Bountiful Harvest 2011

Details: 02 September 2011

I am happy to announce that it is once again time for our annual "Bountiful Harvest" celebration in Hastings, Nebraska! It will be held in the Hastings City Auditorium Sunday, Sept. 11. The social hour begins at 4:30 p.m. with the dinner/program at 6 p.m. This year we have so much to be thankful for because God has blessed us with a new site on West Second Street, our new St. John Vianney Center. We have named it after this saint who had a great love for the poor and needy. His powerful intercession was important in procuring this new site.

Now instead of paying rent for a social services office, a counseling office, and a thrift store we now own one site where all services are located. The savings are allowing us to help more individuals and families in need. Last year, because of the generosity of our donors, volunteers and staff we were able to help more than 7,300 individuals and 2,600 families in the south-central region of the diocese out of this office.

Located at 333 W. 2nd St., this beautiful new center is the site of our social services offices with a larger food pantry located on the ground floor, our Immaculate Heart Counseling Center with a separate entrance to the outside located on the second floor, our St. Joseph Gift & Thrift store, and a gated parking lot.

The jewel of our new center of course is Our Mother of Perpetual Help Chapel with the Blessed Sacrament. It is a beautiful chapel with stained-glass windows of the Holy Family and St. John Vianney. Now clients are free to stop in the chapel and spend time with Jesus in the Eucharist.

Out of one location we are now able to offer social services to those in need of rent and utility assistance, help with weatherizing their homes, material assistance with kitchen, school and cleaning supplies, diapers, car seats, clothing, personal care items, furniture, appliances, cars and other items not mentioned here. Also, through our grant system, we are able to assist those in need of counseling who are un-insured or under-insured. In addition to providing food to walk-ins, our St. Andrew Mobile Food pantry is going strong. Now food is purchased and trucked to more than a dozen smaller communities across southern Nebraska from the greater Hastings area all the way to Imperial and points in between.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our generous donors to this yearly effort such as our Patron of Mercy, Corporate, Banquet, Table and individual sponsors as well as our Bountiful Harvest banquet and corporate committee members for their indispensable help. They truly love Jesus present in the poor and needy (Mt 25:31-46).

I hope to see many of you there Sept. 11. As we pray for the living and deceased victims of the tragic attack on our nation which occurred on this day, let us also pause to thank Almighty God for the selfless and generous people of southern Nebraska who make the existence of Catholic Social Services possible as we get closer to our 80th birthday! Please know that all of you are in our daily prayers!

St. John Vianney, pray for us!