Everything happens for a reason.

Volume 23 u Number 1
TIDINGS
Easter 2013
™
A l l e n t o w n R E S C U E M I S S I ON Serving the entire Lehigh Valley since 1900
“Everything happens for a reason.”
W
hat’s a 22-year-old young man
who was a championship
tennis player in high school doing
living in a homeless shelter?
That’s the question Shanore has
been asking himself since the day
he arrived at the Mission’s Gateway
Center!
Just a couple days earlier, he’d
been living with his grandmother
and an aunt and uncle.
“My uncle had been talking
about me getting older and needing
to start looking for my own place,”
Shanore says. “I was teaching tennis,
but I had decided to stop and focus
on getting a regular job.”
So Shanore started looking
online for possible openings. But
one Sunday morning, the situation
flared out of control. Shanore’s
grandmother told him it was time to
“go to church.” Shanore said no, he
had other things to do, and besides,
he wanted to go to his own church.
The argument escalated and
Shanore’s uncle became involved.
Shanore was told to “grab your
things and get out of my house!”
355 Hamilton Street
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Shanore called his girlfriend who
picked him up, and a friend agreed
to let him stay one night with his
family. “The next day, he helped me
find the Mission,” Shanore says. “I
didn’t have any money in my pocket,
and he gave me some change.”
Shanore’s friend calls the Mission
every day to see how he is doing.
Situations like Shanore’s are
the reason our Gateway Center
emergency shelter exists and is so
busy…to get men off the streets
and encourage them to take a first
step to self-sufficiency.
Along with shelter, nutritious
meals, showers and personal care
items and clothing, guests can learn
more about our long-term programs
that address the root causes of
homelessness, or be referred to
other local agencies for help.
Last year, nearly 800 men
received help through the
Gateway Center. About
600 of those men were
referred to the Mission’s
in-house programs or
community resources
to address their needs.
P.O. Box 748
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Allentown, PA 18105
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610-740-5500
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Don’t Miss…
Spring Cleaning...........................2
When hunger ends,
hope begins................................2
The Mission was
“definitely God’s plan!”...............3
www.AllentownRescueMission.org
Spring Cleaning
t may be hard to imagine right
Iweeks
now, but spring is only a few
away. For the men on the
Mission’s Clean Team, that means
it’s time for spring cleaning!
The Clean Team is a program
of the Allentown Rescue Mission
that teaches clients how to work
their way out of homelessness.
Clean Team participants earn
wages, performing real work in
the community, while learning
valuable life skills and workplace
ethics that are essential to success.
Clean Team workers will clean
it up, pick it up, spruce it up
or haul it away. Here are some
examples of what the Clean
Team can do for you: office
moves, interior demolition, light
landscaping, property cleanouts,
dumpsite cleanups, carpet
removal, interior painting, floor
waxing or anything labor related.
The Clean Team’s satisfied
customer base includes the
City of Allentown, Mayfair,
Kutztown Folk Festival, the Great
Allentown Fair, Dorney Park,
Good Shepherd Rehabilitation
Network and many more.
Consider hiring the Clean Team
for your spring cleaning project!
For more information, contact
Clean Team Resource Development
Coordinator Mike Mauro at
[email protected]
or (610) 740-5500, ext. 32, or
online at CleanTeamPA.com.
TIDINGS
™
Rescue, rehabilitation, and
restoration for people in crisis.
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Board of Directors
Tom Gibson / President
John Kercsmar, C.P.A. / Vice President
Will Hahn / Treasurer
Dean Browning
Dr. Wayne Stuart
Stuart Smith
Kris Kapoor
Dr. Laurence Karper
Evett Vega
Brad Osborne
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The Allentown Rescue Mission is a
registered Pennsylvania charity.
Official registration and financial
information may be obtained from the
Pennsylvania Dept. of State by
calling toll free, within PA 1-800-732-0999.
Registration does not imply endorsement.
TIDINGS is funded by private donations,
not government money.
2
A Delicious Event!
T
he 2nd annual Taste of the Valley’s
Finest is set for Thursday, May 9th.
Join us again at the Holiday Inn Lehigh
Valley, Breinigsville for a food-tasting
event like no other!
Restaurants, caterers and bakeries
from across our area will offer samplings of
their favorite dishes. Enjoy live music and
a silent auction with thousands of dollars
in goods and services up for bid. It’s a
delicious way to spend a fun evening.
All proceeds from ticket sales and
the silent auction benefit the Allentown
Rescue Mission.
Last year’s event attracted almost
500 guests and raised more than
$22,000 for the Mission’s programs
and services that help homeless and
impoverished people. We hope to see
you on May 9th!
For ticket information, visit
AllentownRescueMission.org.
Calling All Volunteers!
V
olunteers are essential to the
Mission’s ability to care for
hundreds of homeless men in the Lehigh
Valley every year. We simply could not
carry out fundraising efforts and special
events, such as the Thanks for Giving
Food and Supplies
Drive and the
Spaghetti Dinner,
without the support
of the community. Volunteers also
provide valuable
assistance with the
maintenance of the Mission’s building
on W. Hamilton St., with things such as
painting and gardening.
Another way people can help is by
cooking a meal for our homeless clients.
Your group can prepare a meal for 80100 people at home or at your church,
bring it to the Mission, reheat it in our
kitchen with the help of our staff and
serve it to the Mission’s homeless clients
in our dining room.
Volunteering allows you to follow
your passion while contributing to
a cause that’s important to you. It is
a great way to get to know others in
our community. The work you do and
the things you accomplish when you
volunteer have a huge impact on the
Mission and our community.
To learn more about how you can
help at the Mission, contact Dawn
Washington, Development Manager,
at (610) 740-5500, ext. 14 or visit
AllentownRescueMission.org and click
on the “Volunteer” page.
When hunger ends, hope begins
2013 Easter Celebration
Y
ou would enjoy being here at the
Mission during Easter!
There’s an air of excitement, a sense of
anticipation. In the kitchen, they’ll soon
start planning the special dinner that
follows our Easter Sunday celebration.
Through your gifts and your prayers,
homeless, hungry neighbors from
Allentown and throughout the Lehigh
Valley not only receive warm, home-
cooked meals, but begin the work that
helps them overcome poverty, addictions
and suffering...and live healthier,
happier, more hopeful lives!
Please continue to end hunger and
bring people a message of hope by
sending a special Easter gift today. You
may use the enclosed envelope, or give
online at AllentownRescueMission.org.
Coming to the Mission was
“definitely God’s plan!”
G
erry nearly died when he was
struck by a car while crossing the
street in Allentown in October 2010.
Severely injured, he was hospitalized
for three months – and in an “induced”
coma for nearly one month of that time.
He left the hospital in January 2011
and eventually found work. When he
lost his job several months ago, he was
unable to pay his rent. Not wanting
to be homeless, Gerry came to the
Mission’s Gateway Center where he
found the help and direction he needed.
“The Mission is an amazing place,” he
says. “Besides the food and shelter, they
helped me discover myself spiritually and
build a relationship with God.”
“It was definitely in God’s plan that
I showed up here. It’s not a mistake!”
While he was at our emergency
shelter, Gerry hunted for a job every day.
But he also learned about our Christian
Living & Values Program through a
couple of men who work at the shelter.
Gerry grew up in a Christian home,
but “never gave it as much thought as
I should have.” Through our Christian
Living program, he discovered that even
though he didn’t have a relationship
with God and His Son, they had one
with him!
“That was the most amazing thing,”
he says, “and I wouldn’t have discovered
any of that without this program!”
Once he graduated from the
program, Gerry decided to go back to
college and continue his education.
Today, he’s working on a four-year,
double major in English and Special
Education. His goal is to teach innercity children. For now, Gerry is teaching
our Computer Skills for Job Readiness
class to clients in the Christian Living &
Values Program.
But he says he’ll never forget the
help he’s received at the Allentown
Rescue Mission. In fact, Gerry marvels
at the good work the Mission is able to
do in people’s lives.
“People definitely need to know
that the good and absolute love and
charity that comes out of this place is
amazing. I had never seen anything
like it. Countless lives are touched
and helped on a daily basis, and the
Mission really asks for nothing in
return.”
Thank You for
Another Successful
Thanks for Giving!
T
he Mission’s warehouse is
packed with non-perishable
food, paper products and
cleaning supplies, thanks to
another successful Thanks for
Giving Food and Supplies Drive.
The 12th annual campaign, held
in November, netted 39,000
pounds of donations that are used
by the Allentown Rescue Mission
locally to benefit homeless
people in its shelter and housing
programs this winter and beyond.
With a conservative estimate
of $2 per pound, this provided
$78,000 for budget relief. The
drive also took in $8,045 in cash
donations and $1,205 in grocery
store gift cards.
The drive culminated with more
than 100 volunteers and Mission
staffers accepting donations
from shoppers at Walmart and
Giant Food stores for two days
in November. KNBT Bank,
People First Credit Union, the
Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber
of Commerce, as well as Giant
Food and Walmart, served as
official drop-off sites for donations
through the entire month.
Thank you to all of the
sponsors of the Thanks for Giving
Drive, all of the volunteers and
everyone who donated this
year. We simply could not do it
without you!
To learn more about this and
other annual Mission events, visit
AllentownRescueMission.org.
3
Mission Welcomes
New Director
I
n January 2013, the Mission
welcomed Chris Aylward as our
new CEO. He brings with him
over 20 years’
experience
helping
homeless and
impoverished
individuals
achieve
personal,
professional and spiritual growth.
He has an outstanding record
of developing processes for
improving operational excellence.
Prior to joining the Allentown
Rescue Mission, he served as the
Director of Vocational Services
at The Altamont Program in
Syracuse, NY. He resides in the
Lehigh Valley with his wife, Tina,
and their two children.
To learn more, please visit
AllentownRescueMission.org.
Visit Us Online!
G
et to know us better, learn
about volunteer opportunities,
read about the latest news and
events and donate securely at
AllentownRescueMission.org.
Join us
Mission Seeks New Direction
for Addiction Outreach
T
he Allentown Rescue Mission is
studying new options for how it
can help people in recovery for drug
and alcohol addiction. The Mission
discontinued the Life Recovery Program,
a state-licensed residential drug and
alcohol treatment program, on October
19, 2012, due to low client participation
rates and the availability of alternative
drug and alcohol programs in the
Lehigh Valley. This action will enable
the Mission to better focus resources on
its core mission: rescue, rehabilitation
and restoration for people in crisis.
DeSales Expanding Free Clinic at Mission
N
ursing students from DeSales
University now meet with Mission
clients on Thursday mornings, during
the Mission’s Free Clinic program, to
perform blood pressure screenings and
fasting blood sugars.
They also practice “therapeutic
communication” during their morning
visits to the Mission, teaching the men
about health in an informal setting.
DeSales started the Free Clinic at
the Mission six years ago. Over 1,000
individual patients have been treated
since 2007. No patient is ever turned
away or charged for services, and the
operation is run entirely on donations.
Prior to the DeSales Free Clinic,
Mission clients either went to a local
2013 Easter Celebration
When hunger ends, hope begins
Yes, I’ll provide meals, shelter and hope for hungry,
homeless people with my special Easter gift of:
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The Mission has served the needs of
the homeless community since the early
1900s, with our first mission statement
completed in 1906. The Life Recovery
Program was started in 1997. It offered
inpatient, non-hospital, residential
treatment for drug and alcohol
addiction for men over the age of 18.
“The Allentown Rescue Mission will
continue working hard to help homeless
and impoverished men successfully
transition to a life of self-sufficiency,”
says Tom Gibson, Allentown Rescue
Mission Board President.
$16.11 to feed and care for 9 people
$26.85 to feed and care for 15 people
$51.91 to feed and care for 29 people
$______ to help as much as possible
_________________________________________________________________
m
emergency
room or
to a family
practice,
and the
Mission
footed the
bill.
The
clinic is
housed inside the Mission in two rooms
that have been remodeled as doctor’s
offices. Care at the clinic focuses on
acute minor illness, prevention and
chronic illness control.
To learn more, please visit our
website, AllentownRescueMission.org.
Check enclosed
m VISA m MC
m
Bill my credit card
CREDIT CARD #
EXP. DATE
CIV/SEC #
PHONE #
E-MAIL
Donate online at www.AllentownRescueMission.org,
or call (610) 740-5500, ext. 26.
ADDRESS
Allentown Rescue Mission
P.O. Box 748
Allentown, PA 18105-0748
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NAME
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CITY / STATE/ ZIP
EAST13
Please return this completed form with your donation. Your gift is tax-deductible as allowed by law. You will receive a receipt.