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On a sweltering August morning, Matthew Walinsky leaves the sanctuary of the AIDS hospice at St. Wenceslaus, Baltimore, where he resides, to volunteer around the corner at the Missionaries of Charity summer Bible camp. Though he appears robust, the 50-year-old former altar boy from St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Pasadena, suffers from a host of AIDS-related health problems that make the vigorous unpaid volunteer sessions a taxing labor of love. “The sisters have been so good to me and have set such a great example of the amount of work we can all do if we have the will, that I’m more than happy to help out,” said Mr. Walinsky, referring to the six Missionaries of Charity who run several free programs in the community.

NYALA, Sudan – An ecumenical relief organization working in Sudan’s Darfur region is hoping to undercut violence by educating displaced people about human rights and peace. For instance, the organization – Darfur Emergency Response Operation – has helped displaced women build more efficient cooking stoves, lessening the number of trips they have to make out of the camps to forage for firewood – journeys that often result in rape by Arab militia members. After police failed to respond to the women’s complaints about rape, the ecumenical organization began educating women about their rights, while training local paralegal committees to accompany the women when they go to the police to report the assaults.

Sitting on a booster seat in the Signatures hair salon in Annapolis, 4-year-old Caitlin Guenther watched herself stoically in the mirror as Patti Linkins gathered the girl’s lush, long locks into a pony tail and raised a pair of scissors. In a series of assertive snips, the hair stylist clipped 10-inches off the brunette’s soft hair – gently raising the freed pony tail like a trophy Aug. 8. At the sight of her missing hair, Caitlin let down her guard and shed a few tears while her older sister held her hand and family members and other onlookers applauded and snapped photos. After a few minutes and some hugs from Julie Guenther, her mother, Caitlin was all smiles. Swaying back and forth while Mrs. Guenther sang “I Feel Pretty,” Caitlin twirled her clipped hair between her fingers.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Knights of Columbus will continue to fight politically on issues important to the Catholic Church, such as abortion, marriage and embryonic stem-cell research, pledged Supreme Knight Carl Anderson. “One of our most important traditions throughout our 125-year history is that we do not, as an organization, become involved in partisan politics,” Anderson said in giving his annual report on the first day of the fraternal order’s Aug. 7-9 national convention at Opryland Hotel in Nashville.