• Milwaukee Archbishop Dolan named chair of board at Catholic Relief Services
• CRS provides overseas aid to 100 countries
• Focused on emergency relief, economic development, peace building
• CRS fair trade initiative considered huge success

Milwaukee's Archbishop Timothy Dolan was named chairman of the board of directors for the official U.S. Catholic charity known for contributing to fair trade efforts, providing emergency relief and promoting peace in nations in conflict.

Cardinal Francis George, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, chose Dolan last month to serve in his stead as the Catholic Relief Services board chairman, said Tom Caso, spokesman for CRS president Ken Hackett.

Rob Shelledy, director of Catholic Social Action for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and the diocesan director for CRS, said Dolan "is well-known amongst the bishops in the country."

Shelledy said Dolan will do well as chairman.

"People who know Archbishop Dolan like Archbishop Dolan. He's a great priest. He's got a lot of love for the Church, and you can realize that and feel that when you're around him," he said.

Caso said the board is very active and engaged in decision-making. CRS, which operates in more than 100 countries, has an annual budget of more than $500 million.

"Being our chair, it's not a small task," he said.

The council of bishops founded CRS in 1943 to provide aid for refugees and displaced Europeans after World War II, Caso said. Over time the charity expanded its work to serve a variety of needs in many countries.

Shelledy said CRS, based in Baltimore, focuses its work on providing overseas aid in economic development, peace-building and emergency relief. Currently members of CRS are continuing relief efforts after the 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia, developing more convenient water lines in impoverished countries such as Kenya, and doing ongoing peace work in Rwanda, he said.

CRS, Shelledy said, is widely regarded as a highly efficient program, sending 94 percent of its budget directly to overseas agencies. The rest of the money goes to administrative expenses and marketing within the United States.

While Catholic Charities typically takes care of domestic charity and CRS works overseas, Shelledy said CRS tries to build awareness among U.S. Catholics about international issues and rally support for charitable efforts. CRS works with U.S. consumers to inform them of "the power of their consumption," urge them to give charitable donations and persuade public officials to respond to foreign needs.

College students, Shelledy said, may be familiar with fair trade efforts. David Funkhouser, strategic relations coordinator for Transfair USA, said the group's mission is to "expand the fair trade market in the U.S. and to benefit more farmers and workers in the developing world" and to promote and expand the fair trade model.

Jacqueline DeCarlo, senior program advisor for fair trade at CRS, said the organization has currently developed fair trade programs for three products—handcrafts, chocolate and coffee.

She said the CRS coffee program in Nicaragua is a success story and model for other fair trade programs. The program involves partnerships with coffee producers in other countries and 17 U.S. coffee roasters and wholesale bean retailers.

Fair trade, DeCarlo said, is a trading partnership between producers and responsible consumers. To foster this partnership, the CRS Fair Trade Fund, funded in part through donations from U.S. Catholics, gives $175,000 in development grants overseas to enable producers to participate in the fair trade partnership. The fund also ensures that a market for consumers and fair trade advocates can grow through U.S. market-building grants.

Fair trade is aligned with Catholic social teaching, DeCarlo said. The Catholic notion of "preferential option for the poor" corresponds with providing laborers with fair living wages so they can support their families, she said. Also, "stewardship of God's creation" can be interpreted to mean using agricultural practices that allow for environmental sustainability.