Community Renewal International in Shreveport, Louisiana, has announced that it is the 2022 recipient of the Opus Prize.

One of the world’s most significant faith-based awards for social entrepreneurship, the annual $1 million prize from the Opus Prize Foundation is designed to expand the humanitarian efforts of the recipient and inspire others to pursue lives of service. This year’s other Opus Prize finalists, which each receive $100,000 prizes, are Damien House in Guayaquil, Ecuador, and the Interfaith Mediation Centre in Kaduna, Nigeria.

Founded in 1994, Community Renewal International works to restore the foundation for safe and caring communities by building intentionally caring relationships through three primary efforts: the Renewal Team, Haven House, and the Friendship House, which are used to turn neighborhoods into safe havens of friendship and support.

“This honor allows us to take the work more powerfully onto the national and international stage,” said Community Renewal International founder Mack McCarter. “We must not wish for brotherhood and sisterhood. We have to work to create brothers and sisters in our own lives right now. Creating a movement that will affect the global population starts by connecting neighbor to neighbor, neighborhood by neighborhood.”

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