Poor and vulnerable people have a special place in Catholic social teaching.  A basic moral test of a society is how its most vulnerable members are faring.  This is not a new insight; it is the lesson of the parable of the Last Judgment (see Mt.25).  Our tradition calls us to put the needs of the poor and vulnerable first.  As Christians, we are called to respond to the needs of all of our brothers and sisters, but those with the greatest needs require the greatest response.
US Catholic Bishops “A Century of Social Teaching”

Grameen Foundation USA

www.grameenfoundation.org

Grameen Foundation USA (GFUSA) is a global non-profit organization that combines microfinance, new technologies, and innovation to empower the world's poorest people the tools they need to lift themselves out of poverty, providing opportunity through microfinance -- tiny loans and financial services that help "micro-entrepreneurs" reap the rewards of their own labor. Founded in 1997, GFUSA’s global network includes 52 partners in 22 countries. The network has impacted an estimated 7 million lives in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and the Middle East.

Maryknoll

www.maryknoll.org/

Since 1911, Catholics in the United States have responded to the worldwide cry of the poor by becoming Maryknoll Missioners. Today, Maryknollers help people overseas build communities of faith. Some work in war zones with refugees, others minister to the sick, the elderly, orphans or people with AIDS. Through lives of service, Maryknollers translate the gospel of love into different languages and in different cultures.

Coalition Against Trafficking in Women

www.catwinternational.org

The Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW) is a non-governmental organization that promotes women's human rights. It works internationally to combat sexual exploitation in all its forms, especially prostitution and trafficking in women and children, in particular girls.

Missionaries of Charity

www.cmswr.org/member_communities/MC.htm

The Missionaries of Charity is an international religious family founded by Mother Teresa, composed of active and contemplative branches with perpetual public vows of chastity, poverty, obedience, and wholehearted and free service to the poorest of the poor, leading each sister to the perfect love of God and neighbor and making the Church fully present in the world of today.

Little Sisters of Jesus

www.rc.net/org/littlesisters

As a contemplative community, the primary mission of the Little Sisters of Jesus is to be women of prayer.  Rather than live this out in a monastery, they seek by preference, to live among those groups that are inaccessible to other forms of Church ministry, are minorities, or whose day to day life is marked by division, racism, poverty or violence.

The Little Sisters of the Poor

www.littlesistersofthepoor.org

This is a community of religious women, members of an International Congregation, who have dedicated their lives to the service of the elderly, in 30 countries of the world on its 5 continents. They are also women who are deeply in love with the Lord and who desire to serve Him in those who have reached the final stages of their life's journey - accompanying them with love, compassion and skilled care, strengthened by the strong contemplative dimension of their life.