Jubilee Kitchen Association Milestones
1978
In 1978 Norm Connors formed the Jubilee Kitchen Committee through
the Thomas Merton Center.
1979
By appealing to corporations, unions, churches, and individuals,
a year later, Sister Liguori and Joyce Rothermel were able to
start Jubilee Soup Kitchen at its current location on November
12, 1979, serving fifteen people with ten gallons of vegetable
soup on opening day.
1980
Jubilee Soup Kitchen extended its five-day a week operation to Saturdays
and Sundays, and has been open 365 days a year since then.
1982
Jubilee Soup Kitchen incorporated and became Jubilee Association, Inc.
1983
Marilyn Sullivan from
Community Human Services openedJubilee’s Health Clinic. The welfare laws changed so that
able-bodies single people were dropped from the welfare rolls.
As a result, Jubilee guests became younger. Jubilee Kitchen began
providing vouchers for overnight housing at local shelters. Senator
Edward Kennedy visited Jubilee Kitchen to commenorate the
twentieth anniversary of his brother John’s assassination
and retrace his brother Robert’s trip through Appalachia
in the 1960s.
1985
Jubilee finished renovating the second floor of its building and
opened its Day Care Center with recreational activities, a reading
room, shower and laundry. G.E.D classes also began.
1986
Summer programs began for neighborhood children in cooperation
with Hill House. Homeless Students Initiatives also started at
the same year.
1987
Knowing that Pittsburgh has lots of football fans, Jubilee Association
started its Souperbowl Sunday fund-raiser in parishes throughout the
diocese.
1988
Job Corner started operating, helping people to seek entry-level
jobs by assisting with resume preparation and providing bus tickets.
1989
Atkins program began to help Jubilee Association’s guests
match their skills with available employment opportunities. Jubilee’s
after-school program began to assist children after they finished
school each day.
1991
Jubilee purchased the Soup Kitchen building from the St. Vincent
de Paul Society. Parents as Teachers program was also initiated
in that year. After Senator John Heinz III died in an airplane
accident in 1991, his wife Teresa Heinz provided money to build
the John Heinz Family Center adjacent to Jubilee Soup Kitchen.
1992
The John Heinz Family Center dedication ceremony was held in November.
1994
Jubilee started offering English as a Second Language (ESL) and
computer literacy classes.
1995
The Curtis Davenport Memorial Scholarship fund started to offer
tuition to local private schools for selected children who attended
Jubilee’s after-school program.
1999
Jubilee Kitchen celebrated its twentieth anniversary by renovating
an abandoned house on Dunseith Street. Jubilee gave the “new” home to a single mother and her son. A house on Moultrie Street
was also renovated and was given to a single mother and her two
children.
2002
The Jacqueline fund was established to provide college tuition
for Jubilee’s after-school children. The second floor of
the John Heinz Child Development Center was renovated as well
as the first floor of the Child Development Center, Jubilee also
started accepting infants for day care in that year.
2003
Jubilee started its Latino outreach program. The South Park Runners
also began their annual Jubilee race/walk.
2004
Jubilee Association celebrated its twenty-fifth Anniversary.
2005
Jubilee launched JubileeSoupKitchen.org.
