Social Justice Resources for Youth Ministry

This activity course, for ages 14-22, was designed by staff at the Catholic Campaign for Human Development and Catholic Relief Services. The activity will help young people to experience six of the major themes of Catholic social teaching. An excellent resource for college students, teachers, youth ministers, and religious educators.
Available PDF document only.

An on-line (printable) prayer resource that highlights some of the social justice teachings of the Catechism of the Catholic Church in the context of the six principles of Catholic social tradition (can be used in parishes and schools along with meetings, lessons, etc…)

These resources and activities provide ways to incorporate justice education, including Scripture and Catholic Social Teaching, with your existing curriculum.

Divine chocolate is one of the world's best-tasting brands of chocolate and it is also the world's first farmer-owned Fair Trade chocolate company! Great chocolate for you; economic justice for cocoa farmers overseas. You can participate in the CRS Fair Trade Chocolate Program by purchasing Divine Fair Trade chocolate for yourself, giving it as a gift, selling it as an ethical fundraiser, and encouraging store managers in your community to carry it wherever chocolate is sold.

Catholic Relief Services works overseas to provide assistance to struggling low-income coffee farmers. Here in the United States, CRS supports those farmers by promoting Fair Trade, an alternative system of international trade that is rooted in the principles of human dignity, economic justice, and global solidarity. So when you purchase Fair Trade coffee, you are not just buying great coffee, you are helping to build a better world one cup at a time!

Food Fast is a hunger awareness program for youth in grades 8-12. What sets it apart from other hunger programs is that it raises awareness on the issues of global poverty and hunger through Catholic Social Teaching. Food Fast also just released Journey Against Hunger, a DVD that highlights how the people of Niger are involved in long term action to ensure food security in their community.

CRS Education: Going Global with Youth is a gateway to lesson plans, simulation activities, prayer services, stories, web links and opportunities that looks at global issues through the lens of Catholic Social Teaching.

A 9-month experiential process that brings adults and Catholic teenagers into small communities to experiment with living the Gospel message and the practical implications of Catholic social teaching. Key to this process are the relationships that are created within the J-Walking community and those encountered "across the street" at the margins. Through prayer, retreats, dialogue and encounters, young J-Walkers are invited to broaden the circle of their awareness, exposing them to the compassionate spirit of Gospel justice, while older J-Walking companions deepen and share their passion for God's Reign.

Through Operation Rice Bowl, we are invited to reach out to assist our brothers and sisters around the world through traditional Lenten practices, by offering our prayers, by fasting, by learning, and by giving.

This CRS Solidarity with Africa web page includes an Africa Retreat, a School-Wide program and a one-week curriculum for high schools and youth group—Africa and HIV/AIDS.

The Souper Bowl of Caring is a youth-led, grassroots movement of caring, the result of thousands of young people joining together to fight hunger and poverty in their communities. Since 1993, over $28 million has been raised for charities across the country. The NFCYM supports and contributes to the development of Souper Bowl of Caring through participation on the Souper Bowl of Caring's Board of Directors. Learn more by going to the Center for Ministry Development's page on Souper Bowl of Caring …

Through the Work of Human Hands program you get high quality, fairly traded handcrafts and gourmet food items from low-income producers all over the world. The people who produce them earn a fair price, get access to credit and training, and maintain long-term relationships with CRS partner, A Greater Gift, rooted in the principles of human dignity and economic justice. Parishes and schools are invited to hold a Work of Human Hands sale. Crafts are ordered on consignment. By building an educational component around themes of economic justice, you help ensure that people all over the world have the productive resources to earn a decent living and be dignified members of the community.