Reaching out to the one in need
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LAYTON, UTAH
Bishop H. David Burton dedicated the Layton Utah Welfare Complex Oct. 15 as a "center of hope" that will help the Church "reach out to the one."
The 60,000-square-foot facility is the first in the Church to include a Deseret Industries Thrift Store, an LDS Employment Resource Center, a Bishops' Storehouse and Home Storage Center, an LDS Family Services Agency, and a Church distribution center.
The center will serve 25 stakes located in a geographic area that is 26 miles wide and 28 miles long.
"Tomorrow the doors will open, a grand opening will be held and a ribbon will be cut," said Bishop Burton, Presiding Bishop of the Church. "But tonight is our opportunity to express thanks to those that have made this possible. Those who will continue to volunteer their time and their talents."
Each, he added, will fulfill a "quest to reach out to the one."
Several thousand attended the dedication of the facility, filling the Deseret Industries store — located at 930 W. Hillfield Road in Layton — to capacity.
"I have always wanted to be between toddlers and toys," said Bishop Burton, joking about the location of the podium placed between the two Deseret Industries departments for the dedication. "It is a great occasion that brings us together."
Deseret Industries helps Church leaders assist individuals who lack skills to develop self-reliance through work and training and provides opportunities for giving and service, he explained.
This "synergistic approach" not only makes a difference for the unemployed, but also the underemployed, he added.
"The Deseret Industries, in very simple terms, is a center of hope," he said.
The Church operates 43 Deseret Industries stores in seven states. Those stores served 7,200 associates and 5.8 million customers in 2007.
"Because of the generosity of the Latter-day Saints ... these facilities not only take care of those individuals who come on the bishop's order to be assisted, but they also generated resources that help those who stand in need in one way or another."
In addition to the Deseret Industries, the Layton Welfare Complex includes:
• LDS Employment Resource Center. The Church operates 311 centers in 53 countries. In 2007, the centers served 223,810 people.
• Bishops' Storehouse and Home Storage Center. The Church runs 146 Bishops' Storehouses and 102 home storage centers worldwide. In 2007, more than 1.3 million hours of labor were donated to these facilities by missionaries and volunteers.
• LDS Family Services. The Church has 73 Family Services agencies, serving 154,000 people annually.
• Distribution Services. All Church units, temples and members worldwide are served by 136 distribution centers; the Layton store will serve 130,000 people annually.
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