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Burnside Shelter

Double the meals, twice the transformed lives with Matching Gift Challenge

burnside shelter, meal, happy homeless guestYour gift, DOUBLED! That’s what can happen this month with the help of a special group of generous donors who are putting out a $30,000 Matching Gift Challenge during the month of May. So, if you’ve been waiting to give to Portland Rescue Mission, wait no more! There’s not a better time to make your hard-earned dollars go even further.

Since 1949, as Portland Rescue Mission has continued to grow and reach more guests in our community, our goal has been to give hope and restore life to men, women and children suffering from homelessness and addiction. In regards to meals, specifically, we give out over 330,000 meals each year THANKS TO YOU. And with each passing meal is another chance for our staff to transform someone’s life forever. It’s a chance for you to directly impact and help out one of our guests at a moment in their lives when they might need it most desperately.

“The first time I came here to eat dinner, I wasn’t looked down on. I was treated with respect. I was treated like a human being,” Jeff said about his first experience eating a meal at the Mission. “To walk in here after a life of no one being there, and having someone with a smile share a meal with you, it’s amazing what that little bit can do for people.

“The Mission gave me hope … I don’t know who donated that $1.60, but that person started God’s work in my life and allowed me to see the good instead of bad. It allowed me to see hope instead of utter despair. And when people do that for people like me, it changes lives.”

And Jeff is not alone.

“I used to go to the stores I knew threw out food and I’d take it out of the garbage–some of which was still warm,” Arturo explained. “When you come in here, it’s like a king’s dinner. It’s something the Lord has provided me.

“When you see these guys smiling, and they give you good food that’s hot, it refuels you.”

Hungry souls come to the Mission every single day for a hot, nutritious meal. And with your financial donations this month, that one meal for $1.60 at the Burnside Shelter turns into two meals. Those 10 meals for $16 turn into 20 meals. Or if you can give even more, that $64 for 40 meals can stretch as far as 80 meals. No matter what you can do, the Mission wants you to know we are so grateful for your kind and compassionate hearts. We could not exist without your generosity. Thanks for joining with us during May’s Matching Gift Challenge.

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