On April 21, The Urban Community Outreach (UCO) Drop-In-Center (DIC) of Long Beach will honor advocates for the homeless with three distinguished awards at its third annual gala fundraising event.
Brenda Wilson and Lynda Morgan will receive the Janet Sue Rhodes Award for their dedication to improving the lives of the homeless. First Congregational Church of Long Beach will receive the Maria Giesey Award for exemplary work as a community partner in the fight to end homelessness. Petra Service Club of Cal State Long Beach will receive the UCO Service Award for dedicated community service.
The event, which is open to the public and from which all proceeds will benefit the DIC’s continued support of the homeless in the Long Beach community, will be Saturday, April 21 from 6:30pm to 9:30pm in Patterson Hall at the First Congregational Church, 241 Cedar Ave. It will include a cocktail reception, dinner, live entertainment and a silent auction. Single tickets are $40, couples tickets are $70, and table sponsorship is $280. Corporate sponsorship or silent auction donations are welcome.
The DIC was created in 2006 and is a downtown Long Beach community center for the homeless and the working poor. It provides a nutritious meal, access to a 16-station computer lab, free phone calls, clean facilities and medical attention on Sunday afternoons. In many cases, the DIC provides refuge for the homeless when there is no other alternative from the streets and weather. “These efforts have enabled the DIC to develop positive relationships that engender trust and communication with a segment of the population that is all too often ignored and marginalized,” said Brad Lara-Gagne, the director of the UCO.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit urbancommunityoutreach.org or contact Brad Lara-Gagne at ucodropincenter@gmail.com or (562) 607-4006.
Source: UCO DIC
