On July 24, the Lay Mission-Helpers will celebrate five decades of serving the world's poor, 50 years of following the biblical mandate inscribed on their rings: "For we are God's helpers."

The Los Angeles-based humanitarian organization is the oldest U.S. program sending Catholic lay-people from every corner of the U.S. to serve in mission fields. More than 700 Lay Mission-Helpers have worked in 36 countries throughout Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Pacific for a combined total of more than 2,000 years.

Msgr. Anthony Brouwers founded the Lay Mission-Helpers in 1955 because of the great need for teachers, technicians, healthcare workers, and skilled laborers who would also be Christian witnesses. Half a century later world hunger, poverty, disease and despair are still epidemic. The gap between rich and poor nations, in fact, grows every year. Missionary outreach is needed now more than ever.

To that end, volunteers are sharing their skills, talents and living their faith in Cameroon, Guatemala, Uganda, Zimbabwe and the Marshall Islands. Lay Mission-Helpers are Catholic lay people --- single men and women, married couples and families --- who walk in solidarity with the poor, sharing their gifts, living their faith and learning from one another.

The Lay Mission-Helpers Association provides training, including a four-month live-in formation program, and support for lay missionaries who serve three years in mission dioceses around the world. More on their work and volunteer program can be found on the Lay Mission-Helper website at www.laymissionhelpers.org or by calling (213) 368-1873.