Interfaith Ministries Gears Up for Huge Growth, Annual Gala
From Left (first row): Elliot Gershenson, Judge Ed Emmett, Bill King, Mayor Annise Parker, Council Member Andrew Burks, (second row) Dr. Fatima Mawji, Council Member Jack Christie
HOUSTON: The Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston held a ground breaking ceremony on Thursday, April 11 for a new Meals on Wheels facility.
As the population of Houston grows, so does the need for services. To keep up with this demand, IMGH is expanding from two confined spaces to one large campus, giving the organization the room it needs to enhance its services and outreach. The new Meals on Wheels building will enable the organization to deliver meals to 10,000 enrolled seniors, an increase from 4,500.
The organization will occupy two sites in Midtown, one located at 3200 San Jacinto St. dedicated to the Meals on Wheels program and the second building, located at 3303 Main St., for the interfaith, refugee and administrative departments and a conference center.
Featured speakers at the groundbreaking ceremony included Mayor Annise Parker and County Judge Ed Emmett.
IMGH is also gearing up for its fourth annual Tapestry Gala to be held on May 9, at the Hilton Americas Houston. The fundraiser celebrates Houston’s diversity of cultures, ethnicities and faiths and this year’s event will honor Marie and Vijay Goradia with a Tapestry Award which recognizes community leaders who have shown remarkable dignity through tangible work for the betterment of Houston and the world.
Co-chairs of the event are Shazma and Arshad Matin and Paula Sutton and Bill Gross with honorary chairs Shaista and Shahzad Bashir. The evening’s musical entertainment provided by Kenneth Gayle productions and Lisa Malosky will be the Mistress of Ceremonies.
In preparation of the Tapestry Gala, on Thursday, April 4, IMGH held an event in appreciation of the underwriters of the event which has been generously underwritten by Wells Fargo. Event underwriters and other prominent guests mingled at the home of Sunanda and Ashoke Nath.
Proceeds from the 2013 Tapestry Gala will benefit the IMGH, a local non-profit organization that brings people of diverse faiths together for dialogue, collaboration and service. The organization provides four main services: Meals on Wheels for Greater Houston, Refugee Resettlement Services, Disaster Preparedness and Interfaith Dialogue.
The services IMGH provides are: Meals on Wheels, which provides meals to approximately 4,500 home-bound seniors throughout Harris County; Refugee Services, which resettles more than 500 refugees and helps them make Houston their new home; and Interfaith Relations which fosters understanding, respect and engagement among people of all faiths through educational opportunities. For the past few months, the organization has spent time focused on the Indian community through its Dinner Dialogue series to learn about the Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist religions.