Faithful Citizens FAQ

What is Faithful Citizens?
For whom do you advocate?
How can I join?
On what issues do you focus?
How does the alert system work?
What’s the history of Faithful Citizens?
Can I really make a difference?
Who are my Maryland elected officials?

What is Faithful Citizens?

Faithful Citizens (fomerly Legislative Education Group — L.E.G.) is the advocacy network of Catholic Charities. As a Faithful Citizens member, you volunteer to contact your elected officials on issues of concern for Maryland’s most vulnerable citizens.

By joining Faithful Citizens you amplify the voice of those who are poor, of vulnerable seniors, children and families, and of people living with developmental disabilities. Since legislators may see up to 3,000 bills during the session, when you draw attention to key bills, it does matter!

For more information about your elected officials, click here.

For whom do you advocate?

Faithful Citizens advocates for the people Catholic Charities serves. Catholic Charities has the daily privilege, in over 80 programs, to meet and serve people who living in or near poverty, families and children at risk, people living with disabilities, and the aging population. Our service to others gives us the unique advantage of seeing first-hand the challenges people face. As a result, we can target our advocacy efforts towards policies and laws that can truly create positive change.

For background on the Maryland populations served by Catholic Charities, click here to see our Factsheets.

How can I join?

Join Faithful Citizens and add your voice to the hundreds of other citizens concerned about Maryland’s most vulnerable populations. When joining Faithful Citizens you are signing up to receive approximately five alerts during the Maryland legislative session and a limited number at other times as your advocacy efforts are needed.

To join, please complete this form or call 410.261.6782. We welcome you to our network of advocates !

On what issues do you focus?

We focus on issues that impact the lives of those we serve at Catholic Charities, primarily at the state level with occasional federal advocacy efforts. Examples of recent issues are in our 2010 Legislative Wrap Up.

How does the alert system work?

Faithful Citizens members are emailed an alert and asked to visit a website, where they are briefed on the issue and provided with a sample letter. Members provide their mailing address and are given the opportunity to customize the letter. The letter is than emailed to targeted legislators based on the member's address.

In addition to emailing the members of Faithful Citizens, we also post alerts on the Catholic Charities' homepage and on its Facebook and Twitter feeds. 

What’s the history of Faithful Citizens?

Originally named the Legislative Education Group (L.E.G.), Catholic Charities has maintained an advocacy network for over 30 years. Members have successfully weighed in on a wide rage of issues including:

• increasing funding for respite care programs for caregivers of children with disabilities in the early 1980's.
• measures to protect children from lead paint poisoning in the mid-1980's.
• the creation of the Rental Assistance Program in 1986 which still assists Marylanders today.
• supporting legislation to help prevent homelessness in 1993.
• the allocation of state funds for Head Start programs in 1999.
• the passage of prescription drug relief measures for seniors in 2001.
• raising the workforce standards and required certification for people who provide daily, direct care to children in residential child care programs, or "group homes" in 2008. 

Recent legislative wrap-ups are available to download here.

In the beginning, alerts were mailed to members who were asked to either write or call their legislators. As technologies developed, members began to fax their legislators before moving onto email. Now, our advocacy center is completely electronic.

Can I really make a difference?

Absolutely. Political change does take time, but when your voice is added to the many other voices on issues that affect our communities, you can influence the process and make a difference.

The emails sent by members of Faithful Citizens support our direct lobbying efforts in Annapolis. The combination of hearing from our Social Concerns staff in Annapolis and also receiving emails from constituents in their district can be very persuasive. Legislators often reference the emails they have received when speaking with Social Concerns staff.

Who are my elected officials?

To find your elected officials, click here.