Soup kitchen gets money burden lifted

Deepa Bharath

COSTA MESA -- A big load will come off the shoulders of one of the

city’s predominant charities today.

Someone Cares Soup Kitchen, which has served the community for more

than 16 years, will receive a donation of about $160,000 from Fair Share

502, an Orange County nonprofit organization.

The money, raised over the last year and a half, will go toward the

mortgage for the soup kitchen’s building on West 19th Street, said Mimi

Justice, one of the board members of Fair Share 502.

“We’ve been impressed with the work Someone Cares has done in

providing for the hungry,” she said. “And it has been our mission to help

Orange County groups that provide for the hungry and those in need.”

Board members will hand over the check to administrators today at the

soup kitchen. Justice said Someone Cares has always been one of the

group’s favorite charities.

She said Fair Share 502, in the early ‘90s, also helped pay off a

mortgage for Share Our Selves, another Costa Mesa charity.

The money will bring down the soup kitchen’s monthly payments, helping

them to focus on other community outreach programs, said George

Neureuther, development director.

“After we refinance, we can use the additional funds to support

additional programs,” he said.

On the horizon are programs such as English as a second language

classes for adults and job assistance programs. Someone Cares started an

after-school tutoring program for kindergarten through third-grade

students at Pomona Elementary School in October.

“That is something we hope to continue too,” Neureuther said.

The goal of Someone Cares is not merely to feed the needy but also to

improve quality of life, he said.

“It’s really giving a hand out to the people who live in Costa Mesa,”

Neureuther said.