Nominate a Young Leader for the 2016 Cardinal Bernardin New Leadership Award

Do you know a young Catholic leader dedicated to fighting poverty and injustice in the United States? The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) invites you to nominate individuals between the ages of 18-40 to receive the Cardinal Bernardin New Leadership Award.

The Bernardin Award is meant to:

• Recognize new and future leadership against poverty and injustice
• Promote young people as leaders in our communities
• Honor outstanding young leaders and their organizations/ parishes
• Strengthen the Catholic community’s participation in CCHD’s anti-poverty mission

In the past, the award has been given to individuals who are dedicated to fighting against injustice, fighting for immigrants, and working towards fair housing. Learn more about the award and download the nomination form here! Nominations should be submitted no later than July 31, 2016. 

Nominate a young person for the Bernadin Award

The Cardinal Bernardin New Leadership Award is given annually to a Catholic young adult between the ages of 18-40 engaged in efforts to end the root causes of poverty in the United States. The award is an excellent opportunity to recognize a deserving young Catholic from your campus community. The annual winner is recognized at the bishops’ meeting in June in St. Louis, MO, providing an important opportunity for the bishops to celebrate the work of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD).  Learn more about CCHD here.

Eligibility

The award would be given to a young Catholic, age 18-40, who demonstrates all of the following:

• leadership consistent with the work and philosophy of CCHD to address the basic causes of economic poverty,
• a commitment to carry out the church’s option for and with the poor through the empowerment of people living in poverty and relationship building between those who are poor and non-poor, and
• potential for future leadership in these arenas.

The Bernardin Award is designed to

• Recognize new and future leadership against poverty and injustice
• Promote young people as leaders in our communities
• Honor outstanding young leaders and their organizations/ parishes
• Strengthen the Catholic community’s participation in CCHD’s anti-poverty mission

We need your help identifying deserving young adults!  Please help by:

1) Nominating Catholic young adults from your diocese or organization, and

2) Getting the word out about the award to other potential nominators, including parishes, college campuses, CCHD-funded groups, your local newspapers, electronic newsletters, and your diocesan young adult ministry office.

The nomination form is downloadable on the website.

Nominations are due by March 15.