Catholic Social Services (CSS) has expanded its Our Lady of Guadalupe Center (OLGC) by opening a new location on Columbus’ west side.
Members of CSS staff gathered with community leaders, local partners and Bishop Earl Fernandes on Monday, June 23 for an official ribbon cutting and dedication of the 12,000-square-foot facility at 3631 Soldano Blvd.
The center, a mile from its former location, has tripled in space. The new location allows CSS to better serve families by offering a client-choice food pantry and emergency assistance, workforce development and small business support, and parenting education and mental health services.
“We’re opening the doors to greater opportunity, hope and support for our Hispanic community here in Columbus, Ohio,” said Ramona Reyes, vice president of community engagement.
OLGC primarily serves central Ohio’s Latino community. It is the only center in Franklin County dedicated to providing comprehensive, culturally responsive services to a growing Hispanic population. OLGC is dedicated to reducing poverty among that demographic.
The facility, located off of W. Broad Street, is easily accessible, based along a Central Ohio Transportation Authority bus route.
Individuals and families can receive parenting education and workforce development services in classrooms and meeting rooms located inside the facility, which includes a teaching kitchen. Dedicated spaces are also available for partners and community programs.
Those in need have access to a client-choice pantry marketplace. A warehouse is also incorporated in the space to streamline food distribution and volunteer partnerships.
CSS plans and has capacity to open an on-site wellness clinic in the future.
In 2024, OLGC served more than 6,000 people. The number is a 65 percent increase since 2022. The increase in demand presented a need for more space.
CSS set a three-year goal to increase services by 40 percent, aiming to serve 8,500 people at OLGC by 2027, Reyes shared. The organization’s long-term plan is to double services in 10 years.
She expressed excitement at OLGC’s expansion to a 12,000-square-foot facility, having first served clients from the back of a van. The center began as a food pantry 25 years ago, using a renovated house to distribute food. The pantry was then moved to an industrial park, using space the size of a garage.
In 2017, a 2,300-square-foot facility was acquired on Columbus’ west side. The pantry soon became a center. CSS operated at the former facility for eight years, concluding with its move to the new facility in May 2025.
“It has grown to meet people where they are. It has grown to a place where you decide to make Columbus your home, that you can find not just your people but the things that you need to take care of your family and to take care of your community, and that’s why this place is so special,” said Columbus City Council member Lourdes Barroso de Padilla, a first-generation Cuban-American who was raised Catholic.
The city councilmember, who represents District 8 in southeast Columbus, offered remarks at the center’s dedication.
Several local leaders and individuals representing state offices were present, including state Rep. Christine Cockley (D-Columbus), who represents Ohio House District 6, comprising much of Columbus’ west side.
Community leaders and attendees received tours of the building. After the ribbon cutting, those in attendance gathered in a meeting room for a blessing of Our Lady of Guadalupe images displayed at the center.
“Today is not only a ribbon cutting, but we are consecrating this space to Our Lady and the mission of peace and hope that comes when neighbors serve neighbors,” said S. Kelley Henderson, CSS president and CEO.
A celebration of the Word of God, including a reading, responsorial psalm and Gospel proclamation, was included as part of the bishop’s blessing of images. Bishop Fernandes blessed a large image of Our Lady of Guadalupe hanging on a wall and a statue of the Blessed Virgin.
The bishop shared that the Latino population in the diocese has increased by 20 percent in a year.
With three times the capacity at the new OLGC, he noted, more of the growing population will be served.
Catholics, too, will benefit from what the needy can offer, Bishop Fernandes said. The site offers an opportunity to serve the community, be good neighbors and show compassion for the least brothers and sisters. He expressed hopes that all who come to OLGC meet the face of Christ in those who serve them.
“What we see in the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe is how peoples and cultures can come together, how there can be a creative synthesis, which brings hope and peace and mercy and joy,” the bishop said.
“That is what we hope happens every time a person walks through our door – that there’s an encounter between two persons. And Jesus says, where two or three of you are gathered in My name, there am I in the midst.”
Since 1945, CSS has been a source of compassion, dignity and hope in the community. The organization serves more than 11,000 individuals annually. With the support of volunteers, CSS helps seniors find connection, guides families toward a brighter future and assists people with disabilities in finding new freedom.