Guadalupe Social Services Celebrates 30th Anniversary

Program helps farm workers, rural poor

The workers and volunteers at Guadalupe Social Services have been at the forefront in helping the community in the past two months following the loss of much of the tomato crop to a hard freeze in early January.

Since the freeze, the number of people seeking help has tripled with more than 150 people lining up each day before dawn. In two months, nearly 3,000 families have been given food and many have been given financial assistance.

Without the workers, volunteers and the benefactors who support this vital program none of that amazing accomplishment could have been made possible, said Bishop Frank J. Dewane on March 7 when he helped Guadalupe Social Service kick off its 30th Anniversary with a Mass and reception.

“I congratulate you on what you have done here and continue to do. It is appropriate to look back at the time of an anniversary celebration but it is equally important to look forward,” Bishop Dewane said. “We need to continue taking up the challenge and to look to the future on how we can end the cycle of need.”

The program started in 1980 and was brought under the auspices of Catholic Charities 1994. The program now includes food, emergency financial assistance, tutoring, immigration services and counseling.

The people who need help in Immokalee trust the program implicitly knowing they will be treated fairly and without bias, no matter the need.

Because Guadalupe Social Services is part of the Catholic Church, a focal point in their lives, the trust is explicit. This is not to be confused with the Guadalupe Center, but has no affiliation with the Catholic Church.

Like the other programs in Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Venice, Guadalupe Social Services relies heavily on its benefactors and volunteers to survive and meet the needs.

With only five paid staff and 40 volunteers, the program is a bare-bones operation. About 70 percent is funded through the help of about 1,600 benefactors, who send donations of varying amounts throughout the year. A monthly letter keeps people updated on the program and includes a wish list of needs.

One such benefactor is Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Osprey. Parishioners have a monthly food collection and bring several carloads to Immokalee. Several representatives were on hand to receive a plaque from Guadalupe Social Services in thanks for their ongoing support.

Guadalupe Social Services Program Director Ninfa Drago said the generosity of the benefactors keeps the program running. “Without them, we would be nowhere and helping no one. Unfortunately the need continues to increase as the hardships on the farm workers increases.”

Drago said the program is committed to maximizing the number of people being helped throughout the current emergency and in the future.


HOW TO HELP GUADALUPE SOCIAL SERVICES

Canned food, dry beans, rice, children's back-to-school supplies, portable infant playpens and other timely items are welcome. If you or your company would like more information about donations please call 239-657-6242 or visit the Web site www.guadalupess.info.

Financial donations are the backbone of the program, for without help, the program could not survive. Any amount will go a long way – as an example, the program buys rice and beans in 100 pounds sacks and the volunteers repackage for family distribution.

Send checks to Guadalupe Social Services, P.O. Box 5034, Immokalee, FL 34143.

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