At banquet, Holy Cross Ministries pays tribute to its clients and community partners

IC photo/ Linda Petersen

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At the Catholic Community Services Autumn Harvest Benefit, those who attended heard the story of immigrant Gisela Trejo (pictured on screen).

SALT LAKE CITY — Honoring those they serve and expressing gratitude for those who serve alongside them – that’s what this year’s Holy Cross Ministries Autumn Harvest Benefit was all about. The benefit was held Sept. 14 at the Cleone Peterson Eccles Alumni House on the University of Utah campus.

The keynote speaker was Martha Macomber, Native American communities outreach director at the university. She highlighted Holy Cross Ministries client Gisela Trejo, a Park City resident, food service worker and immigrant who has worked alongside her husband to build a life for her family here in the United States. Macomber showed a video that followed a day in the life of the family, and then described the economic strides they have made in the six years since the video was produced. The couple are now the owners of their own restaurant, Tacos El Mariachi Loco, in Park City.

Trejo, her husband Raul Antunez and children Skyler and Sofia were guests at the benefit and were recognized by Macomber and Holy Cross Ministries officials that evening. Macomber shared some remarks from Trejo about her life now.

“She says, ‘It’s really busy. Every day I make a friend,’” Macomber said. “What she’s making is a community, not a restaurant.”

Macomber also shared thoughts from Trejo for those in attendance that evening: “When going for your dreams, don’t give up. When you reach it, make another.”

Later in the evening, Holy Cross Ministries staff members paid tribute to two community partners who have helped them in their mission: Kathy Anderson and Dr. Wendy Hobson-Rohrer.

Anderson, the recently retired director of the Park City School District pre-school program, was responsible for bringing all-day kindergarten to Park City and the state of Utah. This has been a gamechanger for working families in Summit County, the staff said in a video.

“She has been a wonderful hero to us at Holy Cross Ministries and we just wanted to thank her,” Andy Cier, Holy Cross Ministries director of communications, said.

Another video highlighted the work of Hobson-Rohrer, director of the University of Utah’s South Main Clinic, which serves the health needs of Salt Lake’s underserved and immigrant communities. At the clinic, “there’s amazing work that goes on there; they work tirelessly,” Cier said. “They just provide amazing care.”

Carlos Flores, health outreach program manager, thanked Hobson-Rohrer for all the support she has given throughout the years. “Thank you for the partnership and the services you continue to offer the community,” he said. “We’re just so grateful to have you.”

Holy Cross Ministries CEO Emmie Gardner also shared with those at the gathering details about Holy Cross Ministries’ new medical debt legal advisor program, which provides resources and support to those experiencing medical debt.

“To me this project not only is an amazing opportunity, one, that it’s the first in the country like it, but again it speaks to me of the incredible legacy of the Sisters of the Holy Cross in being innovators, in being on the forefront, in doing the right thing because it’s what our community needs and the help and support that we need,” Gardner said.

Following a farm-to-table dinner chosen to honor immigrants from farm hands to chefs and servers who work in the food industry, those at the event had the opportunity to participate in live and silent auctions to raise funds for Holy Cross Ministries.

The Autumn Harvest Benefit began 10 years ago as a farewell dinner for Holy Cross Sister Suzanne Brennan, the organization’s first executive director and president. It is the primary annual fundraising event for Holy Cross Ministries, which offers health outreach, counseling, early childhood education, and economic and legal services for disadvantaged families in Salt Lake, Summit and Wasatch counties.