Samaritan Center founder to be honored

Marylyn DeFeo will be honored at the St. Teresa's Academy Alumnae Reunion Celebration in Kansas City on Saturday as the school's distinguished alumnae for 2014.

The evening will begin with Mass in the auditorium at 4:30 p.m., followed the presentation of the annual distinguished alumnae award. A buffet and cocktails, along with tours of the campus, will follow. Members of the 50-year class of 1964 will also be honored.

DeFeo was recognized for seeing an unmet need within the Jefferson City community at the Immaculate Conception Church back in 1984. She saw first-hand the pain and deprivation experienced by members of her own congregation and was inspired to gather resources to meet the needs of the community as a whole. What resulted was the creation of an interfaith social services agency made up of many churches in the community called the Samaritan Center.

The Samaritan Center first began in a small empty classroom in 1987 assisting 15 families with food and clothing. Today, the operation meets the needs of 1,200 families a month, including food and clothing, medical, dental, and legal care, and financial aid for the needy of central Missouri. Additional services include cooking and nutrition classes, books for children and their parents, school supplies, electric box fans, and help with any other human needs not addressed by other available programs.