SoCalGas Provides Over 26,000 Meals to Those in Need By Way of $25,000 Sponsorship of The Midnight Mission's Banquet of Hope

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) today announced a $25,000 sponsorship of The Midnight Mission's Banquet of Hope event. The money will provide at least 26,315 meals and critical resources for individuals experiencing homelessness. The Banquet of Hope is a daily lunch service held outside of The Midnight Mission's headquarters in downtown Los Angeles, which safely provides prepackaged lunches every day during the month of October. Please see photos from the first Banquet of Hope lunch service, held today, here.

"SoCalGas recognizes the need for assistance during these unprecedented, trying times," said Trisha Muse, director of community relations at SoCalGas. "We are proud to be able to continue our support to The Midnight Mission in their work to provide our most vulnerable community members with basic needs and services." 

"The Midnight Mission is proud to partner with long-time supporter SoCalGas to raise awareness of the people living on our streets who are hungry and without a home during on our Banquet of Hope event," said Mike Arnold, president & CEO of The Midnight Mission. "The Midnight Mission's goal is to restore people to self-sufficiency and combat the issues surrounding homelessness. SoCalGas's commitment to ending homelessness makes us natural partners as we address the needs of those who are less fortunate."

The Banquet of Hope aims to address the need to provide critical support to thousands of people living in Skid Row and throughout Los Angeles and Orange County through the sponsorships and funds raised as a result of the event. To support The Midnight Mission and the Banquet of Hope or to get involved, please visit midnightmission.org/banquetofhope.

The Midnight Mission, founded in 1914, is a comprehensive homeless shelter and homeless services provider that offers a path to self-sufficiency for men, women, and children experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles. The organization offers the structure and the resources that people experiencing homelessness need to truly improve their lives.

From 2016 to 2019, SoCalGas employees have volunteered nearly 75,000 hours of their time and given over $3.2 million through payroll deductions to community organizations. SoCalGas has contributed over six thousand logged volunteer hours to The Midnight Mission since 2014 with over 1,300 volunteers. Prior to COVID-19, SoCalGas employees have traveled to the shelter, located in the heart of Skid Row, every Friday to volunteer and support the shelter's mission for the last six years.

SoCalGas COVID-19 Pandemic Response

Since March, SoCalGas has donated more than $2.74 million to nonprofit organizations for COVID-19 recovery efforts, including supporting the region's workforce, feeding the hungry, providing bill assistance to customers, and more.

For more information on SoCalGas's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, please visit www.socalgas.com/coronavirus.

About The Midnight Mission
Founded in 1914, The Midnight Mission offers paths to self-sufficiency to men, women and children who have lost direction. Our emergency services and 12-step recovery, family living, job training, education and workforce development programs offer a compassionate bridge to achieve and maintain healthy, productive lives.   We remove obstacles and provide the accountability and structure that people who are experiencing homelessness need to be productive in their communities. Our conviction and commitment to their success define us. For additional information, please visit www.midnightmission.org.

About SoCalGas
Headquartered in Los Angeles, SoCalGas® is the largest gas distribution utility in the United States. SoCalGas delivers affordable, reliable, clean and increasingly renewable 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. Gas delivered through the company's pipelines also plays a key role in providing electricity to Californians— about 45 percent of electric power generated in the state comes from gas-fired power plants.

SoCalGas' vision is to be the cleanest gas utility in North America, delivering affordable and increasingly renewable energy to its customers. In support of that vision, SoCalGas is committed to replacing 20 percent of its traditional natural gas supply with renewable gas by 2030. Renewable natural gas is made from waste created by dairy farms, landfills and wastewater treatment plants. SoCalGas is also committed to investing in its gas delivery infrastructure while keeping bills affordable for our customers. From 2014 through 2018, the company invested nearly $6.5 billion to upgrade and modernize its pipeline system to enhance safety and reliability. 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. 

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SOURCE Southern California Gas Company