To celebrate their 50th anniversary, the Comprehensive Community Action Program (CCAP) will host a year’s worth of community events, starting off next Thursday with a new annual golf tournament and a community awards dinner at the Harbor Lights Marina and Country Club.

CCAP was established in 1965, a year after President Johnson declared a “war on poverty” and created the Economic Opportunity Act, which instituted community action agencies across the country.

These agencies or action programs were meant to combat poverty by providing those in need with an organization through which they can access crucial resources, for food, shelter, and clothing among other needs.

At the community awards dinner CCAP will announce the lineup of celebratory neighborhoods Patient Appreciation Health Fairs, their new website and a radio program.

Over the last 50 years, Executive Director Joanne McGunagle said CCAP and the community have grown together, adapting and evolving as the needs of the public have changed.

CCAP started in 1965 servicing a small area of Cranston with a head start program, now the organization offers over a hundred different services and work in not only Cranston, but also Warwick, Coventry, Scituate and Foster.

“Our agency has remained flexible enough to reach out into the community to see what is needed and once we identify those needs, creating solutions and continue onto the next,” McGunagle said.

To ensure this continuing process, CCAP has representatives from the community on their board to relay those services most needed.

Similarly, McGunagle believes the responsiveness and availability of the CCAP staff has helped lead to the success of the program.

She said they are approachable so people feel they can reach out for services without the fear of having to “jump through hoops.”

To keep that visibility and to ease access to information, the center has also revamped their website to be more user friendly for their 50th anniversary.

At the celebration dinner, Mayor Scott Avedisian will be honored for continued service to CCAP.

Avedisian first became involved with CCAP when they were transforming St. Matthew’s convent in Cranston into affordable housing.

He said that once he saw the great work the organization was doing he wanted to continue his support.

“They solve one problem and are right on to the next,” Avedisian said. “It’s nice to be part of projects, see them completed and then move right on to the next.”

He was also a big advocate for the Wilcox Health Center in Warwick, even flying down to Washington, D.C. to help secure funding that would help start operations.

He is happy to see an organization that has touched so many lives celebrate their 50th anniversary and to be honored, but said CCAP is the one on the ground doing the work and should be recognized.

Avedisian said, “They really try to empower those who find themselves in need. CCAP is really a catch-all for a family in need, a one-stop shop for services and they still have that personal touch.”

With a yearlong celebration, Avedisian believes CCAP will be able to showcase all the work they have done, bring attention to the work they are doing and look toward their future work.

Through their “neighborhood celebrations” McGunagle hopes the community reaches out to let CCAP know how they are doing and where they can improve.

Over the next 50 years McGunagle sees CCAP investing in more alternative education programs, as well as partnering with more employers to ease the transition of their clients into the workforce.

She said, “We will see what the next 50 years bring. All I know is I’m excited.”

The 9-hole golf tournament, CCAP Chip for Charity, begins at 2 p.m. The community awards dinner will begin serving cocktails at 5:30 and dinner will be served at 6. All events will take place at Harbor Lights Marina and Country Club on Thursday, Sept. 17.

Tickets are $70 a person and $130 for a couple.

For more information on these events, contact Lee Beliveau, vice president, Development & Corporate Affairs at 562-8353 or at lbeliveau@comcap.org.

CCAP will also be holding their first Patient Appreciation/ Health Fair on Sept. 26 at the Cranston Family Health Center and then another in October at the Wilcox Warwick Family Health Center.

For more information on these events or CCAP, visit www.comcap.org.