SAN DIEGO–Father Joe’s Villages announced today a $2-million donation from Franklin Antonio, co-founder, executive vice president and chief scientist at Qualcomm, Inc., to support its lunch program that provides nearly 300,000 lunches for the hungry each year. To honor Antonio’s $2-million gift, Father Joe’s Villages has renamed its services the Franklin Antonio Public Lunch Program.
“We are extremely grateful to Antonio for this tremendous donation, which will provide so many individuals with their only meal for the day,” said Diane Stumph, president of Father Joe’s Villages. “Mr. Antonio’s donation is great news for the souls who stand in line each day, and for all of San Diego because it shows that those with means care about their community and support their neighbors in need.”
The lunch program was one of the first services provided by Father Joe’s beginning in the early 1950s at St. Mary of the Wayside Chapel in East Village. A critical form of outreach to the poor and homeless in downtown San Diego and Barrio Logan, the program serves between 700 and 900 people daily.
The lunch program is offered free of charge and serves both our homeless neighbors on the street and many of the working poor who live in the nearby community. Those with disabilities comprise more than a third of those dining, and veterans are another 16 percent.
“Father Joe’s is a San Diego treasure. I’m incredibly impressed by what they accomplish, and I’m honored to be able to help,” said Antonio.
Antonio, one of Qualcomm’s founders, presently serves as its executive vice president and chief scientist.
Antonio also serves on the board of Genalyte Inc., a life sciences company. He is a graduate of University of California, San Diego, where he served on the board of the Center for Wireless Communication for over 10 years.
