Camden, N.J., Feb. 21, 2007 – Catholic Charities, Diocese of Camden announces its 2007 Justice for ALL winners, according to Kevin Hickey, executive director of Catholic Charities, Diocese of Camden.
The prestigious social and community awards were created in 2004 to recognize the achievements of those who have actively and diligently pursued social justice throughout the six counties of the Camden Diocese which stretch from Cape May to Camden, Atlantic City to the Delaware Memorial Bridge and all of the many communities in between. The Justice for ALL 2007 awardees are: Jack P. Callahan, a long-term resident of Cherry Hill, N.J., is awarded the Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio Award for Leadership, in recognition for his outstanding work as a leader in the Christian community, including countless decades of volunteer work and service to various charitable organizations.
Throughout his life of volunteer service, Callahan was instrumental in bringing the first ecumenical prison ministry in Cumberland County known as Kairos, which has held programs in all New Jersey prisons for the past 25 years. An active member of N.J. Justice Fellowship Task Force since the early 1990s and its chair since 1995, this non-profit organization examined issues of justice in the judicial and correctional systems. Callahan helped launch New Jerseyans for a Death Penalty Moratorium, which he currently serves in an advisory capacity.
Additionally, Callahan serves as co-chairman for New Jersey for the National Prayer Breakfast held annually in Washington, D.C. Callahan is an accomplished business professional and leader with the State of New Jersey, as a business consultant and a leader in business education in our community. He holds a Bachelors of Arts from LaSalle University and has pursued graduate studies. He has taught as an adjunct professor of Rutgers University Graduate School and has guest lectured at other prestigious universities. New Jerseyans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (NJADP) is honored with the Peter J. O’Connor Award for Social Justice, in honor of their dedication and tireless work to abolish the death penalty in the State of New Jersey. NJADP staff and leadership committees represent a broad spectrum of New Jersey citizens and groups working together to end capital punishment in our state Since its inception in 1999, this group has engaged in a grassroots public education campaign which has turned the tide of popular opinion on the death penalty, setting the stage for legislation now pending which will change the death penalty to life without parole in New Jersey..
Learn more about this group’s ongoing social justice efforts at: http://www.njadp.org/ Vincent Guest, Esq., of Brigantine, N.J., is honored with the Sister Grace Nolan Award for Social Ministry. Guest is recognized for his tireless efforts to assist those in need of legal counsel and assistance in the greater Camden Diocese through his charitable works at the Camden Center for Law and Social Justice, Inc. or CCLSJ, a faith-based public interest law center serving the immigrant community and working poor.
Guest’s work at CCLSJ was instrumental in helping more than 5,000 legal cases on an annual basis—making this the largest provider of legal services to the immigrant community in all of Southern New Jersey. Under Guest’s leadership, he helped the law center expand its service from Camden to Atlantic City, assisting the ever-increasing immigration population in Atlantic County. Additionally, Guest launched the Camden County Domestic Violence Project, offering legal services to all victims of domestic violence throughout the county. Currently, Guest is an attorney and an Associate Director of Government Liaison for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, D.C.
Guest has been practicing law for nine years. Along with his work with CCLSJ, Guest was also an associate at the law firm of Wright, Young & McGilvery in Blue Bell, Pa. He holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary of Wynnewood, Pa., Master’s Degree in Government Administration from Temple University and was awarded his Juris Doctorate from Temple University School of Law. Guest is an active member of the N.J. Bar Association, the American Immigration Lawyers Association and St. Thomas More Society.
Covenant House New Jersey (Atlantic City) is receiving the Monsignor Michael Doyle and Monsignor Robert McDermott Award for Parish Social Ministry in recognition for outstanding service to the community and helping young people in their time of need. Covenant House New Jersey (Atlantic City) is instrumental in getting children and young adults off the tough streets of the inner city and into school and job training, with a plan for their future. Additionally, Covenant House New Jersey is the largest provider in the state of services to homeless and at-risk adolescents between the ages of 16 and 21.
In 2006, they provided services to more than 370 youth. Learn more about the organization, go to: www.covenanthouse.org/aboutˍmission.html
“We are absolutely delighted to honor these exemplary individuals and groups for their outstanding contributions to communities in which our diocese serves—and beyond,” says Hickey. “The stories of each of our honorees are inspiring and we hope contagious – the Justice for ALL Annual Awards Dinner embodies the spirit of community that enables our society to grow and flourish during great times of change and challenge.”
The awards for leadership, parish/community ministry, social ministry and social justice will be presented at the fourth annual Justice for ALL Awards Dinner and ceremony on Thursday, April 19, 2006, at the Adelphia Grand Ballroom located at 1750 Clements Road in Deptford, N.J, a location central to all six southern counties served by Catholic Charities.
All proceeds from this affair will be used to provide direct assistance to clients located in all six southern counties that the diocese services. From the 2006 Justice for ALL Awards Dinner proceeds, Catholic Charities raised more than $104,000 which, in turn, allowed the agency to provide direct emergency services to more than 1,300 families in the six southern counties of the diocese.
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High resolution photographs of the honorees are available for download at: www.CatholicCharitiesCamden.org.
For more information on attending the dinner and sponsorship/ad book opportunities, please contact Heather Oliver at 856.342.4117. Catholic Charities is a faith-based agency whose offices, located in all six Southern New Jersey counties, offer assistance to the poor, oppressed and vulnerable, without regard to race, religion or financial ability. Much of the work of this organization comes through generous donations of nearly 100 volunteers who serve in various roles or offer assistance by donating their time, talent or treasure as part of the Diocesan Campaign.
Services include: case management and emergency financial assistance to needy individuals and families; behavioral health counseling and treatment; school-based counseling and family support; disaster relief; training for unemployed individuals to enter for the workforce and entrepreneurial ventures; warehouse and thrift shops for low-income families; pregnancy and adoption services; refugee resettlement, and counseling and other support to individuals and families affected by HIV/AIDS.
Additionally, comprehensive prenatal and gynecological healthcare; medical practice management for services to uninsured and underinsured patients, and ministry to incarcerated men and women and their families, as well as training for clergy and lay prison ministry volunteers. Learn more online: www.CatholicCharitiesCamden.org