Santa Cruz, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 11/05/2014 -- Santa Cruz, CA – On Saturday, November 15th please join Lynn Robinson (Mayor of Santa Cruz), Kevin Vogel (Santa Cruz County Chief of Police), Lex van den Berghe (Contestant from Survivor: Africa and Survivor All Stars) and Brittany Nielson (News Anchor KSBW Action News 8) for the special fundraising event, “A Spoonful of Kindness.” The event takes place at St. Francis Catholic Soup Kitchen and features soup served by notable locals, a raffle, silent auction and a global marketplace for holiday shopping.

The St. Francis Catholic Soup Kitchen, located on the little known street Mora, is a little known haven from hardship. Providing food, clothing and showers to people living in extreme poverty in Santa Cruz County, the Kitchen is inviting the public to lend a hand by joining with local celebrities to raise much needed funds.

The only place in Santa Cruz County that serves a mid-day meal to the homeless, the St. Francis Catholic Soup Kitchen was founded by Father Peter Cartoa in 1982. The Kitchen strives to be a place where people in need find a kind welcome, food, and an opportunity to rest in safety. All of this is made possible with just one paid staff member, over 150 volunteers, and the fact that the vast majority of the food is donated by local Santa Cruz businesses and residents. Every weekday over 180 guests of the Kitchen find a daily soup prepared for them by a different volunteer chef and his/her volunteer crew.

Organized by St. Francis Soup Kitchen Volunteer/Board Member, Beatrice Easter, the “Spoonful of Kindness” event will not be short of spectacular raffle and silent auction items. Event attendees could walk away with gift certificates for children’s art classes, symphony tickets, bowling lessons, train rides, rounds of golf, massages, dinner at leading restaurants, a hotel stay in Carmel, and a barbecue for 20 people at the beautiful, private Shaffer Park, (courtesy of St. Francis Catholic Soup Kitchen Board Member Wayne Shaffer).

An added highlight is Rising International’s Global Marketplace. Headquartered in Santa Cruz, Rising International supports women artisan groups in over 20 impoverished countries. The organization focuses on working with women in the highest risk situations such as those in refugee camps, those with HIV/AIDS, homeless women, displaced immigrants, former slaves and those in war-torn regions. Beautiful products handmade by Rising’s artisans will be available for purchase enabling event attendees to support both local and global people in need.

In addition to benefiting the St. Francis Soup Kitchen, and Rising International, proceeds will also support the Jesus Mary and Joseph Home.

The St Francis Catholic Soup Kitchen is located at 205 Mora Street, just off River Street, in Santa Cruz. Tickets are $25.00 and include soup and 5 raffle tickets.

To purchase tickets: http://www.spoonfullofkindness.brownpapertickets.com

For more information call 459-6712.

If you can’t attend Spoonful of Kindness but would like to give the gift of a hunger-free life, please send a tax-deductible donation to: St. Francis Catholic Soup Kitchen – 205 Mora Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 Or visit http://www.stfrancissoupkitchen.org

About St. Francis Catholic Soup Kitchen and Jesus Mary and Joseph Home
St. Francis Catholic Soup Kitchen’s mission is to express the teachings and love of St. Francis and of the Catholic Church by providing food, clothing, and shelter, with dignity, to the poor and needy people in Santa Cruz. The Jesus, Mary and Joseph Home is a nonprofit shelter for the homeless started by Peter Carota in 1982 when he founded St. Francis Catholic Soup Kitchen. Guests can stay up to 30 days but must be looking for work and housing during that time. The home provides food, clothing, shelter and love to those who are in need.

About Rising International
Rising International is a non-profit, fair trade organization. Its mission is to contribute to the end of extreme poverty by enabling women, the world’s poorest people, to participate in the global economy through micro-enterprise. Rising International creates sustainable businesses for women both locally and globally. To view an inspiring video, featuring Rising’s global artisans, Dina Eastwood, Congressman Sam Farr and others, please visit https://www.risinginternational.org/about-us