Catholic Charities USA was founded in 1910 to be the “attorney for the poor.”  Their members—more than 1,700 local agencies and institutions nationwide—provide help and create hope for more than 7.8 million people of all faiths and social and economic backgrounds. The organization is well known for its extraordinary devotion not only to addressing the overarching issue of poverty in America but to working at the grassroots level to help the families and individuals who suffer the effects of being poor.  Catholic Charities U.S.A. is both a major partner and a major funder for “In Our Own Backyard” Together we have committed to producing nine regional poverty events across the United States in 2009 and 2010.

 The Center for American Progress last year convened  a diverse group of national experts and leaders to  examine the causes and consequences of poverty in America and make recommendations for national action. In this report, their Task Force on Poverty calls for a national goal of cutting poverty in half in the next ten years and proposes a strategy to reach the goal. CAP plans to integrate our visuals into that campaign, saying that they “believe collaborating with “In Our Own Backyard” will bring significant value to both efforts.”

The Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity is a non-partisan academic research center founded in 2005 by the University of North Carolina, the UNC School of Law and Senator John Edwards, who served as the Center’s first director. The Center fosters interdisciplinary research and raises awareness of poverty-related issues in the United States. Through its relationship with the Center, “In Our Own Backyard” has access to the many resources of a large, prestigious university and to significant opportunities for outreach in the areas of journalism, social work, sociology, public policy, government and education.

Founded and curated by award-winning photographer and former Life Magazine contributor Andy Levin, 100 Eyes is an online magazine that features in-depth photojournalism documenting social justice issues. Each story begins with a personal essay from Levin who introduces the theme, the invited photographers and their work. The pictures are beautiful and affecting, all the more so because individual slide shows are accompanied by the photographers’ thoughts and their experiences regarding their work.