Show you care this Easter season through Operation Care-Ware.

Transcription

1 Winter 217 Your Prayerful Support Will Help Others New Mission Project Launched When it comes to providing necessary care for individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness there tends to be one area that often gets overlooked, underwear. While many resources are regularly given to meet the need of safe shelter, nutritious meals, healthy hygiene, clothing to stay warm and dry; underwear is often times left for the individual to find or for the organization caring for these individuals to provide. This is why we are mobilizing OPERATION: CARE-WARE to gather undergarments to give out this Easter season and throughout the year. YOU can care for men, women, boys, and girls this Easter season by providing your gifts in various sizes (infant to adult XXXL) of underwear, t-shirts, bras, and shower shoes. Imagine how good it feels to have new fresh undergarments to change into after a long day. Many homeless individuals who are struggling to make it through each day with limited resources may not have enough undergarments on their person, and/or the ability to properly care for these items on a regular basis. Many times homeless men and women approach SBM staff Show you care this Easter season through Operation Care-Ware. seeking to acquire these necessary items, only to find that supplies are limited or depleted. When it comes to underwear, let s show YOU care! Mobilize YOUR church, business, school, and/or community group to participate in OPERATION: CARE-WARE and give the gift of new, fresh, and comfortable undergarments for many individuals and families who are hurting and homeless. Contact Sunday Breakfast Mission at (32) and ask for Alex Close ext. 185, or Rev. Nancy Wheeler ext. 172 and register your group today! Many families with children enjoyed a nutritious traditional Thanksgiving meal at the SBM community banquet. YOU Provided a Great Thanksgiving Week Hundreds of men, women and children were provided a Great Thanksgiving experience! Our donors imapcted lives by providing food through the WSFS food drive, financial donations, and hours of volunteer service. YOU, the donors to the, provided over 43, meals for the hungry, hurting and homeless. Those meals provided by YOU allowed families to celebrate and give thanks for having ample food for a week of feasting. The Great Thanksgiving week, was topped off with the Great Thanksgiving Day banquet. The impact of your efforts was captured in these comments. Sharon told us, It was so humbling to me; that individuals and families volunteered all Thanksgiving Day, a day that is traditionally spent with their families. Steph noted, I told others that watching the food Continued on page 8 Listen to Rev. Laymon on Sunday 9:15 a.m. WDEL 11.7 FM & 115 AM or online at /broadcasts.php

2 2 Winter 217 WSFS and s Annual 6 Ton Food Challenge Rev. Laymon, President/CEO/Sr. Pastor of and WSFS Bank personnel gathered to receive recognition plaques from the competition between bank branches during the fall food drive WSFS sponsored with SBM. Celebrating 45 Tons of Food collected were (from left to right) Eric Quinones, Assistant Branch Manager Fairfax, Kat Ryan Personal Banker Fairfax, Rev. Laymon, Vernita Dorsey Vice President/Director of Community Strategy, Paul Geraghty EVP & Chief Wealth Officer for Christiana Trust, Grace Boyd--VP/Branmar Office Manager, Haley Harris Corporate Trust Group, and Danielle Seningen Cypress Capital. YOUR DONATIONS of non-perishable foods provide not only food for the SBM Thanksgiving banquet for families in need, but food boxes for impoverished families who have need throughout the year. The morning of October 15 began with the warehouse empty of food, no packed food boxes in inventory, and only five weeks until the Great Thanksgiving Week. The well-known SBM brown grocery bags were in the Sunday News Journal and several of the local community newspapers with the challenge to provide 6 tons of food needed by Sunday Breakfast Mission to provide meals to the hungry, hurting, and homeless families in your community throughout the year. YOU responded to the challenge! YOU donated 45 tons of nonperishable food! The generosity of individuals and families to gather food and deliver it to the WSFS branch locations throughout the state was great. Small businesses and churches also carried out food drives to provide the food for 15 food boxes needed before Thanksgiving and to be the foundation for the feeding of 8 individuals and families at the Great Thanksgiving Banquet. WSFS challenged their branches to encourage customers, businesses and residents in their area to bring in food. Two branches achieved a gold level award by collecting at least 1 bags of groceries and three branches took the challenge to the max collecting over 15 bags to be recognized with a platinum level award BECAUSE OF YOUR GENEROSITY. You can continue to help women, children, and men who are hungry, hurting and homeless by providing non-perishable food to SBM throughout the year. An additional 15 tons of food is needed to provide the foundation for the 6 meals a day provided by the Mission. As well, the additional 15 tons of food gives us the ability to provide community food boxes to those who are impoverished and hungry. There is already a need for 12, meals to be provided to these families over the coming months before the next food drive. What can you do? First, purchase an extra can of vegetables, can of pasta sauce, tuna or chicken, along with a box of cereal, pasta or Mac and cheese when you shop. You can bring those to the Mission any day of the week to donate. Second, you can organize a food drive where you work, at the church you attend or a community group in which you participate. Your help is needed to provide hope for women, children and men who are hungry, hurting and homeless in our community. Because of your generosity, 15 food boxes were assembled by volunteers like these pictured above and distributed to families in need the week of Thanksgiving. AN ADDITIONAL 15 TONS OF NON-PERISHABLE FOOD IS STILL NEEDED THIS YEAR. TO SCHEDULE A CORPORATE, SCHOOL OR CHURCH FOOD DRIVE, CALL (32)

3 That is exactly what the men s choir of the have been commissioned to do wherever they are invited. Whether it is for a special Sunday morning of worship at a local church, a noon conference, or an evening mission convention, they are ready. The first Sunday in December the Men s Choir opened the Christmas season with the 2nd Annual Hymn Sing at. There were wonderful timeless hymns warming the hearts of local guests and congregates from several area churches across Delaware. In addition to singing at several churches that have partnered with Sunday Breakfast Mission, the men took their love for music beyond the walls of SBM by sharing a special time of worship with the students and faculty of Salesianum School. On another evening, the Choir greeted guests with an array of Christmas songs as they entered the renowned Hagley Museum for their Annual Twilight Tour. A special highlight came when the Men s Choir opened the 18th Delaware State Chamber of Commerce s January 217 Annual Dinner with the singing of our National Anthem at the Chase Center on the Riverfront. Although the men enrolled in s Discipleship Program have encountered many different experiences in their lives, singing before such a vast array of audiences was not particularly an experience they could have anticipated. At SBM we have found that participating in the choir provides the men discipline, focus, expands their horizons, and places good thoughts, encouraging words, and words of praise and blessings in their hearts and minds. Because you have invested in the lives of the men, women and children walking through the doors of their lives have been changed forever. Many local people are hearing a new message through songs sung by our Men s Winter He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise for our God. Many people will learn of this and be amazed; they will trust the LORD. Psalm 4:3 How does the Christmas season affect you? For some Christmas brings on a spirit of joy and excitement; a time of holiday cheer, filled with family and laughter. For others, the Christmas season can bring with it a spirit of despair, anxiety, and loneliness. It can become an overwhelming shadow that plagues the heart. Christmas impacts each of us in many ways. Because YOU support SBM, we want you to hear firsthand how Christmas at has impacted the hearts of men participating in SBM s Discipleship Program. Christmas time is usually full of hostility, but for some reason, hostility was low; and I felt God s spirit and His peace and love were in the air. It was truly peaceful and joyous! Aubrey I enjoyed helping and serving many others. I felt the spirit of Christ abundantly, as we assisted in serving meals and giving of gifts to our overnight guests! Bill Christmas for me this year pleased my soul. Usually, I am grumpy around this time of year, but Because you have invested lives have been changed. Christmas Morning SBM volunteers distribute long johns sets and gift bags with socks, scarves, hats, and gloves to all of the overnight guests. Later in the morning SBM residents received gifts provided especially for them by Adopt-a-Resident donors. THANK YOU! seeing the many volunteers come and give gifts, help decorate, and prepare Christmas breakfast; made it SBM Men s Choir sing the Nation Anthem before an audience of 9 community leaders and business men and women at the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce s Annual Dinner. Photo provided by Dick Dubroff/Final Focus Choir directed under the faithful volunteer leadership of Mrs. Vaalburg. These men are ready to share their message of love and hope at your next gathering. We would love to schedule the Men s Choir to sing at your church or event. Give us a call today at (32) YOU Provided the Christmas Spirit I never spent Christmas in this fashion! Christmas was a large gathering; a coming together, like family. I was even blessed with gifts that I did not expect. Karl the Best Christmas I have had in a long time! - Terrill In J.I. Packer s book, Knowing God, Packer states the Christmas spirit ought to mean the reproducing in human lives of the temper of Him who for our sakes became poor at the first Christmas. And the Christmas spirit itself ought to be the mark of every Christian all year round. (Knowing God, pp.63) As we pack up all the decorations of Christmas ; let s not pack up the spirit in which we celebrate! Would YOU consider giving your best gift yet this year? Or, if you re not a monthly donor; would you consider becoming one today! YOUR generous and faithful gifts to Sunday Breakfast Mission ensures men like: Karl, Aubrey, Bill, and Terrill can experience the Christmas spirit all year round!

4 4 Winter 217 Winter 217 An Exciting Year of Challenges and Changed Lives Two graduations were held in. These ladies graduated in October from the Women s Discipleship Program. YOUR GENEROSITY MADE A YEAR OF VICTORIES Cumulative number of graduates Cumulative Cumulative Number N of umber Graduates of Graduates Budget categories Becoming a monthly online donor Sponsoring a food drive or collection Preparing or cooking daily meals for community and SBM residents Becoming a driver to support picking up various food donations Thank you! Thanks to the Lord and thanks to our supporters., although often challenging, was an exciting year of great victories. The ongoing issues revolving around our region s heroin epidemic the increased homelessness, family disruptions, as well as hunger, continued to strain resources. But, the generosity of our community not only met needs but enabled us to see many lives turned around. Assisting with clerical and office support Mentoring women and men in the Discipleship Program Serving evening community meals Donating a used car Providing individual or family nonperishable food donations Income by categories Donating protein sources ( beef, pork and poultry) for meals In our 124th year, we cherished the opportunity to share Christ s love with the homeless, hungry and hurting. As you peruse the charts and number on these pages, please remember the story after story of changed lives each represent! I CAN HELP TO GIVE THE GIFT OF HOPE BY... Number Number Number of Boeds f obf eds Beds Number of beds ,194 9,194 9,194 Total Meals ,126 79,126 79,126 71,953 71,953 71,953 66,753 66,753 66, Number of Beds Number of Beds ,154 39,154 39, ,227 33,227 33, , , ,876 38, , , total total mm eals eals 19, 19, Total Meals Served Total Meals Served Total Total M Meals eals 76,358 76,358 76, Evening meals bring not only the homeless, but community families who are struggle to make ends meet and need a hot nutritious meal for their children. Our Mission Statement serves the homeless, addicted and impoverished through Christ-centered programs to meet their spiritual, social and physical needs. Our primary goal is to restore people to right relationships to God, their families and society. 5

5 6 Winter 217 Celebrate! These families and neighbors provided lot of special toys and teen items for the Christmas Shop. The Bank of America volunteer on the left help this mom as she cheerfully shopped. YOU made Christmas special for her and her children. Parents delight in giving gifts to their children at Christmas and children look forward with bright eyes and hopeful hearts that there will be special packages under the tree for them Christmas morning. Many children in impoverished families may receive little or nothing, but because of generous SBM donors parents of local families and SBM residents were able to shop at no charge at the SBM Christmas Shop where they selected two gifts Your efforts provided many children with toys for Christmas Individuals and small groups, like this WSFS team, helped setup the shop and escort parents as they sellected gifts for their children. for each of their children, received socks, stocking stuffers, hat and scarf sets. What a thrill for these parents, who represented 13 families and 342 children. It was exciting to hear one mother share when she came to the shop, I received Christ as my Savior at the SBM Thanksgiving Day Banquet and have begun attending a local church. The church has a great children s program and my kids are Because of community groups provided pajamas, this resident toddler is sporting her new footies and waits patiently for Christmas breakfast. THANK YOU! loving it. And, now I will have presents for my children Christmas morning. This only happened BECAUSE OF YOU, donors who gave financially, held toy drives, knitted and crocheted scarves, hats, and blankets, and volunteered your time. YOUR GENEROUSITY MADE IT POSSIBLE for families to provide a Merry Christmas for their children. YOU made it happen; YOU made a difference in the lives of children. THANK YOU! YOU CAN HELP! SBM Needs Rubber Soled Shoes to provide Warm, Dry Feet THANK YOU Delaware Orthopaedic Specialists and Our Hearts to Your Soles! YOU provided a wonderful, compassionate service by examining feet and fitting children, women, and men with new shoes just prior to the onset of winter. Although the Mid-Atlantic States usually have a milder winter than our neighbors to the north, we still get snow and sleet, nights of freezing temperatures, and sometimes just nasty weather. It is very critical for homeless people in our area to keep their feet dry and warm when out in our wet and harsh winter weather. Foot problems are always a concern, but YOU can help by providing gently used or new rubber sole shoes and socks. In December doctors from Delaware Orthopaedic Specialists and Our Hearts to your Soles came to SBM one evening to examine the feet of our SBM residents and overnighters, providing them with foot care and new rubber sole shoes and socks, which the two groups supplied. Along with their staff, Dr. Kupcha and Dr. Perscky were present offering foot exams and fittings. It was a tremendous gift to all of our resident women and children and good number of men. Yet the need was so great we were unable to accommodate many of the men who had a need for shoes. Homeless and impoverished people come to SBM all year long for decent and well fitting shoes. YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE by donating new and gently used rubber soled shoes and new socks. All sizes are needed and can be donated directly to for distribution to the hurting, homeless, and impoverished in our area.

6 Winter 217 The Challenge of Preparing Over 6 Meals a Day! Trusting God s provision will come through willing hands and compassionate hearts The provides over 6 meals a day beginning with an early morning breakfast for overnight guests and residents, lunch for women, children, and men in residence and the evening community meals. The challenge of planning, preparing and providing those meals is the responsibility of the Mission s new Director of Food Rev. Tomm Stone, SBM s new Director of Food Services, manages the kitchens, food preparations, and food inventory, which is no small task when 6 meals are prepared each day. Services, Rev. Tomm Stone. Rev. Stone joined the SBM in late November, believing he was being called by God to begin a new chapter in his life. Rev. Tomm joined the Mission staff after 37 years in the produce industry and 1 years in pastoral ministry. He said, I was not looking for employment or work when I talked with Rev. Laymon about the Mission and the need for a Director of Food Services, but as I prayed about the situation, I believed God was providing a unique challenge and new purpose in my life. Rev. Stone said, There are great challenges to be faced in providing so many meals, and God is using this to grow me in my trusting and depending upon Him to meet the needs each day. Rev. Tomm noted that in providing the evening meal to the community SBM has need for some real basics and needs YOUR help in order to provide hot nutritious meals for women, children, and men who come to us hungry, hurting and homeless every day. First is the need for a constant supply of donated staple non-perishable foods like; canned vegetables, pasta sauce, pasta, noodles, rice, instant potatoes and cereal. Your donation of these items provides the foundation to build and serve over 6 meals a day, seven days a week. Meals are not only provided daily for community members and overnighters, but also for the women & children and men, who are residents in SBM s Discipleship Program. There are great challenges to be faced in providing so many meals, and God is using this to grow me in my trusting and depending upon Him to meet the needs each day. Secondly, Rev. Stone emphasizes that YOUR help is needed in the preparation and cooking of the evening community meal. This work begins in the early afternoon and some days goes right up to the first plate of food being served at 5 p.m. Rev. Tomm said anyone who enjoys cooking; helping others who like to cook, or just loves to use their time to help provide hot nutritious meals, can volunteer to help in the Mission s kitchen. YOUR help is needed to meet the challenge of providing over 6 meals a day. Your donation of food, giving of your time to prepare the meals, giving financially, and daily praying for SBM to trust God to supply the food He has planned on His schedule, will help provide this compassionate means of caring for those among us who are hurting, hungry and homeless. Buying a new car? Help Others by Donating Your Used Car The car you ve decided has seen better days can be a source of hope and support to those who are in need of critical transportation. facilitates getting your used cars into the hands of individuals and families who need basic transportation to work, school, doctor s office, church, the grocery store, and even caring for others in their family. Last year because of your donations of used vehicles, YOU provided 49 families in your community in desperate need of transportation with cars, vans and SUVs. Because of YOUR vehicle donation 12 graduates have vehicles so they can get to work and begin their transformed lives outside the Mission. Last year as you purchased your new car and donated 7 used cars, YOU generated enough income to provide 2, meals for community people who are hurting, hungry and homeless. So, are you getting a new car in 217? You can help so many by donating your old car to where it is used to help women, children and men in need of transportation. You can make it possible for graduates to get a fresh start in contributing to the community and getting to their jobs. Your purchase of a new car can impact the lives of others, transform another person or their family s life and give them hope, through donating your current used car. Contact Mike Smith for details about donating a vehicle to SBM. msmith@sundaybreakfastmission.org Ext

7 8 Winter 217 THANKSGIVING Contiued from page 1 flow out the kitchens during the Great Thanksgiving Banquet was like Jesus with fish and bread, where he transformed something small and made into something big and miraculous. YOU, the donors, make it possible for Sunday Breakfast Mission to provide not only meals, but the opportunity to share the love of God and give a message of hope. Each person given a food box before Thanksgiving and the 8 plus men, women and children at the banquet, heard the message of hope found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. During the Great Thanksgiving Week and the Great Thanksgiving Banquet 45 individuals professed belief in Jesus as their Savior, becoming a member of God s Rev. Laymon presents the Gospel, explaining that our sinful, evil hearts are a problem and Jesus, God incarnate, solved this problem on the cross by taking our punishment upon Himself. Photo by Diamond State Photography family. Tammy shared, This Thanksgiving I was with my family, my family in Christ. I am very grateful for each and every person who helped make the Great Thanksgiving Banquet possible. We THANK YOU FOR YOUR DONATIONS, YOUR financial support, and YOUR time, all of which made for a special Thanksgiving. We also ask that YOU support SBM in 217 so we will be able to provide food boxes throughout the year, serve over 6 meals every day, and to share the Love of God. Avoiding Potential Family Landmines The Australian Army began recruiting dogs to track alongside soldiers during the Vietnam War. Journalist and veteran Peter Haran says he owes his life to one such dog Caesar. In August 1967, Caesar and Haran were leading a team of men when the dog suddenly stopped tracking, returned to me and sat on my foot. At that second a mine behind me detonated, seriously wounding five men and almost knocking me out. After recovering from the shock, trained engineers walked ahead of me and found a huge, unexploded bomb wired to other mines. (Story adapted from My Dog Saved Me. ) Today we would never think of going into a minefield unprepared! But over 7 percent of Americans are doing it every single day by not creating an Estate Plan. A Will helps you avoid potential landmines like: Unexpected cost Family stress Missed opportunities for blessing family and ministries you care about Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Romans 14:19 For the full version of this article, request a FREE copy of How to Avoid a Family Landmine by contacting Rev. Tom Laymon at (32) , ext. 13 or tlaymon@sundaybreakfastmission.org or bless your family today with a Godhonoring Will at About us 11 N. Poplar Street, Wilmington, DE 1981 P.O. Box 352 Wilmington, DE (32) Follow us on: To designate your United Way giving to Sunday Breakfast Mission, use the United Way Code: 9141 Sunday Breakfast Mission Donation Form Here s my tax-deductible gift to help Sunday Breakfast Mission bring shelter, nutritious meals and life-changing recovery programs to the homeless and near-homeless of greater Wilmington and lower Delaware Valley. $15 $35 $5 $15 Other Amount Check is Enclosed Charge my Credit Card Card Number Exp. Date Security Code (on card reverse) Set me up as a monthly donor and charge my credit card $ each month. Name Address City st ZIP Address I would like a copy of your bulletin entitled How to Avoid I would like a copy of your stewardship bulletin a Family Landmine. Your gift is tax deductible. you will be sent a receipt for your records. Please make checks payable to SUNDAY BREAKFAST MISSION