Planting Hope, Growing Lives: St. Joseph’s Breaks Ground on New
Center for the Poor, Homeless
By Suzanne
Thompson
St. Joseph Center’s
mission is to provide working poor families, as well as homeless men, women and
children of all ages, with the inner resources and tools to become productive,
stable and self-supporting members of the community.
On the eve of its 30th anniversary, St.
Joseph Center is getting ready to build a new main service center at its 204
Hampton Drive site. Scheduled for completion towards the latter half of 2007, it
will meet the needs of 3000 working poor individuals and offer such services as
affordable childcare, job training and free
groceries.
The founders, Sister Marilyn
Therese Rudy and Sister Louise Bernstein, were joined by Executive Director
Rhonda Meister, Capital Campaign Committee Co-Chairs Steven Hilton and Joan
Payden, board members, elected officials and members of the community on
Wednesday, March 22nd for the Center’s ground breaking
ceremony.
Congratulatory remarks were
made before a crowd of over 100 people by Robert Holbrook Mayor of Santa Monica,
Vincent Jones from Senator Barbara Boxer’s office, Flora Gil Krisiloff
from the office of Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, Torie Osborn Special Advisor to
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Mark-Antonio Grant Venice Deputy to
Councilman Bill Rosendahl.
Ms.
Osborn’s remarked:
“The
Mayor is on a plane back from New York, but his message I pass on to you today
is one of great gratitude. Gratitude for your vision of service that shines in a
dark time. We live in the richest country in the history of the world but we
have lost our heart. We have the greatest economic disparity in American
history. Today it is welfare for the rich and free enterprise for the poor. And
the middle class is evaporating. And, there’s lots of pious talk about God
in the corridors of national power these days. But there is no finer example in
this country of TRUE ANGELS AT WORK than right here at the St Joseph Center.
Thank you for 30 years of service to children, families and seniors. Thank you,
Rhonda Meister, for your leadership that empowers others and sets a gold
standard in the non-profit community, for your humble and true leadership on
poverty and homelessness. Thank you, St. Joseph Center, for embodying an ethic
of love that lights the way for all of us. On behalf of Mayor Villaraigosa, it
is a privilege to support your
work.”
Founded in 1976 by two
Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, in a small storefront on Rose Avenue in
Venice, St. Joseph Center, through its three decades of service to the
community, has evolved into a multi-faceted social service agency that serves
very poor, as well as homeless, families and individuals, employing close to 100
paid staff and benefiting from the dedication of more than 400 volunteers
annually. It is a significant presence on Los Angeles’ Westside through
its 10 programs at seven different locations, all of which continue to respond
to the wide-ranging needs of homeless and low-income families and individuals in
the community.
The campaign’s
fundraising goal is $10,225,000. In addition to providing funds to build the new
family service and administration building on Hampton Drive, the campaign will
cover the costs of temporary relocation during construction as well as
establishment of an operating reserve fund to help assure the Center’s
long-term financial stability, especially during periods of economic downturn.
With the help of hundreds of committed
institutional donors and individual contributors. Planting Hope, Growing Lives
has passed $9 million and is still climbing. For information on making a gift to
the campaign of cash or appreciated securities, or if you would like to arrange
a planned gift or bequest, please contact the Director of Community and Donor
Relations at 396-6468 ext. 324 or visit their website at
<www.stjosephctr.org>.
Posted: Sat
- April 1, 2006 at 01:21 PM