Christian Appalachian Project
Encyclopedia
The Christian Appalachian Project (CAP) 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.
CAP was started in 1964 by Father
Ralph W. Beiting
. It is headquartered in Hagerhill, Kentucky.
As the 12th largest human services charity in the United States
, The Christian Appalachian Project (CAP) served over 36,000 eastern Kentuckians
in the last fiscal year. In addition, CAP’s gift in kind program called Operation Sharing, provided assistance in all thirteen Appalachian states, reaching over 1 million people. Following its faith-based principles, CAP employs the help of generous donors, volunteers, staff and the community to provide a variety of programs that have proven successful in helping people help themselves. CAP is committed to stewardship, innovation and excellence in executing its missions and community-based services.
Operation Sharing is CAP’s farthest-reaching mission, giving away over $100 million in gift-in-kind donations to more than 1,400 partner agencies and churches in Appalachia in 2010. CAP receives donations from corporations and individuals and uses the goods to offset costs of its human services missions, to give to other charities and to give to victims of natural disasters. Through Operation Relief, a component of Operation Sharing, CAP gives millions of dollars worth of emergency supplies to those devastated by tornadoes, floods, hurricanes and other natural disasters. CAP’s disaster services also supplies teams of relief workers who assist victims with physical labor involved in recovering from disasters.
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
organization committed to serving people in need in Appalachia
Appalachia
Appalachia is a term used to describe a cultural region in the eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York state to northern Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Canada to Cheaha Mountain in the U.S...
by providing physical, spiritual and emotional support through a wide variety of programs and services.
CAP was started in 1964 by Father
Priesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
Ralph W. Beiting
Ralph W. Beiting
Father Ralph W. Beiting, founder of the Christian Appalachian Project and a Roman Catholic priest, was born and raised in northern Kentucky. He began dreaming of helping people in Appalachia help themselves out of poverty in 1946 when, as a seminarian, he accompanied several priests on preaching...
. It is headquartered in Hagerhill, Kentucky.
As the 12th largest human services charity in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, The Christian Appalachian Project (CAP) served over 36,000 eastern Kentuckians
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
in the last fiscal year. In addition, CAP’s gift in kind program called Operation Sharing, provided assistance in all thirteen Appalachian states, reaching over 1 million people. Following its faith-based principles, CAP employs the help of generous donors, volunteers, staff and the community to provide a variety of programs that have proven successful in helping people help themselves. CAP is committed to stewardship, innovation and excellence in executing its missions and community-based services.
Operation Sharing is CAP’s farthest-reaching mission, giving away over $100 million in gift-in-kind donations to more than 1,400 partner agencies and churches in Appalachia in 2010. CAP receives donations from corporations and individuals and uses the goods to offset costs of its human services missions, to give to other charities and to give to victims of natural disasters. Through Operation Relief, a component of Operation Sharing, CAP gives millions of dollars worth of emergency supplies to those devastated by tornadoes, floods, hurricanes and other natural disasters. CAP’s disaster services also supplies teams of relief workers who assist victims with physical labor involved in recovering from disasters.