CCS annual gala scheduled for Oct. 21

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SALT LAKE CITY — The 2020 Humanitarian Awards Gala of Catholic Community Services of Utah will take place virtually on Oct. 21.

The event will celebrate a woman who made a great contribution while volunteering at CCS, and will also commemorate the agency’s 75th anniversary of serving the community in Utah.

Catholic Community Services of Utah started in 1945, when the Most Rev. Duane G. Hunt, fifth Bishop of Salt Lake City, recognized the need for an organized effort to assist the poor and needy.

”Starting from a tiny office, CCS has expanded to include four sites that deliver basic social services to those in need along the Wasatch Front and northern Utah,” said Jose Lazaro, CCS’ development director.

At the virtual event, Michele Davies will be honored for the service she gave to the community through CCS. She recorded 1,237.50 volunteer hours since the beginning of 2018 through this year, when she moved to Arizona.

Davies created and coordinated the cultural orientation classes, and “touched the lives of many our refugee families by putting a foundation in place that we still use today for our cultural orientation classes,” Lazaro said.

The classes assist the refugee families with the transition to a new culture and society, but “most important, she was a friend to many of our families,” he said.

The work Davies did “included coordinating schedules of several different staff presenters and guest presenters from the community, interpreters and all of the adult clients. These clients totaled 150 adults from 16 countries,” Lazaro said.

The annual Humanitarian Awards Dinner is CCS’ largest fundraiser; it brings in approximately $200,000 each year. The organization “depends on the money raised from this event to fill a significant portion of our funding within all our programs,” said Cynthia Mecklenburg, CCS’ communications director.

“This year, because of the pandemic, we had to cancel several of our other fundraising events, including Empty Bowls and the Dream Builder’s Breakfast in Ogden,” Lazaro said. “With the loss of revenue from those two events and not knowing what the ongoing effects will be to our local economy, we feel that we’ll need to raise $300,000 to $400,000” at the Humanitarian Awards.

“During times of crises, the need for our services increases,” Mecklenburg explained.

For many people, CCS is their last and only safety net, Lazaro said. “We understand that’s a significant amount of money that we’re hoping to raise. It would be a blessing if it could all be raised at this year’s virtual event. … Our state may have one of the smallest concentrations of Catholics throughout the country, but I can assure you that our Catholic community in Utah is one of the most giving throughout the country. They continually step up to support the social service arm of the bishop and Diocese of Salt Lake each year.”

This year, an anonymous donor has committed to a $100,000 matching donation.

“We’ve promised to keep their gift anonymous,” Lazaro said. “The only thing I can say is that their love for the poor and needy has remained constant throughout the years, and they give quietly and generously. We’ll never be able to thank them enough for their support and all that they ask is that we continue to provide help and create hope for all those that turn to CCS for assistance.”

With the matching donation, “We hope this will encourage our community to give generously,” Lazaro said.

 CCS will continue to meet the needs of the community, even not knowing what the long-term ramifications of the pandemic will be, “especially when it comes to government funding. We do, however, take comfort that we live in one of the most loving and giving communities in the world,” he said.