| | '''Bethany House''' is a settlement house, a 501(c)3 [[nonprofit organization]], that assists the [[homeless]] and other indigents in [[Laredo]] and Webb County in south [[Texas]]. It was founded in 1982 by the [[Roman Catholic]] Father Charles M. McNaboe (1929-1996) as a soup kitchen to provide lunches to, originally, seventeen poor persons.<ref name=bethany>{{cite web|url=http://bethanyhouseoflaredo.org/page02.php?id=18|title=History of Bethany House|publisher=bethanyhouseoflaredo.org|accessdate=January 5, 2010; no longer accessible on-line}}</ref> | | '''Bethany House''' is a settlement house, a 501(c)3 [[nonprofit organization]], that assists the [[homeless]] and other indigents in [[Laredo]] and Webb County in south [[Texas]]. It was founded in 1982 by the [[Roman Catholic]] Father Charles M. McNaboe (1929-1996) as a soup kitchen to provide lunches to, originally, seventeen poor persons.<ref name=bethany>{{cite web|url=http://bethanyhouseoflaredo.org/page02.php?id=18|title=History of Bethany House|publisher=bethanyhouseoflaredo.org|accessdate=January 5, 2010; no longer accessible on-line}}</ref> |
| − | The facility expanded into a permanent location downtown at 819 Hidalgo Street as a result of the donation of land by the family of Maria Bruni Leyendecker. (1885-1968).<ref>Maria Bruni Leyendecker (1885-1968) - Find A Grave Memorial, accessed May 1, 2021.</ref> The main mission of the facility is to provide hot meals without charge to the indigent.<ref name=bethany/> There is also a Thrift and Vintage stores for clothing, the latter designed to provide higher quality outfits for the poor seeking employment.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yellowbot.com/vintage-store-bethany-house-laredo-tx.html|title=Vintage Store, Bethany House|publisher=yellowbot.com|accessdate=January 5, 2010}}</ref> The soup lunch kitchen evolved into meal services three times daily.<ref name=bethany/> Bethany House offers extended services for home-delivered meals and for "Kid’s Cafes,", an outreach to children, mostly at public housing centers and at the Lamar Bruni Vergara Boys and Girls Club.<ref>Julian Aguilar, "To the rescue: Heartfelt pledges keep Kid Cafes open, add one," ''The Laredo Morning Times,'' December 11, 2008, pp., 1, 8A.</ref> | + | The facility expanded into a permanent location downtown at 819 Hidalgo Street as a result of the donation of land by the family of Maria Bruni Leyendecker. (1885-1968).<ref>Maria Bruni Leyendecker (1885-1968) - Find A Grave Memorial, accessed May 1, 2021.</ref> The main mission of the facility is to provide hot meals without charge to the indigent.<ref name=bethany/> There is also a Thrift and Vintage stores for clothing, the latter designed to provide higher quality outfits for the poor seeking employment.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yellowbot.com/vintage-store-bethany-house-laredo-tx.html|title=Vintage Store, Bethany House|publisher=yellowbot.com|accessdate=May 1, 2021}}</ref> The soup lunch kitchen evolved into meal services three times daily.<ref name=bethany/> Bethany House offers extended services for home-delivered meals and for "Kid’s Cafes,", an outreach to children, mostly at public housing centers and at the Lamar Bruni Vergara Boys and Girls Club.<ref>Julian Aguilar, "To the rescue: Heartfelt pledges keep Kid Cafes open, add one," ''The Laredo Morning Times,'' December 11, 2008, pp., 1, 8A.</ref> |
| | In August 2002, Bethany House acquired a second nearby property to establish the Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez Resource Center and Emergency Shelter, named for a late philanthropic couple from Laredo.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://airwolf.lmtonline.com/news/archive/042503/pagea1.pdf|author=Tricia Cortez|title=Bethany House dedication: Mayor [[Betty Flores]] takes over ceremony", April 25, 2003|publisher=''Laredo Morning Times''|accessdate=January 6, 2010}}</ref> | | In August 2002, Bethany House acquired a second nearby property to establish the Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez Resource Center and Emergency Shelter, named for a late philanthropic couple from Laredo.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://airwolf.lmtonline.com/news/archive/042503/pagea1.pdf|author=Tricia Cortez|title=Bethany House dedication: Mayor [[Betty Flores]] takes over ceremony", April 25, 2003|publisher=''Laredo Morning Times''|accessdate=January 6, 2010}}</ref> |