SoCalGas Partners with MEND® to Bring Holiday Cheer to Hundreds of Homeless Throughout the Northeast San Fernando Valley

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 18, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 500 volunteers from Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) and Meet Each Need With Dignity® (MEND®), the largest poverty relief agency in the San Fernando Valley, provided boxes of food, blankets, and holiday toys and gifts to more than 600 homeless individuals and families throughout the Northeast San Fernando Valley. In addition to food and gifts, attendees also enjoyed a performance by the LIFE community choir. SoCalGas sponsored this morning's event with a $10,000 contribution. Photos from today's event are available here.

"With more than 53,000 men, women, and children without a home, homelessness continues to be a major issue in Los Angeles County," said Trisha Muse, director of community relations at SoCalGas. "SoCalGas is proud to support our friends at MEND who work tirelessly to provide critical and transformative services to this population. I am also very proud of our employees who generously give their own time and resources toward this cause."

"We are very grateful for partners like SoCalGas, who help make our community a better place for vulnerable families and homeless individuals," said Maggie Gregor, program director for MEND.

For over 47 years, MEND has served homeless individuals and families throughout the San Fernando Valley, providing food; medical, dental, and vision care; adult literacy, education, and job training classes; after school youth programs; clothing; homeless care and case management services; and a Holiday Basket Program for families in need. Each month, the organization serves an average of 30,000 members of the local community.

SoCalGas is a longtime supporter of MEND. Since 2003, the utility has contributed more than $100,000 to help the organization assist individuals and families experiencing homelessness.

SoCalGas is committed to giving back to the communities that it serves. In 2018, the utility contributed approximately $6 million to more than 800 educational, environmental, and community organizations across its service territory. Learn more about SoCalGas' corporate giving at socalgas/com/our-community.

About SoCalGas
Headquartered in Los Angeles, SoCalGas^® is the largest natural gas distribution utility in the United States. SoCalGas delivers affordable, reliable, clean and increasingly renewable natural gas service to 21.8 million customers across 24,000 square miles of Central and Southern California, where more than 90 percent of residents use natural gas for heating, hot water, cooking, drying clothes or other uses. Natural gas delivered through the company's pipelines also plays a key role in providing electricity to Californians—about 60 percent of electric power generated in the state comes from gas-fired power plants.  

SoCalGas is committed to investing in its natural gas system infrastructure, while keeping bills affordable for our customers. From 2013 through 2017, the company spent nearly $6 billion to upgrade and modernize its natural gas system to enhance safety and reliability. The company is also committed to being a leader in the region's clean energy future, and is working to accelerate the use of renewable natural gas from dairy farms, landfills and wastewater treatment plants and the development of renewable energy storage technologies. SoCalGas is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), an energy services holding company based in San Diego. For more information, visit socalgas.com/newsroom or connect with SoCalGas on Twitter (@SoCalGas), Instagram (@SoCalGas) and Facebook.

About MEND®
MEND - Meet Each Need with Dignity's mission is to meet the immediate needs of individuals and families and increase their access to opportunities that strengthen their capacity to thrive. To this end, we offer a range of comprehensive services delivered with dignity and respect by MEND's exceptionally dedicated staff and "army" of volunteers. For 47 years, MEND has opened its doors to the most vulnerable members of our community and over the years we have become one of the most comprehensive and empowering poverty relief agencies in Los Angeles County, serving, in 2017, over 14,600 unduplicated individuals but providing an average of 30,000 client encounters each month. Started in a San Fernando Valley garage in 1971, MEND is an anchor institution with the largest food bank in the Valley, medical, dental and vision clinics, clothing, homeless care services, as well as support and care through case management services.

 

SOURCE Southern California Gas Company