Katie Couric Honored for Helping the Homeless

Katie Couric is known for all the work she's done to raise awareness for colorectal cancer, not to mention millions of dollars for colorectal cancer research.

But who knew that in her spare time, the CBS Evening News anchor and her daughters volunteer at downtown New York City's Bowery Mission, serving food to the homeless?

On Monday, Feb. 8, the 130-year-old Bowery Mission honored Couric at its 11th Annual Valentine Gala at The Allen Room in Frederick P. Rose Hall — the home of Jazz at Lincoln Center in N.Y.C. In a touching speech, Couric thanked the organization for all of their work and talked about how much she and her daughters, Ellie and Carrie, have gotten out of volunteering.

The Bowery Mission, which was founded in 1879, provides shelter, food, clothing, medical care, and emotional support for those going through desperate times and struggling through the freezing winter. The Mission also works to educate New Yorkers about homelessness through the Don't Walk By Campaign that it organized with six other homeless service providers. The Don't Walk By Campaign has reached more than 500 homeless people on the city streets of New York and educated more than 500 volunteers.

Couric — who co-founded National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance two years after her husband, Jay Monahan died of colon cancer in 1998 — has also been vocal about The Bowery Mission on the CBS Evening News.

"You know, in this recession, about one in ten Americans sought help from a church or religious group to get by. That comes from a new Pew poll on attitudes about faith-based initiatives. It isn't surprising that millions of people would need a helping hand in tough times, but within that poll was an interesting finding. Overall, Americans believe religious organizations are better at providing care to the needy than the government." As Hillary Clinton said, it takes a village, but churches are a vital part of our communities. Here in New York, The Bowery Mission serves 800 meals every day. Groups like Bowery Mission need help from you...so reach out to your church or religious group if you have one. Money of course, is always welcome...but time is just as valuable. Your smile or holiday greeting might be just the gift someone really needs this year. That's a page from my notebook. I'm Katie Couric, CBS News."

At the Gala, Bowery Mission president Ed Morgan called out Couric's commitment: "We appreciate Katie's friendship and genuine concern for the least fortunate of New York."

To see how volunteers and donations are making a difference, visit the Bowery Mission website.

Photo courtesy of CBS Evening News via Flickr; courtesy The Bowery Mission Chapel.