk

• Roanoke Valley Jail Ministry Program.

Programs which seek to help people affected by domestic violence or family crisis received a total of $9,000. The programs include:

• Family Resource Center, Wytheville

• Hanover Domestic Violence Task Force, Ashland

• Mother Seton House, Virginia Beach

• St. Joseph’s Villa and Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance, both of Richmond.

Health care and AIDS-related programs received grants totaling $14,500. The programs aided are:

• Cross-Over Ministry, Gateway Homes of Greater Richmond and Transformation Retreats, all of Richmond

• Gateway/New Land Samaritan Inns of Lynchburg.

A total of $3,000 went to:

• Basilica of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Norfolk

• First Things First of Greater Richmond

• Pregnancy Support Center — Abstinence Training, Farmville.

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