Christian Appalachian Project

Summary

Christian Appalachian Project ("CAP") is an interdenominational Christian organization. The purpose of the Christian Appalachian Project is to promote the Good News of Jesus Christ by its programs and Christian witness. The organization's work is aimed at the people living in the Appalachian areas at different levels of poverty...promoting their independence and dignity. CAP serves all people without discrimination. CAP serves Appalachians in need with programs, which attempt to cut the roots of poverty while promoting the independence and dignity of Appalachians.

This organization is a non-profit and donations to it are tax deductible.

Contact Information: [ Back to top ]

Organization Details [ Back to top ]

Purpose [ Back to top ]

Christian Appalachian Project ("CAP") is an interdenominational Christian organization. The purpose of the Christian Appalachian Project is to promote the Good News of Jesus Christ by its programs and Christian witness. The organization's work is aimed at the people living in the Appalachian areas at different levels of poverty...promoting their independence and dignity. CAP serves all people without discrimination. CAP serves Appalachians in need with programs, which attempt to cut the roots of poverty while promoting the independence and dignity of Appalachians.

The preservation of the family structure is very important to CAP. Therefore, CAP provides the following programs:

ABUSE CENTERS: These shelters provide physical and emotional support services and a refuge for abused spouses and their children.
FAMILY SERVICES: Serving adults and whole families. Including counseling, educational opportunities, life management training, social skills and job development.
FAMILY LIFE COUNSELING: Providing support services to aid families to work through and overcome their difficulties through professional consultation.

Founded in 1964 by Father Ralph W. Beiting, a Roman Catholic priest born and raised in northern Kentucky, Christian Appalachian Project "CAP" has some 75 programs that yearly serve the needs of 500,000 people in eastern Kentucky and the 13 Appalachian states.

This organization is a non-profit and donations to it are tax deductible.

Mission Statement [ Back to top ]

Christian Appalachian Project expresses its mission as follows:

The Christian Appalachian Project is an interdenominational, non-profit Christian organization committed to serving people in need in Appalachia by providing physical, spiritual and emotional support through a wide variety of programs and services.

Guiding Principles

I. To promote the dignity and self-worth of individuals by promoting self-help.
II. To practice and encourage good stewardship of and accountability for all of the resources entrusted to us.
III. To foster individual growth among staff, volunteers, donors and program participants.
IV. To live out and promote the Gospel through all of our actions.
V. To foster open, honest and effective communication both inside and outside the organization.
VI. To involve the Appalachian people at all social and economic levels in developing solution to poverty.

Program Accomplishments [ Back to top ]

Christian Appalachian Project uses the following to express its accomplishments:

More than 1.62 million participants received goods and/or services from Operation Sharing, whose in-kind donations totaled more than $59 million.

Prescription Assistance provided $2.5 million in savings to elderly participants on necessary, non-narcotic medications.

The Berea Attic provided clothing and other essential household items to nearly 4,500 low-income individuals, with program services totaling 26,627.

The Elderly Program services 13 Appalachian counties and provides monthly (often semi-monthly) home visits to 2,651 participants.

CAP operates nearly 75 programs, including spouse abuse centers, child development centers, home repair, summer camps, counseling services, respite care, youth and teen centers, emergency assistance, adult education (including literacy training and GED study), education for parents of children with disabilities, community education advocacy, services to elderly people, a gardening program, and a Christmas basket program. CAP programs yearly serve the needs of 500,000 people in eastern Kentucky and the 13 Appalachian states.

CAP employs about 250 people full-time and utilize between 80 and 100 long-term volunteers and more than 900 short-term. Over 300 College students annually attend CAP's alternative spring break program, know as WorkFest.

Statement of Faith [ Back to top ]

This organization has not provided a Statement of Faith. At such time that MinistryWatch receives this information it will be posted immediately.

History [ Back to top ]

Father Ralph W. Beiting, a Roman Catholic priest born and raised in northern Kentucky began dreaming of helping the people of Appalachia help themselves out of poverty in 1946. As a seminarian, Father Beiting accompanied several priests as they went out to preach in the mountains of eastern Kentucky. The oldest of eleven children who grew up during the Great Depression, Father Beiting was no stranger to need, but the soul-shattering poverty he observed that summer planted the seeds of a vision that eventually became the Christian Appalachian Project.

While working as an assistant pastor and teacher in northern Kentucky, he met with Bishop William Mulloy who told him he had been selected to pastor a large portion of east central Kentucky. He was elated: "On October 7, 1950, I found myself in Appalachia, pastor of a non-existent church in a parish the size of the state of Rhode Island. I thought to myself, 'This has got to be some mistake.' If it was, it was the happiest mistake of my life."

Discovering far more physical needs than he could alleviate by himself, Father Beiting and his associate pastor, Father Herman Kamlage, pooled their small stipends and bought land on Herrington Lake in Garrard County, Kentucky, to start a summer camp for boys. Named Cliffview Lodge, it was incorporated independently from the Catholic Diocese of Covington. Cliffview offered recreation and fellowship in a Christian atmosphere to boys from poor families in the counties where Father Beiting ministered.

By 1964 Father Beiting had named his fledgling organization the Christian Appalachian Project, saying "We would be a group that would roll up our sleeves and get the job done."

And they've been working ever since. In the years since Father Beiting founded the Christian Appalachian Project, some 75 programs have emerged to serve the needs of 50,000 people in eastern Kentucky. Community development programs which touch over 500,000 people per year are located throughout the 13 Appalachian states as well as a few bordering states.

Ministry Needs [ Back to top ]

Christian Appalachian Project uses the following to express its ministry needs:

Your gifts do so much to help those in need in Appalachia. We invite you to become a member of Angels of Appalachia, a special group of donors who have committed to monthly, quarterly or yearly gifts to the Christian Appalachian Project.

Angels help support the following CAP Programs:

• Housing
• School Readiness
• Adult Education
• Spouse Abuse Shelters
• Emergency Assistance
• Child & Family Development Centers
• Elderly Services

• The satisfaction and assurance that you are helping to restore faith within the eyes and hearts of those we serve.
• You are helping to restore newfound hope that a better life is a reality.
• You’ll receive our CAP newsletter, Highlights, four times a year.
• Your name will be inscribed on the Angels of Appalachia Honor Roll located in our facility in Lancaster.
• An Angel Pin as a small token or our appreciation.

Research Analysis

Transparency Grade [ Back to top ]

MinistryWatch.com 5 Star Financial Efficiency Ratings [ Back to top ]

Ranking Category	Rating	Overall Rank	Community Development Sector
Overall Efficiency Rating		115 of 348	6 of 26
Fund Acquisition Decision		115 of 348	6 of 26
Resource Allocation Decision		of 348	17 of 26
Asset Utilization Decision		of 348	17 of 26