Catholic Charities USA’s People of Hope Museum: Faith-Filled Stories of Neighbors Helping Neighbors will make two stops in the Diocese of Camden next month, bringing its immersive storytelling and first-person accounts of hope to South Jersey and inviting visitors to consider how they can serve neighbors in need.
The free, traveling museum will be open noon-4 p.m. Monday, June 15, and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday, June 16, at Church of the Incarnation, 240 Main St., Mantua.
It will also be at Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City during the annual Catholic Media Conference, open all day Thursday, June 18, and the morning of Friday, June 19.
The museum “is the perfect way to understand what Catholic Charities does,” said Dr. Maria Elena Hallion, executive director of Catholic Charities of South Jersey.
Housed in a retrofitted tractor-trailer, the People of Hope Museum is scheduled to make more than 150 tour stops across the United States over the next two years. Visitors can watch videos of people making an impact in their communities, witness the transformation that happens when faith is lived through service and step into a poverty simulation that offers a glimpse into life on the margins.
Visitors also will have opportunities to record their own stories of hope and service.
According to Catholic Charities USA, 47.4 million Americans experienced food insecurity in 2023, not knowing where their next meal would come from.
Dr. Hallion, who attended the museum’s inaugural stop in New York in March, said she hopes people of all ages will stop by and learn ways to combat problems such as food insecurity, which affects sisters and brothers in communities across the country.
“Friends, families – anyone who has an interest in social justice and service – will want to come,” she said.
“School students, too, can learn about those trying to live the Gospel of Matthew and Catholic social teaching, and see that work alive in the community,” she said. “There will also be opportunities to meet local staff of Catholic Charities of South Jersey and learn about their local efforts.”
For more information on Catholic Charities USA’s People of Hope Museum, and its other stops, visit peopleofhope.us.
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