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 Five Teens From "Sisters for Success" Mentoring
Program Set Their Sights on College
Five girls (including Sonia
Huerta, pictured at right) from St. Joseph Center's Sisters For
Success girls mentoring program have finished high school and been
accepted to college-one to Cal Poly Pomona, and four to Santa Monica
College.
More...
 Annual Dinner Dance Raises More than $500,000 for St. Joseph
Center Programs and Client Services
On
Saturday May 20, 2006, St. Joseph Center held its 21st annual Dinner
Dance event at the Skirball Cultural Center, raising over half a
million dollars to support services for low income and homeless
families and individuals from throughout Venice and Santa Monica.
More...
SJC Breaks Ground on New Service Facility
Santa
Monica Mayor Robert Holbrook gave a congratulatory address before
a crowd of over 100 people at St. Joseph Center’s ground breaking
event. “It is a partnership that we appreciate,” said
Mayor Robert Holbrook, describing the relationship Santa Monica
shares with Venice-based social service agency, St. Joseph Center.
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. More...
 SJC Board Member Receives UCLA Rosenfield
Award for Community Service
On
March 9, 2006, Kevin McCardle (pictured here with SJC executive
director Rhonda Meister) was awarded
the Rosenfield Distinguished Community Partnership Prize
by the UCLA Center for Community Partnerships. "The award is
really meant to recognize excellence and work that sometimes doesn't
get recognized," said Frank Gilliam, Associate Vice Chancellor
of Community Partnerships, "(The recipients) have really worked
together to develop ongoing and sustained engaged scholarship."
More...
FROM OUR PRESS RELEASE ARCHIVES IN 2005:
In the Holiday Groove
At
Westside social service agency, St. Joseph Center, December is a
time for spreading holiday cheer to low-income and homeless families
and individuals living throughout Venice, Santa Monica, Palms and
Mar Vista. Each year, the Center serves roughly 7,000 people through
a variety of programs, including job training and childcare (www.stjosephctr.org).
During the holidays, the Center organizes events and parties that
bring together staff, clients, and volunteers, and which offer neighbors
and supporters exciting and fun ways to participate in the spirit
of giving. More...
LA Clippers Bring Thanksgiving Cheer
On
Monday November 21, 2005 the Los Angeles Clippers teamed up with
Ralphs/Food 4 Less to host their Thanksgiving “Teamwork at
the Table” event at St. Joseph Center’s Bread and Roses
Café and 400 West Pico
main service site. More...
Italian
Chefs Visit St. Joseph Center
Six chefs from three highly acclaimed Italian restaurants
(including Santa Monica's Valentino) visited St. Joseph Center 's
Bread & Roses Café on Tuesday, June 7th to cook delicacies
for over 100 homeless men and women and to demonstrate the fine
art of Italian cuisine to eight graduates from the Center's Culinary
Training Program. More...
Tai Chi Classes
at St. Joseph Center
Limited space is
available on a first come basis in the free Tai Chi class now being
taught by Master Ten-Chang Hou for older adults on Wednesday afternoons
from 12:30 - 1:30. More...
"Athens 2004" US Olympic Artist Donates Painting to St. Joseph Center
Internationally renowned fine artist Susan Manders has donated
her original U.S. Olympic Team Athens 2004 painting "All Eyes on
Me" (oil on canvas, 60"x48") to St. Joseph Center in Venice, in
order to benefit the more than 7,000 homeless and low-income men,
women, and children the Center helps move toward self-sufficiency
each year. More...
 Five Teens From Sisters for Success Set Their Sights on College
Five girls from St. Joseph
Center's Sisters For Success girls mentoring program have finished
high school and been accepted to college-one to Cal Poly Pomona,
and four to Santa Monica College (pictured at right is Sonia Huerta
[middle] along with two Sisters for Success program coordinators.
Sister for Success pairs female adult role models with girls ages
13 to 18 with the goal of helping them build their self-esteem,
finish high school, and pursue higher education. This year, every
senior in the program applied and was accepted into college. Some
of the mentors have worked with their protégés for
five years, becoming an integral part of their lives and helping
them grow into young adults. Each of these young women is the first
person in her family to go to college.
Find out how you can become a St. Joseph Center mentor.
St.
Joseph Center Raises More than $500,000 for Programs and Client
Services
 On
Saturday May 20, 2006, St. Joseph Center held its 21st annual Dinner
Dance event at the Skirball Cultural Center, raising over half a
million dollars to support services for low income and homeless
families and individuals from throughout Venice and Santa Monica.
Hosted by KTLA entertainment reporter Sam Rubin, the evening honored
Loyola Marymount University, 7th Heaven star Stephen Collins, and
Crecenciana Martinez, a graduate of the Center’s vocational
Culinary Training Program. Martinez, who immigrated to the United
States in 1992 from Oaxaca, Mexico has made great strides toward
self-sufficiency and now, along with her husband, has opened a restaurant
in the Palms neighborhood of Los Angeles.
This year’s Dinner Dance, which was held at the prestigious
Skirball Cultural Center, attracted more than 450 Los Angeles business
owners, professionals, and community leaders, and raised more funds
than any previous St. Joseph Center event.
St. Joseph Center’s Dinner Dance is critical for the ongoing
support of St. Joseph Center’s
ten programs, which provide such services as
job training,
affordable childcare, supplemental
groceries, and hot
meals to 7,000 working poor and homeless individuals each year.
 SJC Breaks Ground on New Service Facility
Santa
Monica Mayor Robert Holbrook gave a congratulatory address before
a crowd of over 100 people at St. Joseph Center’s ground breaking
event. “It is a partnership that we appreciate,” said
Mayor Robert Holbrook, describing the relationship Santa Monica
shares with Venice-based social service agency, St. Joseph Center.
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. Charles Oltman, Vice President for the architectural design
firm Austin AECOM, said the new building is “a quality, yet
economical project.” 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.
On hand were St. Joseph Center’s original founders, Sister
Louise Bernstein and Sister Marilyn Rudy. “This is very hard
to believe,” said Bernstein, ‘it’s become all
we’ve hoped for and so much more.”
Hard hats on and shovels in hand, the two Sisters, along with others
including Santa Monica City Council members Kevin McKeown and Richard
Bloom, ceremonially dug into a pile of earth to commemorate the
start of construction. St.
Joseph Center plans to demolish the old St. Clements school building
and begin construction within the next few months.
St.
Joseph Center Board Member Kevin McCardle Receives UCLA Rosenfield
Award
 On
March 9, 2006, Kevin McCardle (pictured
here with SJC executive director Rhonda Meister) was
awarded the Rosenfield Distinguished Community Partnership Prize
by the UCLA Center for Community Partnerships. "The award is
really meant to recognize excellence and work that sometimes doesn't
get recognized," said Frank Gilliam, Associate Vice Chancellor
of Community Partnerships, "(The recipients) have really worked
together to develop ongoing and sustained engaged scholarship."
The prize money is provided by the Ann C. Rosenfield Fund through
the UCLA Foundation. Each winner received a $25,000 cash prize to
be split with their community partners.
Kevin McCardle, a professor at the UCLA Anderson School of Management,
has acted as an ambassador between St. Joseph Center and his colleagues
and students at the Anderson School. In addition to performing direct
services, he sits on St. Joseph Center’s Board of Directors.
During the past year, faculty from the UCLA Anderson School of Management
have volunteered their time at St. Joseph Center feeding homeless
men and women, and bagging and distributing groceries to working
poor families and individuals. Academically, Professor McCardle
has conducted groundbreaking research on the pro-bono work of operations
research and management science professionals—work which can
help non-profit organizations function more efficiently and effectively.
McCardle has not only advocated for such work but, along with other
UCLA Anderson faculty, has researched unique issues of resource
allocation in non-profit organizations. McCardle has also encouraged
Anderson faculty to donate or pledged more than $150,000 to St.
Joseph Center’s Planting
Hope, Growing Lives capital campaign.
McCardle became involved with Saint Joseph Center through a fundraiser
at his children's school. "It's an organization of compassionate
people doing great work that goes unrewarded," McCardle said.
(Excepts of this article taken from the Daily Bruin article Faculty
Honored for Service, 3/10/2006)
For more information,
please visit the
UCLA Center for Community Partnerships.You
You can also read more about Professor McCardle's award at the
UCLA Anderson School of Management.
In the Holiday Groove
At
Westside social service agency, St. Joseph Center, December is a
time for spreading holiday cheer to low-income and homeless families
and individuals living throughout Venice, Santa Monica, Palms and
Mar Vista. Each year, the Center serves roughly 7,000 people through
a variety of programs, including job training and childcare (www.stjosephctr.org).
During the holidays, the Center organizes events and parties that
bring together staff, clients, and volunteers, and which offer neighbors
and supporters exciting and fun ways to participate in the spirit
of giving.
On December 1st, 22 staff members from Payden & Rygel, one of
Los Angeles’s top global investment management firms, used
a generous donation of $35,000 from one of their CEO’s to
go on a two-hour shopping spree, purchasing much-needed toys, household
goods, food and clothing for St. Joseph Center clients. Says Rhonda
Meister, the Center’s Executive Director, “Thanks to
the caring and generous spirit of Payden & Rygel, countless
men, women, and children are blessed with gifts and food they would
not otherwise have this holiday season.”
Later in the month, various St. Joseph Center programs will enjoy
caroling, cookies, and camaraderie during parties hosted by a variety
of community organizations. Neutrogena will host parties for St.
Joseph Center’s Monetary Advisory Program and Veterans Representative
Payee Program, which provide financial counseling and housing assistance
to veterans and individuals with mental illnesses. St. Matthew Episcopal
Parish will serve holiday meals to homeless men and women at the
Center’s Bread and Roses Café. Community United Methodist
Church of Pacific Palisades will provide Christmas Dinner for low-income
individuals from St. Joseph Center’s Family Center and a week
later Saint Monica Parish Community will have punch and presents
ready for a Family Center party. Girl Scout Troops #212 and #808
will liven up the festivities at Homeless Service Center, and the
Village School, St. Paul the Apostle Catholic School and First Presbyterian
Church of Santa Monica will throw parties for low-income children
and families at St. Joseph Center’s two childcare facilities.
Maria Alderete, Deputy Director of Mission and Volunteers and Susanne
Simpson, Assistant Volunteer Coordinator, have worked tirelessly
to ensure that over 1000 individuals have something to look forward
to this holiday season. Her desk already engulfed in a sea of toys
and clothing, Ms. Alderete says that at this busy time of the year,
“This is just the beginning.”
LA
Clippers Bring Thanksgiving Cheer
On
Monday November 21, 2005 the Los Angeles Clippers teamed up with
Ralphs/Food 4 Less to host their Thanksgiving “Teamwork at
the Table” event at St. Joseph Center’s Bread and Roses
Café and 400 West Pico main service site.
Starting the day at Bread and Roses Café, members of the
Clippers front office served homeless guests plates overflowing
with turkey and fixings. On hand was Hunter Howard, 9-year-old son
of Christian Howard, the Clippers’ Vice President of Marketing
and Broadcasting. Hunter has been a committed volunteer since age
four.
In the afternoon, head coach Mike Dunleavy and his assistant coaching
staff, along with Clippers players Elton Brand, Anthony Goldwire,
Walter McCarty, Boniface Ndong, James Singleton and Chris Wilcox,
distributed Thanksgiving turkeys, food baskets, clothing and books
to 300 families at St. Joseph Center’s main service site.
Since 1993, the Clippers have brought “Teamwork at the Table”
to St. Joseph Center. Last year, Ralphs/Food 4 Less joined the partnership,
and has since donated over 600 turkeys. This year’s event
was a special way for St. Joseph Center’s homeless and low-income
clients to prepare for the holidays.
In its 29th year, St. Joseph Center is a non-profit social service
agency that helps over 7,000 homeless and working poor individuals
annually. The Center provides clients with basic necessities such
as food, and long-term service such as job training, childcare,
and adult education so that they can work toward becoming productive,
stable and self-supporting members of the community.
Italian
Chefs Visit St. Joseph Center
Six chefs from
three highly acclaimed Italian restaurants visited St. Joseph Center
's Bread & Roses Café on Tuesday, June 7th to cook delicacies
for over 100 homeless men and women and to demonstrate the fine
art of Italian cuisine to eight graduates from the Center's Culinary
Training Program.
It was the beginning
of "Italian Summer," a series of special events organized by the
Italian Consulate, Italian Trade Commission, Italian Cultural Institute,
Italy-America Chamber of Commerce West, and Italian Tourism Board.
In the morning, Chefs Luca Manderino and Craudio De Marco from La
Sosta in Hermosa Beach prepared an exquisite meal of Prosciutto,
Mozzarella Di Bufala Campana, Italian mixed vegetables, Risotto,
and Tiramisu for three sit-down lunches for the homeless clients.
In the early afternoon,
Chefs Davide Vedovelli and West Hooker of Locanda Del Lago in Santa
Monica instructed the Center's culinary graduates in the preparation
of Risotto with Duck Breast Ragu. "Give a man a fish, and you feed
him for a day," says Chef Hooker. "Teach a man to fish, and you
feed him for a lifetime."
Later in the afternoon,
Valentino restaurateur, Piero Selvaggio, and Valentino Chefs Ezio
Gamba and Giacomo Pettinari showed the graduates how to prepare
Swordfish Involtini with Couscous. Food for the event was also donated
by Pecorino in Brentwood , Il Fornaio on the Beach in Santa Monica
, and Piccolo Ristorante in Venice.
"It is our idea
with 'Italian Summer' to reach the entire community of Los Angeles
," says Diego Brasioli, Italian Consul General for Los Angeles ,
"to present the image of Italy to everyone." Fortunato Celi Zullo,
Italian Trade Commissioner, and Paola De Mari, Executive Director
of the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce West, helped Brasioli to
serve food at the event.
"'Italian Summer'
is a way of expressing our gratitude for being here in this wonderful
city of Los Angeles ," says De Mari. St. Joseph Center 's Culinary
Training Program provides homeless and low-income men and women
with 6 weeks of classroom and practical training in food industry
skills, followed by a 4-week internship in hospital food service.
The program also includes life skills coaching, resume preparation,
mock interviews, and bus tokens for transportation to assist graduates
to find work.
"We would like
to express our gratitude to the Italian Consulate, the Italian Trade
Commission, and all of the other Italian institutions that have
made this event so instructive and enjoyable for our clients and
our students," says Rhonda Meister , the Center's Executive Director.
Free Tai Chi Class for Older Adults
Offered at St. Joseph Center
Limited space is
available on a first come basis in the free Tai Chi class now being
taught by Master Ten-Chang Hou for older adults on Wednesdays from
12:30 - 1:30 p.m. at St. Joseph Center . Tai Chi Chuan is a physical
practice developed in China in 960 C.E. to achieve harmony, good
health, and integrity of body motion.
Tai Chi originally
consisted of eight hand movements and five different steps. Through
the years, it has developed into more than one hundred stances,
each with its own individual application. T.C. Hou is a master of
Yang-style Tai Chi, which is thought to improve health, build strength,
and reduce tension and fatigue.
"We find the seniors
attain a greater sense of well-being from this class," says Gina
Honore, SJC's Manager of Senior Services. "Tai Chi improves cardiovascular
fitness, prevents injuries from falls, and improves balance and
coordination."
St. Joseph Center
provides emergency services, child care, case management, job training,
and senior services for over 7,000 men, women, and children each
year on eight sites in Venice, Santa Monica, and West Los Angeles.
For more information,
call Gina at 310-396-6468 Ext. 334.
2004 US Olympic Artist Susan Manders
Donates Painting to benefit St. Joseph Center
Internationally
renowned fine artist, Susan Manders, has donated her original U.S.
Olympic Team , Athens 2004 painting "All Eyes on Me," oil on canvas,
60 by 48 inches, to St. Joseph Center in Venice, in order to benefit
the more than 7,000 homeless and low-income men, women, and children
the Center aids toward self-sufficiency each year.
"I felt an obligation
to capture in my painting the most important element of the Olympic
message," says Manders, when chosen to be the official United States
Olympic Artist, "that is, the lifelong responsibility these winning
athletes assume to live like champions. Now I hope my painting can
inspire others to live like champions."
"The Center is
honored to accept this wonderful gift of a painting that has inspired
so many," says Robyn Ross, St. Joseph Center board member. "The
proceeds from its sale will benefit so many more."
With her works archived in the National
Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington , DC , Manders' pieces
bring $40,000 and up. Funds collected from the sale of the Olympic
painting will help support St. Joseph Center 's 10 programs for
homeless and low-income individuals and families on the Westside,
providing emergency services, food distributions, child care, mentoring,
job training, and senior services. |
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