Volunteer Profiles
St. Joseph’s Family Center is blessed with many wonderful volunteers. A few of them have volunteered to tell us a little bit more about themselves and what led them to Get Involved in serving at St. Joseph’s Family Center.
Giving
St. Joseph’s Family Center has been a venerable institution in South County for 30 years. We are proud that over 90% of our financial resources go directly to assist hundreds of very low-income families and the homeless in our community. Our overhead, administration and fund raising cost have traditionally been only 7-8% of our total [...]
Events
Come join us for our annual Golf Tournament and BBQ dinner September 28, 2012. As always, the proceeds from the event go to support the food assistance programs here at St. Joseph’s Family Center.
About
Our Mission: To improve the quality of life through comprehensive services that help establish food security, shelter, gainful employment and other opportunities toward achieving self-sufficiency. The history of St. Joseph’s Family Center is a testament to grassroots efforts to create change locally. Marge Albaugh, first Executive Director Back in the mid-1960’s, a group of women from St. Mary Parish saw a need to help the poor. Spearheaded by Marge Albaugh, these women worked diligently to secure donations of food and clothing for those who were part of the parish community. After time, Ms. Albaugh recognized these needs existed throughout the entire community, so in 1981, the formal organization, St. Joseph’s Family Center, was born. The organization grew as did the City of Gilroy, and as the numbers needing help swelled. SJFC became the giving arm of a consortium of local churches, businesses and individuals. While the name has remained the same, signifying our close ties with...
Recent Updates
Interview with Second Harvest
St. Joseph’s succeeds at its mission not only with the help of volunteers, but also with strategic community partnerships. Second Harvest Food Bank is a vital partner working as a clearance house for food distribution for 326 non-profit organizations such as St. Joseph’s; an association set up to end hunger in local communities. Second Harvest provides approximately 35% of the food supplied to St. Joseph’s Food and Nutrient program. Here, Cindy McCown—Director at...
Story of Miguel
Miguel Gomez has seen the face of homelessness first hand, and knows intimately how living on the streets can be a debilitating experience. Miguel Gomez “I lived under a bridge most of the eight years I was homeless. I panhandled regularly, recycled cans and bottles when I was able and was addicted to various drugs.” It was a way of coping with the reality of having no self-respect and no hope. I really didn’t give a shit about my life or anyone else for that matter. My...