Changing Lives December 2011 Newsletter

119 Years of Service

www.DenverRescueMission.org

December 2011

A Home for the

For when I was hungry, you gave me food; when I was thirsty, you gave me drink; when I was homeless, you gave me a welcome.

Matthew 25:35

A Home for the Home for the holidays is a timeless phrase

synonymous with holiday feasts, cheerful gift exchange and treasured moments with loved ones who have come together to celebrate the miracle of Christmas. For many of us, it’s a blessing we look forward to all year long.

Your generosity will give the poor and homeless a “home for the holidays!”

But what if this Christmas you had no home, no family to share in the joy of Christ’s birth, no gifts to give? What if this day came and went like every other?

Thanks to your compassion, Christmas will be special for the homeless. Your support will provide them with a “home for the holidays” through warm shelter, festive meals and an outpouring of love.

Thank you for opening your hearts to those with no home for the holidays!

Adopt-A-Family Through the Mission’s Adopt-A-Family program, individuals, families, churches, businesses, and civic groups will bless low-income families with a delicious holiday meal and personalized gifts. Thank you to our donors for their support of this program, and special thanks to our sponsors for their compassion and generosity!

Christmas Meals Thank you for sharing the love of Jesus this holiday season by providing warm, traditional holiday meals for the hundreds of needy people who have nowhere else to go and will arrive at the Mission. Your donations will also provide blankets and thermal socks for the hungry and homeless guests who dine at our Lawrence Street Shelter.

Holiday Party for Families at The Crossing

Families trying to rebuild their lives and achieve self-sufficiency through our STAR Transitional Program will enjoy our 13th annual Broncos Christmas Party. This memorable event will be held at The Crossing and hosted by Champ Bailey. Several Broncos will attend, and 200 lowincome men, women and children will receive Christmas presents, food and holiday cheer from Broncos players.

No one should be homeless at Christmas. Give the gift of holiday hope to the poor and needy by filling out the enclosed card and sending in your donation today!

From the CEO Dear Friends, There is something special about being home for the holidays.

Although I have enjoyed many Christmases with my family, there is one I will never forget. If you have lived in Denver as long as I have, you remember the Christmas Eve blizzard of 1982; 24 inches of snow in 24 hours. I barely made it home to my wife, Cary, and our two small children, after the bank I was working at closed early that day. There were cars stranded everywhere. Somehow, my little Honda station wagon made it to the street outside our condo before getting stuck!

We had planned to leave that night to be home with my wife’s family in Colorado Springs. But the snow ensured that we were not going anywhere. Because we were going to be in Colorado Springs, we had taken all of our Christmas presents down there earlier. We woke up on Christmas morning with one wrapped gift under the tree—a photo of ourselves to give to my in-laws! (I had to restrain myself not to open it!)

My family of four was warm and together, but stranded, as the roads were almost all shut down.

Desperate to be with family, I went out late in the afternoon, after the snow had stopped, to try and dig out my car. Having recently moved from California, we did not even own a snow shovel, so I began to dig my car out of a large drift with a fireplace shovel! (Not the best idea!) At about 8 pm, I-25 reopened, and I was able to free up the car enough to see if we could make it out of Aurora and onto the highway.

Finally, after a long drive, we arrived home in Colorado Springs at about 10 pm to a great celebration! My two young sons had the time of their lives opening up gifts, and we were thrilled to just be together. That Christmas, I learned something important about the value of being home for the holidays, with loved ones who care about you—and to always have a snow shovel in Colorado!

Thanks for allowing us to share our “home” with the poor and needy. Your generous support is a tremendous blessing to the people we serve and gives them a reason to celebrate.

Merry Christmas!

God Bless,

Brad Meuli

Life-Changing Christmas Gifts

Purchase life-changing gifts on behalf of everyone on your list from the Mission’s online Christmas Catalog.

All gifts of shelter, food and comfort provide tangible hope and help to homeless men, women and children in our community. Your generosity will bless your friends, family and those in need. To buy your gifts and print cards online, visit our catalog at www.DenverRescueMission.org/catalog. If you don’t have internet or printer access, you may make a donation in honor of a loved one over the phone, and we will mail a certificate to your home so you can deliver the gift yourself. For more information, please contact Travis @ 303.297.1815.

An Evening of Exploration On October 13th, the Denver Rescue Mission hosted our second annual Evening of Exploration at The Wildlife Experience. Emceed by Tamara Banks, the event included a silent auction, dinner and testimony from a graduate of the New Life Program. Denver Rescue Mission was proud to feature Mike Yankoski, author of Under the Overpass, as our special guest speaker. We would like to thank the 200 community members who joined us to celebrate lives changed and hope restored!

A special thanks to our generous sponsors who helped make this evening possible: Didgeridoo Discovery

McDonald Automotive Group

Koala Encounter Jake Meuli

Vegemite Delight

Griff & Lisa Freyschlag Sherri Heronema JHL Constructors, Inc. Jeffrey & Kim Long The Swenson Family

Crocodile Hunter Colorado Housing and Finance Authority

Meet The Author

FirstBank

Gift-in-Kind Sponsors Colorado Party Rentals Denver Post Community Durlam Design The Ginn Mill The Plum Gallery

Statistics

Mission Events

How You Help

Christmas Banquet

December 23rd Lawrence Street Shelter

Community Events

Thank You For Feeding the Hungry!

On November 3rd, the Denver Rescue Mission received 30,000 pounds of ham and bacon from Smithfield Foods, United Food & Commercial Workers and Safeway. Thank you for the generous donation that will help feed thousands of hungry men, women and children in our community!

Mark Schlereth’s Stinkin’ Good Green Chile You can support the Mission by shopping in the freezer section of your local King Soopers, Safeway or Whole Foods Market and purchasing a tub of Mark Schlereth’s Stinkin’ Good Green Chile. A percentage of all chile sales will help the Denver Rescue Mission fight hunger for homeless and low-income men, women and children. Thank you to Mark Schlereth’s Stinkin’ Good Green Chile for being the “Official Chile of the Denver Rescue Mission!”

Greatest Needs

Champa House: Diapers—all sizes; wipes; women’s watches; white one-inch binders; new silverware sets; new twin bedding for moms and children (sheets and comforters); new bed pillows. For more information, please call Amy @ 303.294.9961.

Family and Senior Homeless Initiative: Mentoring congregations in South Denver; ten $1200 sponsors to place 10 homeless families into housing. For more information, please call Shawn @ 303.300.7999.

Vehicle Donations: Vehicles, running or not! For more information, please call Debbie @ 303.313.2435.

Clinic: Portable dental cabinets; dentists with dental assistants; over-thecounter medications such as Advil, Tylenol and cough drops; new reading glasses; new eyeglass frames; eyeglass cases. For more information, please call Melanie @ 303.294.0157 x2103.

Client Services: Diapers—all sizes; baby formula; winter wear. For more information, please call Tanner @ 303.313.2497.

Harvest Farm: Men’s winter wear: coats; boots; gloves; and coveralls. For more information, please call Michael @ 970.568.9803.

Lawrence Street Shelter: Beef; butter; oil; sugar; and coffee. For more information, please call Kelly @ 720.371.8415.

Family Services: Mentors for homeless teens in the STAR Transitional Program; mentors for refugees. For more information, please call Tom @ 303.953.3939.

LifeSkills, Education and Career Center: One- to two-inch three-ring binders; new pencils. For more information, please call Mark @ 303.953.3918.

October

Meals served 45,159 Beds 21,508 Chapel attendance 8,484 Food boxes distributed 140 Furniture (households) 124 Clothing (lbs.)

18,869 Chiropractic 32 Dental 158 Medical 631 Optical 206

YTD

438,470 173,300 72,201 964 993 185,295 253 1,340 5,079 1,943

Our Outreaches

Lawrence Street Shelter Emergency care: meals, overnight shelter, free health care, food box and clothing distribution.

Champa House Residential facility offering long-term help toward self-sufficiency to single mothers with dependent children.

Harvest Farm Long-term New Life rehabilitation program, farming and ranching operation, food and clothing distribution, and Fall Festival.

The Crossing Long-term New Life rehabilitation program; transitional housing for program graduates and homeless families; temporary housing for interns and visitors.

Ministry Outreach Center Administrative and warehouse facilities; food, clothing, and household goods distribution.

Family Services Transitional housing; assistance for permanent housing; mentoring for homeless working families, seniors and refugee families.

Global Ministry Outreach Consultation, resources and support to city/rescue missions around the world.

Changing Lives is the monthly news publication of Denver Rescue Mission

Director of Communications: Christine Gallamore • Designer: Kirstin Hamrick • Writer: Nicole Vaiana

P.O. Box 5164 • Denver, CO 80217 • 303.297.1815 www.DenverRescueMission.org

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