Faith communities to develop plan to aid the needy

Representatives of several valley faith communities and nonprofit organizations will gather Tuesday to take the first steps in developing a strategy to attack pressing social problems.

Also on the agenda of the event, sponsored by the Las Vegas Valley Interfaith Sponsoring Committee, is a proposed change of the organization's name.

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the ballroom of the Student Union on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway.

The Las Vegas Valley Interfaith Sponsoring Committee was created about three years ago as a means of promoting communication among faith communities and nonprofit groups throughout the valley, said the Rev. Dennis Hutson, pastor of Advent United Methodist Church.

Tuesday's gathering, the Las Vegas Valley Community Convention for the Common Good, will mark the "coming out of this organization" to the public at large, he said.

Also Tuesday, the committee's name is scheduled to be changed to "Nevadans for the Common Good," Hutson said, reflecting the organization's impending wider reach.

According to Hutson, local faith communities share "common concerns" about social problems the valley faces. However, he said, faith communities and nonprofit groups often don't have the opportunity to discuss their concerns with one another and, then, work collectively to address their concerns.

Hutson said, "I would say our purpose is to build relationships" by giving faith communities, as well as interested nonprofits, a vehicle through which they may work collectively to address such issues as the effects of foreclosures, child sex trafficking and helping the vulnerable elderly.

"So those are some of the things we will be taking a look at," Hutson said.

For more information, visit the committee's Facebook page www.facebook.com/LVVISC.