Family Matters
2015 National Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week
National Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week was a great success! We had seven different events and partnerships throughout the week of November 14-22, 2015. We were a participating charity in the Generosity 5k Walk/Run Series, in which one of our participants came in first in his age group! We were honored at the 76ers vs. Dallas Mavericks game, had drink specials at both Local 44 and Bainbridge Street Barrel House, sold paper houses at The Blind Pig, and received a percentage of sales from Moon + Arrow. All in all it was a great success, raising over $15,000! Thank you to everyone who came out to support us during this week!
Winter Festivities in Full Swing Bethesda Project had a nice jump start into the winter season, and here are some highlights!
Phillies Holiday Luncheon For the 18th year, the Philadelphia Phillies served a wonderful lunch at Our Brothers’ Place shelter on December 18th. The Phanatic was on site to pump up the energy, and Father Domenic Rossi delivered touching spiritual remarks to give thanks for our blessings and the support of the Phillies. The Phillies donated a special edition Phillies cap to every guest and staff at our shelter that day. The Phillies caps can be spotted around town on guests who have made it through Our Brothers’ Place in previous years, serving as a reminder that we are all one family, no matter where life takes us. Guests and staff alike wear the cap with pride, and look forward to a new design each year. Check out this article about this great event, featuring an interview with Bethesda Project’s Chief Operating Officer, Tina Pagotto. http://m.mlb.com/news/article/159998260/phillies-bringholiday-cheer-to-homeless
Mardi Gras Magic The annual Mardi Gras Magic party, hosted by St. Norbert’s Parish, was a great success! The Chatterband was back and guests were dancing and eating the night away. Other features included a silent auction, a 50/50 raffle, and a giving tree. With over 175 guests in attendance, the event brought in over $55,000 Project to support specific needs at Bethesda Project’s 13 sites of shelter and housing! Thank you to everyone that attended this fabulous event to support Bethesda Project’s life-changing mission.
Valentine’s Day In the spirit of being family with those who have none and to build community in our sites, Bethesda Project sold Valentine’s Day cards in the weeks leading up to February 14th! Donors purchased a card online and filled out a special message for our residents and guests. On February 10th, we distributed 600 cards across our sites for our residents and guests to enjoy. On Valentine’s Day, residents and guests were invited to take a card off the wall that was special to them. Thank you to all who purchased a valentine, helping us raise more than $1,500. This campaign was a true success in illustrating our mission and bringing smiles and joy to our residents and guests!
Donor Spotlight: Regina Nursing Center Regina Nursing Center in Norristown has been a long time supporter of Bethesda Project. They have been sponsors of our annual Gala & Auction for four years now, St. Norbert’ Mardi Gras Magic for four years, and sponsored both of our National Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week campaigns. We are happy to call Regina Nursing Center a true partner in the work that we do. Check out their website at www.reginanursingcenter.org.
Interested in the Young Professionals Advisory Board? Please join us at Citizens Bank Park for an information and networking event on March 23rd.
When: March 23rd 6PM-8PM Where: Executive Dinning Room at Citizens Bank Park What is the Young Professionals Advisory Board? It’s a group of compassionate and social-minded young professionals who advocate, fundraise, and promote Bethesda Project’s mission by donating time and talent! For more information or to purchase tickets please contact Lisa Colasanti at lcolasanti@bethesdaproject.org or 215-985-1600 ext. 208
2016 Gala & Auction
MLK Day of Service Students from Friends Central in Wynnewood spent Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service with their families at the school cafeteria preparing 500 bagged lunches, with inspirational MLK Jr. quotes inside, for them men at Our Brothers’ Place. Community Life Program Coordinator, Hannah Litvin, attended the kickoff assembly that morning to deliver remarks of gratitude and encouragement to the students and parents. A video of the effort and operation can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkWBo3x8kl0. Bethesda Project is honored to be a valued partner of Friends Central, and looks forward to many more years of meaningful service collaborations. MLK Day of Service also brought the return of the Upper Merion MLK Day Service Group at our North Broad site. Volunteers visited, sang songs, served lunch, and read from Martin Luther King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”. Upper Merion Martin Luther King, Jr. National Holiday Committee has visited and broken bread with residents at Bethesda Project every single year since 1993. We are humbled by the commitment of our community in Upper Merion over the last 23 years.
Volunteer Spotlight Thank you to all of our holiday volunteers! The holidays were a roaring success at Bethesda Project! Across all 13 sites, guests and residents were treated to family style meals, volunteer company, holiday baking, and gifts. Christmas dinner was lovingly donated and prepared by the Bethesda Cooks, under the dutiful supervision of Karen Leimkuhler, longtime Bethesda Project volunteer and supporter. Students from Bishop Eustace Prep in Pennsauken, NJ baked hundreds of holiday cookies to donate in beautiful tins to every single Bethesda Project permanent supportive housing site. Students from Central High School made enough holiday cards for our entire Church Shelter Program! Volunteer Katy Rogers stepped up to donate two brand new reusable Christmas trees to Sanctuary and My Brother’s House, which will help us create holiday spirit for our residents for years to come. A longtime kitchen volunteer at Our Brothers’ Place stepped up to decorate the tree and enjoy holiday music with residents at Sanctuary. Many staff at Sanctuary commented on the improvement in house morale after the holiday decorations went up!
Annual Report Click below for an electronic copy of our 2015 Annual Report
About Bethesda Project
1630 South Street Philadelphia, PA 19146 Phone: 215-985-1600 Fax: 215-732-8214 Email: info@bethesdaproject.org www.bethesdaproject.org
Facebook.com/BethesdaProject
Since its inception in 1979, Bethesda Project has created caring communities for homeless and formerly homeless adults in Philadelphia. Bethesda Project is focused on reaching out to those who are not only homeless, but severely isolated from society, typically stemming from untreated chronic mental illness, medical conditions and addiction. Many of these men and women come to Bethesda Project after years of living on the streets, and are extremely reluctant to stay in any type of shelter. Supporting these vulnerable men and women requires long-term relationship building to address the underlying health and personal issues causing homelessness. What makes Bethesda Project unique is the dedication of the staff to treat these individuals as family and work through challenges to ensure that these men and women have a place to call home.
@Bethesda_Project
@Bethesda_Proj
@BethesdaProject
Donor Choice #3936
Feeling the winter chill? Why not get cozy in a Bethesda Project hoodie from Inkster Cares? With five different designs to choose from and 25% of every item you purchase coming back to Bethesda Project, you can’t go wrong! Visit www.inksterinc.com/ bethesda-project to see all the designs and purchase one today!