Contact: Tiffany East
775.250.8092
tiffany@tiffanyeastpr.com
or
Shannon Bonetti
408.449.9422
shannonbonetti@outlook.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada Opening Annual Warming Center
Reno, Nev. – Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada will be opening a Warming Center in St. Vincent’s Dining Room to help keep those living on the streets safe and warm in the early morning hours. The Warming Center is scheduled to open on Friday, November 1, 2019 at 6 a.m., but may open at an earlier date if outside temperatures drop sooner than expected.
St. Vincent’s Dining Room, located at 325 Valley Road, will be open Monday through Saturday between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. to serve coffee and hot cereal to individuals who are accessing a bed in the “overflow” tent/shelter, which closes at 6 a.m., or who have spent the night on the streets. In addition to the morning Warming Center, St. Vincent’s Dining Room also serves a free hot cafeteria-style lunch, Monday through Saturday, at 11:30 a.m., to over 500 people each day. St. Vincent’s serves all who are hungry.
Catholic Charities’ CEO Marie Baxter says, “Last spring we opened the Warming Center as a pilot program and on the first day, over 400 individuals entered through our doors seeking a warm place to start their day. We averaged over 250 people a day throughout the month of March. One of our guests commented that the most dangerous time of day to be homeless is between 5 a.m. and when the sun rises. It was in that moment that we made the commitment to make the Warming Center a regular part of our services to help those in need.”
Catholic Charities is asking for community support in the form of volunteers and donations in order to support the Warming Center and St. Vincent’s Dining Room this fall and winter season. Volunteers are needed to help serve coffee and hot cereal in the Dining Room early in the morning, Monday through Saturday. Community volunteers are a vital part of this service ensuring that the Warming Center is able to serve all who need it. Contact Lisa Ross at lzross@ccsnn.org to volunteer.
Reno’s oldest “soup kitchen,” the St. Vincent’s Dining Room is also in need of paper products and food donations, including paper plates, bowls, napkins, plastic utensils, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and oatmeal/cream of wheat. Donations of warm clothing items, such as gloves, socks, blankets, and jackets, are also accepted. Donations can be dropped off at any of the Catholic Charities Thrift Store donation centers or at the St. Vincent’s Dining Room/Catholic Charities Main Campus. Please indicate the donations are for the Dining Room.
To make a monetary donation to help support the St. Vincent’s Dining Room programs at Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada, visit https://ccsnn.org/pages/ways-to-donate
For more information on Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada, visit https://ccsnn.org/
About:
Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada, is dedicated to providing support to those in need in the Reno/Sparks community as well as across rural Nevada. We help people of all cultures and beliefs rise up out of poverty and overcome the barriers to self-sufficiency. We do this through a broad range of services, including food resources, maternity/family services, case management, and residential programs. On average, over 20,000 individuals receive support from Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada on a monthly basis.
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