Mullin's "Relief Café" Raises Thousands For Victims Of Hurricane Katrina Within Hours Of Opening

Legislators, lobbyists and Capitol staff swarmed Assemblyman Gene Mullin’s “Relief Café” upon its grand opening Friday morning, donating more than $3,200 before lunchtime. Mullin (D-South San Francisco) and his staff served coffee and home-baked cookies, brownies and pastries to a steady stream of visitors outside the Assemblyman’s office in the State Capitol.

Inspired by New Orleans’ famed Café du Monde, the “Relief Café” was launched by Mullin to help fund the massive recovery efforts currently underway in the southern states devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Students from South San Francisco’s Spruce Elementary School provided a 12-foot-long “Relief Café” sign that is affixed above the tables of coffee and homemade baked goods outside Mullin’s second-floor office in the State Capitol. The fourth-graders’ sign is decorated with rainbows and messages such as “Don’t worry, everything will be okay,” “We care about you” and “Don’t panic.”

The “Relief Café” will operate until the end of the California legislative session next Friday, September 9, 2005.

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Capitol Office: State Capitol, Room 2170 -- Sacramento, CA 95814 -- Phone: 916.319.2019-- Fax: 916.319.2119
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