4
ACRescueMission.org
Mission Thrift is now open! Come by and check out our selection of clothing, kitchen items, jewelry and much more. As you shop, you’ll be helping meet the needs of our unemployed neighbors and providing on-the-job training for our Mission clients who are responsible for the set-up and care of the store. We’re open Wednesday-Saturday 12:00 pm to 5:30 pm, although hours may change in the summer or on holidays. Mission Thrift is located at 1923 Bacharach Blvd and has free parking. Please call ACRM at 609-345-5517 for more information.
Bridging the communication gap One day a pastor’s young daughter asked him why he always took a moment to bow his head before preaching. “Well,” he replied, “I’m asking the Lord to help me preach a good sermon.” Puzzled, the little girl innocently asked, “Then how come He doesn’t do it?” (Illustration by Stephen Fornier) Have you ever experienced a “communication gap” with the younger generation? Sharing a legacy of faith and Biblical stewardship can help to bridge that gap. Leaving a legacy gift for Atlantic City Rescue Mission in your Will is a simple way to communicate your values and inspire loved ones in a God-honoring way. Luke 1:50 says “His mercy is for those who fear Him
from generation to generation.” Here are some ways to begin a dialogue with the younger generation: 1. Offer to match their gift to a Christian charity. 2. Let them choose a ministry to bless, then make a donation in their name. 3. Create a “love drawer” including important documents, passwords, and a personal, handwritten note that communicates your values. Don’t let the “communication gap” become an obstacle. Communicate blessings to your loved ones and inspire stewardship to come alive in their hearts. For the full version of this article, ask for a FREE copy of “Inspire Your Loved Ones to Make a Difference” by simply checking the box on the enclosed reply card or by contacting our development team at 609-345-5517, ext. 116 or hollyjennings@acrescuemission.org
By the Numbers—
Casino closure update—the increasing need Since the closing of four Atlantic City casinos in early 2014, over 8,000 jobs have been cut. Our unemployment rate is almost double that of the national average. As restaurants, shopping venues, and the casino supply chain experience the effects of the downward-spiraling economy, even more jobs will be lost. Those who are unemployed face a devastating lack of resources. Over a year has passed since the first layoffs, and unemployment benefits are drying up. Families are faced with narrowing
options. For those who decide to leave the area in search of work, a cruel reality is the drastic increase in home foreclosures. How do you sell your home in this economy? The Atlantic City Rescue Mission is providing struggling families with emergency food baskets, hot meals and a safe place to stay. We believe God has placed us here for this purpose, and we expect even more families will find their way to us this summer. Your compassionate support is so vital in helping us show God’s love to our neighbors through tangible help. Thank you!
January-May 2015
Your compassion is making a difference! So far you’ve helped provide: • 1,800 food baskets • 67,500 meals • 30,000 nights of shelter • 3,600 classroom hours for Work Readiness and Overcomers programs
MISSION UPDATE News of hope and healing from Atlantic City Rescue Mission
June 2015
A place that really cares “ People come here broken. I know I did. The Mission is a place to help you mend.” —ROBERT Robert never had a family where he felt loved. After living in and out of foster homes, Robert was thrown out on the streets as a teenager. At the Mission, Robert found a place where people truly care. “It’s more than words. It’s actions,” he says. Read about Robert’s journey to healing on page 2.
Stay connected.
Yes, Dan, I want to make this a Summer of Hope for our hurting neighbors. Enclosed is my gift: m $15 m $30 m $50 m $150 m $__________ m I would like to be a Samaritan Club monthly giver. My first gift of $____________ is enclosed. m Please send me a FREE copy of “Inspire Your Loved Ones to Make a Difference”
ATLANTIC CITY RESCUE MISSION 2009 Bacharach Blvd. Atlantic City, NJ 08401
To give a gift by credit card, visit us online at ACRescueMission.org or call 609-345-5517, ext. 116.
inside
NAME
THANK YOU!
ADDRESS APT CITY
STATE ZIP
27031-2 NL615
Your gift is tax deductible to the full extent of the law. We will send a receipt for your records. Please make your check payable to: ATLANTIC CITY RESCUE MISSION
Message from Dan Brown:
10,000 Bowls
Mission Thirft Store
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Love in action
for Hearts and Souls
is now open!
2
MISSION UPDATE
Message from our President and CEO
Love in action As summer heats up in Atlantic City, we know the need for food, shelter and help will also be rising even as our resources are diminished. What a difficult year this has been with the enormous job loss in our city. Each month, more families are finding themselves unable to get back on their feet, and they’re turning to us for help. Dan Brown President and CEO
I hope you’ll be as moved as I am by stories like Robert’s. He is learning what it means to be loved like 1 John 3:1 says, “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God...” The people who come through our doors are our brothers and sisters who have experienced extraordinary and difficult circumstances in their lives. When we reflect God’s fatherly love through our words and our actions, people change. I’ve seen it happen over and over, whether folks are struggling with addiction or homelessness or poverty. Every day I’m thankful for friends like you who show your compassion through your tangible support of our work. You are helping us provide food, shelter, hope—and the help people need to lift themselves out of devastating life situations. Thank you for the ways you are expressing God’s care for our hurting neighbors. God bless you and your family this summer.
Dan Brown, President and CEO
3
ACRescueMission.org
(continued from page 1)
10,000 Bowls for Hearts and Souls
Robert* was only fifteen years old when his stepfather kicked him out. For ten years, Robert lived on the streets of Boston, doing drugs and getting by with his band of friends. “We did what we could to take care of each other and survive,” he remembers.
Atlantic City Rescue Mission is teaming up with the “10,000 Bowls for Hearts and Souls” soup program to serve nutritionally balanced meals to our clients. Eight professional chef volunteers and the staff at the ACRM have committed to making 30,000 bowls of fresh, hearthealthy soups for 2015. Each week, we prepare about 600 bowls of soup, which feed the Mission’s clients for three separate meals each week.
A place to mend
Robert had never had a stable home. His father was absent and with an alcoholic mother, Robert was in and out of the foster care system. At 25, Robert was ready for a life change, and he got sober. He ended up in Atlantic City where he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and got help with his medication and his education. Working for the county animal shelter, Robert felt his life was looking up. Although Robert had been clean for 18 months, he was in an unhealthy relationship. He started using drugs again and ended up in the hospital, losing his job and his relationship. After rehab, he tried to repair his life, but he knew he needed more help.
Someone who really cares Robert came to the Mission and went through a collaborative program to stabilize his mental health. Now he is in the Overcomers program growing spiritually, learning to create healthy relationships and “finding the family that I never had,” he says. After his painful and abusive childhood, Robert says, “My relationship with Jesus was a little complicated.” Working with a pastor at the Mission, Robert addressed his difficult feelings and invited Christ in to begin a new journey of faith. “It’s wonderful to finally have someone who cares about you,” he says about the Mission staff. “And it’s more than words. It’s actions.” At the Mission, Robert runs the food pantry and helps in Mission Thrift. “In the Overcomers program, we work for Jesus,” he says. After graduating, Robert hopes to return to the animal shelter working with the animals he loves. “People come here broken,” says Robert. “I know I did. The Mission is a place to help you mend, to get stability in your life and to move on eventually.” Your faithful support of Atlantic City Rescue Mission makes it possible for men like Robert to find healing and wholeness as they experience God’s love. Thank you for your compassion to those who are hurting in our community. *Photos have been changed to protect the identity of the client.
healthy” soup bases. We still need people or businesses who can donate items such as lentils, barley, rice blends, extra-virgin olive oil, canned plum tomatoes, and more fresh vegetables. A weekly donation would be most effective, enabling us to plan for our needs as we make soups based on healthy recipes. The Mission serves 700 meals every day and we want to provide the most nutritious meals possible. Doing a great job of utilizing our donated resources means some meals fall short on nutritional value. This program guarantees that we’ll be serving a well-balanced, nutritionally complete meal at least three times a week.
This program uses the same criteria as the American Heart Association’s “Heart Healthy” food program, and emphasizes providing nutrition We’re serving nutritious hot soups to our clients without excessive fats, sugars and with the help of “10,000 Bowls for Hearts and sodium. To meet these standards, Souls” soup program. We hope you’ll consider supporting we have to buy quality ingredients this groundbreaking initiative, which joins volunteer such as fresh vegetables, whole grains, fresh herbs, chefs and area businesses to help feed our homeless extra-virgin olive oil and healthy proteins. neighbors nutritious meals. To donate much-needed The support of the community is so important to help us reach our 30,000 bowl goal. We’re thankful for several produce vendors who are already donating fresh vegetables, and to Nestlé Foods for donating “heart-
You can make this a Summer of Hope! This summer we are expecting an unprecedented number of people to walk through our doors. So many are in despair and need food, shelter and the life-transforming programs that can bring hope and a future. You can help us make this a Summer of Hope for these hurting men and women by making an emergency three-month commitment. To send in your Summer of Hope gift today, please use the enclosed form. Thank you for caring!
SUMMER OF 2015
items, please contact John Demario at 609-345-5517, ext. 120. Thank you for helping us ensure that those we serve are well-nourished!
We’re growing summer produce! Summer is a wonderful season for harvesting fresh produce! As part of our Work Readiness program, Atlantic City Rescue Mission operates two farms: a six-acre farm in Goshen, NJ and a four-acre farm in Galloway, NJ. About 15 Mission residents and 25 volunteers work to produce and harvest almost 50,000 pounds of fresh, healthy produce each year. The produce is served at the Mission and sold at our farmer’s markets located at the farms and at the Margate
Community Market. We grow typical New Jersey summer crops such as tomatoes, potatoes and corn. A fish farm was also started in 2013, which will offer a good source of protein. The work performed in the farm program is integrated into the Work Readiness program curriculum, which is supervised by ACRM staff. Mission residents who participate in the farm program are gaining skills that will help them get ready to transition back into the workforce.
2
MISSION UPDATE
Message from our President and CEO
Love in action As summer heats up in Atlantic City, we know the need for food, shelter and help will also be rising even as our resources are diminished. What a difficult year this has been with the enormous job loss in our city. Each month, more families are finding themselves unable to get back on their feet, and they’re turning to us for help. Dan Brown President and CEO
I hope you’ll be as moved as I am by stories like Robert’s. He is learning what it means to be loved like 1 John 3:1 says, “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God...” The people who come through our doors are our brothers and sisters who have experienced extraordinary and difficult circumstances in their lives. When we reflect God’s fatherly love through our words and our actions, people change. I’ve seen it happen over and over, whether folks are struggling with addiction or homelessness or poverty. Every day I’m thankful for friends like you who show your compassion through your tangible support of our work. You are helping us provide food, shelter, hope—and the help people need to lift themselves out of devastating life situations. Thank you for the ways you are expressing God’s care for our hurting neighbors. God bless you and your family this summer.
Dan Brown, President and CEO
3
ACRescueMission.org
(continued from page 1)
10,000 Bowls for Hearts and Souls
Robert* was only fifteen years old when his stepfather kicked him out. For ten years, Robert lived on the streets of Boston, doing drugs and getting by with his band of friends. “We did what we could to take care of each other and survive,” he remembers.
Atlantic City Rescue Mission is teaming up with the “10,000 Bowls for Hearts and Souls” soup program to serve nutritionally balanced meals to our clients. Eight professional chef volunteers and the staff at the ACRM have committed to making 30,000 bowls of fresh, hearthealthy soups for 2015. Each week, we prepare about 600 bowls of soup, which feed the Mission’s clients for three separate meals each week.
A place to mend
Robert had never had a stable home. His father was absent and with an alcoholic mother, Robert was in and out of the foster care system. At 25, Robert was ready for a life change, and he got sober. He ended up in Atlantic City where he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and got help with his medication and his education. Working for the county animal shelter, Robert felt his life was looking up. Although Robert had been clean for 18 months, he was in an unhealthy relationship. He started using drugs again and ended up in the hospital, losing his job and his relationship. After rehab, he tried to repair his life, but he knew he needed more help.
Someone who really cares Robert came to the Mission and went through a collaborative program to stabilize his mental health. Now he is in the Overcomers program growing spiritually, learning to create healthy relationships and “finding the family that I never had,” he says. After his painful and abusive childhood, Robert says, “My relationship with Jesus was a little complicated.” Working with a pastor at the Mission, Robert addressed his difficult feelings and invited Christ in to begin a new journey of faith. “It’s wonderful to finally have someone who cares about you,” he says about the Mission staff. “And it’s more than words. It’s actions.” At the Mission, Robert runs the food pantry and helps in Mission Thrift. “In the Overcomers program, we work for Jesus,” he says. After graduating, Robert hopes to return to the animal shelter working with the animals he loves. “People come here broken,” says Robert. “I know I did. The Mission is a place to help you mend, to get stability in your life and to move on eventually.” Your faithful support of Atlantic City Rescue Mission makes it possible for men like Robert to find healing and wholeness as they experience God’s love. Thank you for your compassion to those who are hurting in our community. *Photos have been changed to protect the identity of the client.
healthy” soup bases. We still need people or businesses who can donate items such as lentils, barley, rice blends, extra-virgin olive oil, canned plum tomatoes, and more fresh vegetables. A weekly donation would be most effective, enabling us to plan for our needs as we make soups based on healthy recipes. The Mission serves 700 meals every day and we want to provide the most nutritious meals possible. Doing a great job of utilizing our donated resources means some meals fall short on nutritional value. This program guarantees that we’ll be serving a well-balanced, nutritionally complete meal at least three times a week.
This program uses the same criteria as the American Heart Association’s “Heart Healthy” food program, and emphasizes providing nutrition We’re serving nutritious hot soups to our clients without excessive fats, sugars and with the help of “10,000 Bowls for Hearts and sodium. To meet these standards, Souls” soup program. We hope you’ll consider supporting we have to buy quality ingredients this groundbreaking initiative, which joins volunteer such as fresh vegetables, whole grains, fresh herbs, chefs and area businesses to help feed our homeless extra-virgin olive oil and healthy proteins. neighbors nutritious meals. To donate much-needed The support of the community is so important to help us reach our 30,000 bowl goal. We’re thankful for several produce vendors who are already donating fresh vegetables, and to Nestlé Foods for donating “heart-
You can make this a Summer of Hope! This summer we are expecting an unprecedented number of people to walk through our doors. So many are in despair and need food, shelter and the life-transforming programs that can bring hope and a future. You can help us make this a Summer of Hope for these hurting men and women by making an emergency three-month commitment. To send in your Summer of Hope gift today, please use the enclosed form. Thank you for caring!
SUMMER OF 2015
items, please contact John Demario at 609-345-5517, ext. 120. Thank you for helping us ensure that those we serve are well-nourished!
We’re growing summer produce! Summer is a wonderful season for harvesting fresh produce! As part of our Work Readiness program, Atlantic City Rescue Mission operates two farms: a six-acre farm in Goshen, NJ and a four-acre farm in Galloway, NJ. About 15 Mission residents and 25 volunteers work to produce and harvest almost 50,000 pounds of fresh, healthy produce each year. The produce is served at the Mission and sold at our farmer’s markets located at the farms and at the Margate
Community Market. We grow typical New Jersey summer crops such as tomatoes, potatoes and corn. A fish farm was also started in 2013, which will offer a good source of protein. The work performed in the farm program is integrated into the Work Readiness program curriculum, which is supervised by ACRM staff. Mission residents who participate in the farm program are gaining skills that will help them get ready to transition back into the workforce.
4
ACRescueMission.org
Mission Thrift is now open! Come by and check out our selection of clothing, kitchen items, jewelry and much more. As you shop, you’ll be helping meet the needs of our unemployed neighbors and providing on-the-job training for our Mission clients who are responsible for the set-up and care of the store. We’re open Wednesday-Saturday 12:00 pm to 5:30 pm, although hours may change in the summer or on holidays. Mission Thrift is located at 1923 Bacharach Blvd and has free parking. Please call ACRM at 609-345-5517 for more information.
Bridging the communication gap One day a pastor’s young daughter asked him why he always took a moment to bow his head before preaching. “Well,” he replied, “I’m asking the Lord to help me preach a good sermon.” Puzzled, the little girl innocently asked, “Then how come He doesn’t do it?” (Illustration by Stephen Fornier) Have you ever experienced a “communication gap” with the younger generation? Sharing a legacy of faith and Biblical stewardship can help to bridge that gap. Leaving a legacy gift for Atlantic City Rescue Mission in your Will is a simple way to communicate your values and inspire loved ones in a God-honoring way. Luke 1:50 says “His mercy is for those who fear Him
from generation to generation.” Here are some ways to begin a dialogue with the younger generation: 1. Offer to match their gift to a Christian charity. 2. Let them choose a ministry to bless, then make a donation in their name. 3. Create a “love drawer” including important documents, passwords, and a personal, handwritten note that communicates your values. Don’t let the “communication gap” become an obstacle. Communicate blessings to your loved ones and inspire stewardship to come alive in their hearts. For the full version of this article, ask for a FREE copy of “Inspire Your Loved Ones to Make a Difference” by simply checking the box on the enclosed reply card or by contacting our development team at 609-345-5517, ext. 116 or hollyjennings@acrescuemission.org
By the Numbers—
Casino closure update—the increasing need Since the closing of four Atlantic City casinos in early 2014, over 8,000 jobs have been cut. Our unemployment rate is almost double that of the national average. As restaurants, shopping venues, and the casino supply chain experience the effects of the downward-spiraling economy, even more jobs will be lost. Those who are unemployed face a devastating lack of resources. Over a year has passed since the first layoffs, and unemployment benefits are drying up. Families are faced with narrowing
options. For those who decide to leave the area in search of work, a cruel reality is the drastic increase in home foreclosures. How do you sell your home in this economy? The Atlantic City Rescue Mission is providing struggling families with emergency food baskets, hot meals and a safe place to stay. We believe God has placed us here for this purpose, and we expect even more families will find their way to us this summer. Your compassionate support is so vital in helping us show God’s love to our neighbors through tangible help. Thank you!
January-May 2015
Your compassion is making a difference! So far you’ve helped provide: • 1,800 food baskets • 67,500 meals • 30,000 nights of shelter • 3,600 classroom hours for Work Readiness and Overcomers programs
MISSION UPDATE News of hope and healing from Atlantic City Rescue Mission
June 2015
A place that really cares “ People come here broken. I know I did. The Mission is a place to help you mend.” —ROBERT Robert never had a family where he felt loved. After living in and out of foster homes, Robert was thrown out on the streets as a teenager. At the Mission, Robert found a place where people truly care. “It’s more than words. It’s actions,” he says. Read about Robert’s journey to healing on page 2.
Stay connected.
Yes, Dan, I want to make this a Summer of Hope for our hurting neighbors. Enclosed is my gift: m $15 m $30 m $50 m $150 m $__________ m I would like to be a Samaritan Club monthly giver. My first gift of $____________ is enclosed. m Please send me a FREE copy of “Inspire Your Loved Ones to Make a Difference”
ATLANTIC CITY RESCUE MISSION 2009 Bacharach Blvd. Atlantic City, NJ 08401
To give a gift by credit card, visit us online at ACRescueMission.org or call 609-345-5517, ext. 116.
inside
NAME
THANK YOU!
ADDRESS APT CITY
STATE ZIP
27031-2 NL615
Your gift is tax deductible to the full extent of the law. We will send a receipt for your records. Please make your check payable to: ATLANTIC CITY RESCUE MISSION
Message from Dan Brown:
10,000 Bowls
Mission Thirft Store
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Love in action
for Hearts and Souls
is now open!