Celebrating 60 Years, St. Anthony’s Breaks Ground on New Facility

Rally with Mayor Lee and Community Block Party Set for September 24

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 16, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- St. Anthony Foundation will feed 10,000 meals of BBQ chicken, prepared by McCalls Catering, at a free Tenderloin block party emceed by KNBR's Brian Murphy on September 24, complete with a live band, an exhibit archiving 60 years of history, and a kids area.  Parking will be available for media on Leavenworth @ McCallister.

The block party stretches from Hyde to Jones on Golden Gate Avenue and commemorates St. Anthony's 60th anniversary. St. Anthony chefs estimate serving 8,000 pounds of chicken and 2,500 pounds of potato salad.  Mayor Lee will be a speaker at the event.

"Rather than looking to what could be considered 'organizational retirement years,' St. Anthony's is doing some of the most significant work of its time," said Executive Director Shari Roeseler.

The block party will be preceded by a Rally for Hope on the steps of City Hall at 10:00 a.m. Supervisors Jane Kim and Scott Wiener and Senator Mark Leno will join volunteers to unveil hundreds of personal messages of hope for St. Anthony’s.  Rally participants will then walk to St. Anthony's for the barbeque, from 11:00 to 2:00.

St. Anthony's has been a civic anchor in San Francisco since 1950, serving more than 37 million meals and countless helpings of free clothing, doctor visits, sobriety counseling, work skills, and hope. The organization's 60th Anniversary celebration will mark a new decade of significant change for the organization.

In July of 2012, St. Anthony Foundation will break ground on a $22 million, LEED-certified Dining Room building that enables the organization to feed more people more efficiently and help more low-income residents build better lives. The new 10-story building will bring the well known and respected St. Anthony Dining Room, their Free Clothing Program and Social Work Center together under one roof. Mercy Housing will provide 90 units of affordable housing for seniors on the floors above.

"What's key here is the demand for our services is growing an average of 10 percent each year. Our new building will allow us to accommodate everyone in need for at least another 60 years," said Roeseler.

SOURCE St. Anthony Foundation