The Poor Man’s Dinner, held in support of Good Samaritan Ministries, is set for May 3 at the St. Mary Parish social center in Helena.

Money raised will go toward improvement of the Helena building that houses a thrift store and other services of Good Samaritan Ministries, which promotes Catholic social-justice teachings. Good Samaritan’s floor space about doubled in 2009, after a drugstore adjacent to the thrift store closed and the space became available. Money from the Poor Man’s Dinner will be used to help make some of the additional room usable by Good Samaritan clients, staff and others.

The dinner, now in its third year, is a collaborative effort by Knights of Columbus Council #844, the Ancient Order of Hibernians and Good Samaritan Ministries. Good Samaritan Executive Director Theresa Ortega said the dinner is an opportunity for people from all four Helena-area Catholics parishes to gather as one community.

In the dinner’s inaugural year, the proceeds went to Good Samaritan’s assistance ministry that helps individuals and families in need. Money raised the second year was used to buy a baler for recycling at the thrift store. The baler replaced one that was nearly 25 years old and inadequate.

“Because of the successful effort of the second Poor Man’s Dinner, we are now able to recycle cardboard, we have created a new position for volunteers and, most importantly, for a young man who is autistic and comes daily to break down boxes and load the baler,” Ortega said. “Our first load of cardboard was 20, 1,000-pound bales that brought in nearly $450.”

That money aided outreach such as homeheating assistance for families in need, and employment training for a disabled person, Ortega said.

She said Bishop George Leo Thomas and representatives of the Knights of Columbus, the Hibernians and Good Samaritan Ministries have been invited to speak at the dinner and share thoughts about their involvement with Good Samaritan.

The $20 dinner tickets are available by contacting Good Samaritan Ministries at 406-442-0780. The dinner is scheduled for 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.


Published in The Montana Catholic Online, Volume 26, No. 4, April 16, 2010.