It has grown significantly over the years and now cares for over 15,000 poor people each year through youth ministry, homeless shelter, food pantry, outreach, and career training ministries.
Meg Newell, the Marketing and Development Director was our guide for this this trip. She gave us a short history of the mission as well as an overview of the day-to-day operations. She shared inspirational stories of the many residents she has come to love. She proudly shared the fact, that the South Side Mission is funded entirely through donations and grants, using no government money.
OLLI members learned about the Culinary Arts School, a program designed to help under- and unemployed men and women train for careers in the hospitality industry. We met Chef Chris Franzoni and his students, and dined on the delicious lunch they prepared for us. In the gym next to us, they were feeding the hungry and poor the exact same gourmet meal we ate, as they do each day at noon.
OLLI thanks Meg and the entire staff at South Side Mission for sharing their time and their inspirational compassion with us.
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