The first Kevin Cullen Community Outreach Spaghetti Dinner for families in need took place on Jan. 18 at Kingdom Life Christian Center, 6325 Frankford Ave.
The dinner was the culmination of the annual food and clothing drive in memory of Cullen, a 57-year-old Mayfair resident, Father Judge graduate and St. Bernard parishioner who was beaten to death in November 2017 on the 4200 block of Loring St.
The menu featured spaghetti, meatballs, soup, salad, bread, cookies, pastries and brownies.
Pete Smith organizes the annual drive in Cullen’s memory, and this year invited senior citizens, veterans and families dealing with issues such as addiction, homelessness and domestic abuse to the dinner, which also included information about city and state resources.
City Councilman Mike Driscoll and state Rep. Pat Gallagher were among those on hand.
Smith partnered with Driscoll, Gallagher, Kingdom Life Christian Center, state Rep. Joe Hohenstein, state Sen. Joe Picozzi and Ancient Order of Hibernians Divisions 17 and 39 on the event, which also included a collection of socks, hats, coats and gloves for Socks for the Streets.
Guests were also able to take home pasta, sauce and other nonperishable food, with any remaining food donated to Kingdom Life Christian Center for its food pantry. ••
