MISSION UPDATE News of hope and healing from Atlantic City Rescue Mission
Homeless can happen to anyone. Hope happens here.
Holiday 2018
From Struggle
TO STRENGTH
Your gifts bring joy to hurting people like Alaila at Christmas and all year round.
ON PAGE PAGE 3: 3: Read Read how thethe life life of this struggling singlesingle mom… and her sons! ON how your your partnership partnershipand andprayers prayerschanged changed of this struggling mom… and her sons!
Don’t miss...
Fill Our 2 Help Holiday Tables
Mission made me Your Gifts 3 “The 4 How ready to live on my own...” Bring Joy
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The Mission made me ready to live on my own… to face the real world by myself.
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“Before I came to the Mission, I was struggling,” Alaila says. A single mother, she couldn’t hold a steady job because she had no one to care for her two little boys. As a result, she was unable to afford rent and was forced to move with her sons from place to place, staying with family and friends. “It was frustrating for me to have my children living like that,” she says. The turning point came at the home of a close relative. It had been six months and the signs were clear they had to go. With all other options exhausted, she and the boys came to our Family Life Center. Here, through your gifts, they were blessed with the essentials of safe shelter… nutritious meals… and everything they needed to feel comfortable and at home. Wanting to build a stable life for her children, Alaila knew she needed to further her education. With her family’s basic needs met in our care, she was DISCOVER WHAT’S HAPPENING AT THE HOLIDAYS!
“They gave us presents… they invited us to parties,” Alaila shares. “The boys had a really good holiday because of the Mission.” empowered to earn her GED and begin classes to qualify for a CNA program. She also found temporary work that allowed her to earn a small income. And with our staff ’s counseling, she learned how to save it! Soon she was able to purchase household items for the apartment we helped her locate through our affordable housing assistance. Not only were Alaila and her sons grateful to be in their own place by the holidays last year, the Mission made sure they had a Christmas filled with joy.
In addition to the practical assistance and resources the Mission provided, we also gave her the foundation for a spiritual life. “I felt more connected with God because of all the positive energy around me,” she shares. This Christmas, as Alaila and the boys celebrate Christ’s birth, she’ll also celebrate the joyous new life she found inside our doors… because of your kind compassion. “The Mission changed the way I see myself. I feel more in charge… more of a mother. I feel like they made me more of me!”
acrescuemission.org
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A Message from DAN BROWN
16,000
joy
Your gifts bring to hurting people. Your generous contributions are not only blessings in themselves, but they’re multiplied exponentially by the countless gifts they allow the Mission to share with those who are hungry, hurting and homeless. The food, shelter and clothing we provide are gifts that fulfill the most basic human needs. Guidance, education and job training are gifts too – and when accepted with commitment and dedication, they can lead to lives filled with promise and purpose. Yet the greatest gift we offer inside our doors is the message of God’s love and grace, which can transform lives for eternity! This issue of Mission Update is all about sharing gifts – a subject that’s especially appropriate during the holiday season as we prepare to celebrate Christ’s birth. Yet God’s work, the Mission’s outreach and our partnership with friends like you is focused on giving all year long! Of course, none of our ministries would be possible without the gifts you first give to us. And I’m so very grateful for your selfless giving, which brings joy to our hurting guests at Christmas and every day of the year. God bless you this holiday season and always.
Dan Brown President & CEO
MEALS BY CHRISTMAS
A single nutritious meal is often the first step toward a new beginning for those who are hungry, homeless and struggling with life’s challenges. Most importantly, it’s an opportunity to share God’s love – the greatest gift you can give!
It costs only $2.72 to provide one meal for a hungry person, at the holidays and all year round! GIVE NOW using the enclosed reply card and envelope.
GIVE ONLINE anytime at acrescuemission.org.
HELP FILL OUR HOLIDAY TABLES Host a food drive or donate items to serve thousands of nutritious meals throughout the holiday season. Please deliver your items to 2009 Bacharach Blvd. by Friday, December 14. •
Turkeys & hams
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Bags of potatoes & sweet potatoes
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Boxes of stuffing
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Fresh or #10 canned fruits & vegetables
Baked pies & whipped topping
Coffee, creamer, sugar (white & brown)
THE Blessings OF YEAR-END GIVING Many Mission partners choose to make an extra financial gift by December 31 to maximize their tax deduction for the current calendar year, while helping the Mission assist those in need well into the year ahead. Your generosity will touch countless lives!
Give online at acrescuemission.org. 2
Add your special holiday gift to the reply card and send it today!
More Ways Your
Gifts Bring Joy Gift Cards are Great! Gift cards to local merchants like those listed below are great for buying holiday foods, gifts and year-round necessities for our guests, facilities and programs. Simply drop them by or send them to the Mission at 2009 Bacharach Blvd.
Give joy on
Walmart • Target • Office Depot • Lowe’s • Costco
The Mission's Christmas Wish List The items below are a vital part of everyday operations at the Mission and a much-appreciated gift for our staff and volunteers. Simply deliver them to the Mission at 2009 Bacharach Blvd. anytime, day or night! Garbage bags • Paper towels & toilet paper • Laundry detergent & bleach • Disinfectant spray cleaners
Dan, please use my Christmas gift to bring joy to those who are hungry and homeless. m m m m m m
$21.76 to feed and care for 8 people $51.68 to feed and care for 19 people $76.16 to feed and care for 28 people $89.76 to feed and care for 33 people $_______ to help as much as possible I’ve also enclosed $_______ as a special holiday gift.
_________________________________________________________________ NAME
_________________________________________________________________ ADDRESS
November 27
Join our community in this special day of caring. Your gift on #GivingTuesday will provide food, safe shelter, faith-based guidance and more to those in the Mission’s care this holiday season. Your generosity will bring joy to men like Alaila (see Page 3).
THERE’S NO NEED TO WAIT UNTIL NOVEMBER 27… GIVE TODAY! Give online at acrescuemission.org. Add your special holiday gift to the reply
card and send it today!
m CHECK ENCLOSED m BILL MY CREDIT CARD m
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NAME CREDIT CARD # EXP. DATE
PHONE #
Donate now! (609) 345-5517, ext. 116 acrescuemission.org Atlantic City Rescue Mission P.O. Box 5358 Atlantic City, NJ 08404-5358
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