A church youth group and a local restaurant owner want residents
are hosting a pancake dinner fund-raiser to help the Emmaus House
project.
The fund-raiser will be held Monday, Sept. 15, at the Hollister
Presbyterian Church Hall on 2066 Cienega Road from 5 to 6:30
p.m.
A church youth group and a local restaurant owner want residents are hosting a pancake dinner fund-raiser to help the Emmaus House project.
The fund-raiser will be held Monday, Sept. 15, at the Hollister Presbyterian Church Hall on 2066 Cienega Road from 5 to 6:30 p.m.
The event is intended to help with the $20,000 left in costs to finish the work on Emmaus House, the county’s first battered women’s shelter.
The pancake dinner is the brainchild of the Rev. David Rodriguez, of the Presbyterian Church, and Phil Barrett, owner of Flapjack’s County Cafe in Tres Pinos.
“Phil has wanted to do a fund-raiser for some time now and we figured now would be a good time to do it,” Rodriguez said.
Barrett and his wife Karen said they are big supporters of the project because they have seen a big need for the shelter in the community.
“A year ago, my wife and I made a commitment to do a fund-raiser over at the church,” Barrett said. “We feel really strong that this is a good idea and we want to help anyway that we can.”
Rodriguez, who has been involved with the Emmaus project for the past eight years, said there is definitely a need for this type of shelter.
“”We see battered women and children coming to our church for help and other churches have seen battered women and children approaching them for help,” Rodriguez said. “This could provide them with a safe place to stay while they rebuild their lives.”
Because Barrett is donating all of the food, all of the money raised at the event will go directly to the Emmaus House project, Rodriguez said.
Barrett said he and his wife are not doing this for their benefit, they are doing this for the community they love so much.
“Giving a little bit back to the community does not hurt anybody and we just want to give back to the community that has given us the opportunity to open a cafe,” he said.
After three years of construction and eight years of planning, the Emmaus House is expected to be completed sometime this fall. The 24-hour facility at the corner of Sunnyslope and Valley View roads is intended to provide shelter and counseling to victims of domestic violence, legal assistance, a crisis phone line and emergency transportation.
The project is largely the result of volunteer work, donations and discounted services. Overall, approximately $800,000 in money and labor have been offered to the project by local businesses and service groups.
Anyone who wants to help or make a donation to the pancake dinner fund-raiser can call Rodriguez at 637-4350.
