50th anniversary for St. Vincent de Paul dining hall

CCS

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SALT LAKE CITY — Catholic Community Services will mark 50 years of providing services through its St. Vincent de Paul Dining Hall at a dinner on Oct. 10 to which the public is invited.

CCS provides services to those in need with the objective of giving every individual the opportunity of becoming self-sufficient. Each day more than 1,000 healthy meals are served at the Saint Vincent de Paul dining hall, and CCS helps an average of 450 people at the Weigand Homeless Resource Center in downtown Salt Lake City.

“The anniversary of our dining hall is a testament to our faith and our commitment to those in need,” said Bradford R. Drake, CCS executive director. “We touch on so many lives in the community. We help the homeless, low income, as well as refugee families who come to Utah for a better life. We give people hope so they can move forward in their lives and become productive and self-sufficient.”    

CCS was established in 1945 when the Most Rev. Duane G. Hunt, fifth Bishop of Salt Lake City, recognized the need for an organized effort to assist the poor. He established a local branch of the Catholic Charities by opening a tiny office on the upper floor of the red brick house next to the Cathedral of the Madeleine. Later, Msgr. Joseph P. Moreton, the first executive director, implemented various programs, including adoption, foster care, family counseling, emergency assistance for the poor and help for indigents.

In 1951, CCS became a United Way agency. Other important dates in the organization’s history include:

1967 – the St. Vincent de Paul dining hall began providing hot meals to the hungry;

1982 – CCS Northern Utah opened in Ogden

1996 – the Bishop William K. Weigand Resource Center for the Homeless was in operation;

2001 – CCS Northern Utah was officially designated as a food bank.

WHAT: Dinner celebrating 50th anniversary of St. Vincent de Paul dining hall

WHEN: Tuesday, Oct. 10, 5-7 p.m.

WHERE: St Vincent de Paul dining hall. 427 West 200 South, SLC

Free and open to the public.