PACOIMA : Charity Gets New Home for Holidays

A Pacoima charity that unexpectedly found itself without a place to assemble the 1,200 holiday baskets it will distribute to needy families this Christmas has located a new facility.

Mary Ann Haver Hill, executive director of MEND (Meet Each Need with Dignity,) said Sylmar businessmen Steve Brown and Gary Weissner read of the agency’s plight and offered a portion of the Fiesta Plaza shopping center at 12800 Foothill Blvd., Sylmar, for the holiday activity.

Earlier this month, the agency discovered that it could not use a portion of an old Gemco store in Arleta, as it had in the past, and put out a call for help.

Hill said MEND will kick off its annual Christmas giveaway program at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at the Sylmar location. The program will include presentation of a plaque to the two businessmen, MEND spokesman John Fitzpatrick said.