MISSION UPDATE
Homeless can happen to anyone. Hope happens here.
News of hope and healing from Atlantic City Rescue Mission
Fall 2018
“
I was in severe pain... at the end of my rope, emotionally. I didn’t know what to do.
”
Today, David is on a path to a new beginning – and his heart is filled with gratitude for friends like you who are making his journey possible. You’ll be moved by his story, on Page 3.
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Fill Hearts 2 You With Thanksgiving
knew everything was to Help 3 “Igoing 4 How to be alright.” at the Holidays
“When I walked up the steps here, I knew everything was going to be alright.”
It’s hard to start over at age 57. But for David, that’s what it had come down to. His rent had been raised beyond what he could afford on his wages as a restaurant dishwasher. He had experience as a bartender – he’d worked in resorts for nearly two decades. But after overcoming a 14-year addiction, he couldn’t risk returning to that type of lifestyle. On top of that, a degenerative hip disease kept him in constant pain and prevented him from taking jobs that required hard physical labor. He was given six weeks to pay his rent. And when he couldn’t make the deadline… he became homeless. “I lost everything,” he says, referring to all the personal belongings he’d been forced to leave behind.Yet when he walked up our steps, he felt surrounded by a blanket of tranquility. “I’m starting over again,” he said to himself. “I’m going to do it a different way now.” In our care, David is strengthening his relationship with the Lord and embracing God’s Word and message. Now in our Overcomers Program, he serves at our front desk where he can work without pain as he hones his computer and customer-relations skills.
“I had no family… I had no friends to depend on. So it was a critical time in my life.” From food and shelter to workreadiness and addiction recovery, David believes the Mission is providing all the guidance and resources he needs to get back on his feet and live a Godcentered life. “I don’t see myself as an addict,” David says today. “I see myself as a human being created in God’s image. Complete. Whole. A fighter. A student that’s learning to open his heart more and more every day.” He’s a man with a heart of gratitude for friends like you who have made his journey possible. Thank you for your continued generosity. 3
A MESSAGE FROM DAN BROWN
Your kindness fills hearts with thanksgiving Those we care for at the Mission face a litany of challenges. Like David, who you’ll read about on Page 3, each story of heartbreak and tragedy is personal and unique. Yet all of our guests share one thing in common: deep gratitude for friends like you who are providing a pathway to hope and healing. From the essentials of food and shelter to our Overcomers and Work Readiness programs of recovery and practical training, your generosity lays the financial foundation for our faith-based outreach. Sharing the love of God is at the center of all we do, and we know true and permanent life change is only possible when men and women have invited Him into their hearts. With you alongside us, we have the amazing opportunity to accompany homeless and hurting individuals – whom God loves deeply – on their journeys to restoration. The Thanksgiving season offers a special oppor tunity for everyone on our staff – and each man, woman and child in our care – to reflect on the many blessings of your kind compassion. With a hear t of gratitude, I pray you’ll continue to share your time, talent, gifts and prayers to uplift our neighbors in need.
2018 ANNUAL THANKSGIVING CAMPAIGN
With Grateful Hearts... As you give thanks for your blessings this Thanksgiving, those in our care will be giving thanks too – for you and for the gifts of comfort, compassion and lifechanging opportunity you so generously provide for them.
This
Thanksgiving Season Alone...
51,150 Hot Meals
Dan Brown President & CEO
27,570 Safe Beds
God bless you for being generous. Give now using the enclosed reply card and envelope. Give online, anytime, at acrescuemission.org.
CONNECT WITH US acrescuemission.org 2
318
Food Boxes
Thousands of hours of Training, Counseling & Prayer
Please continue your heartfelt support with a gift to our 2018 Thanksgiving Campaign. Because you care, your neighbors in need can overcome their challenges and embrace a new beginning.
Plan Now to Help at the Holidays! Open Your Heart... Lend a Hand It takes careful planning and organizing – and scores of caring volunteers – to bring a meaningful holiday to hundreds of homeless and hurting people. That’s why we’re starting NOW, and we hope you’ll join us. Please contact our volunteer coordinator, Shelby Boggs, for opportunities and details.
Ensure your heartfelt giving continues beyond your lifetime Because of your deep commitment to those whose needs are greater than your own, you may be seeking opportunities to make a positive impact beyond your lifetime. To learn how you can leave a legacy of compassion and hope, contact Howard Hirsch about remembering the Mission in your will or estate plan.
(609) 345-5517, ext. 165 volunteer@acrescuemission.org
Add Our Shopping List to Yours 51,150!
That’s how many meals we’ll serve this Thanksgiving season, and we need your help to do it. As you do your holiday shopping, please pick up these items for the Mission as well! Then deliver your donations to 2009 Bacharach Blvd., any day of the week.
Turkeys
Cranberry sauce
Turkey gravy
French fried onions
Sweet potatoes or yams Brown sugar Butter
White onions
(609) 345-5517, ext. 113 howardhirsch@acrescuemission.org
Cream of mushroom soup Potatoes
Pumpkin pie Cool Whip
Did You Know? It costs only $2.72 to provide one meal for a hungry person. Dan, please accept my heartfelt gift toward your 2018 Annual Thanksgiving Campaign: 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
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 _________________________________________________________________ NAME
_________________________________________________________________ ADDRESS
Atlantic City Rescue Mission P.O. Box 5358 Atlantic City, NJ 08404-5358
_________________________________________________________________ CITY / STATE / ZIP
FAL18