Gratefulness and giving go hand in hand, and as we move past Thanksgiving into the Christmas season, it’s more evident than ever.
Thanks to your generosity, Thanksgiving was a resounding success at Portland Rescue Mission. Between our annual Thanksgiving dinner at the Burnside Shelter on Wednesday night and Thanksgiving Day, in particular, we were able to give out well over 1,000 meals to the men, women and children who came to the Mission looking for a warm meal and good fellowship.
For Ron, who is grieving the death of his teenage daughter he lost to diabetes this holiday season, his Thanksgiving meal took on some added significance. He is grateful for what friends like you provide through the Mission.
“Portland Rescue Mission does such great work, and not many people know about it,” he said. “They feed anyone who needs a meal. They provide a place to sleep, either in a bunk or on a mat. The place is always clean. And if they don’t have enough space, they send you out with a clean blanket.
“No one needs to ever go without a meal in Portland.”
And thanks to your support, we’re able to serve more than 330,000 meals each year. We’re also able to offer so much more, and Thanksgiving served as a microcosm of that opportunity.
“T-Bone” (left) sits with two of our most faithful volunteers at our 2015 Thanksgiving Dinner at the Burnside Shelter.
“Thanksgiving is a time for family, food, and fellowship. It is a time of gratitude and grace when we come together to share a meal in thanks for all the things we have and all the ways we’ve grown,” said Andrew Hall , Guest Care Specialist at our Burnside Shelter. “We were served by over 40 volunteers from A Jesus Church, and our guests left our doors warm, fed, and with a renewed sense of celebration as they entered the holiday season.
“Our building was filled with the smells of freshly cooked treats and the sounds of laughter and conversation. And while many of our guests may not have had the chance to spend Thanksgiving with their biological family, they were able to spend it with family. They found family at the Portland Rescue Mission, and we are all better for it.”
As Andrew described so well, the holidays can be a very lonely time for those who have no home. This can be exasperated for those who also have no contact with family. And it’s for this reason that we launched Project Christmas Care. On top of providing meals, one of the best ways you can support residents at the Mission today is by letting a man, woman or child in our New Life Ministries and Connect program know they too are not forgotten this Christmas. Project Christmas Care will allow us to provide a meaningful gift to each one of those residents. Will you help us meet our goal of 160 gifts? We have 150 to go!
Make a difference today!