August: a month of opportunities

This month we debut our "Pack the Pantry" food drive. We hope to make it an annual event (see www.PackThePantry.org to get a peek). This year, L&L Food Centers is hosting the drive in all seven of their Lansing area stores. We are so grateful to L&L, not just for this event but for their many long years of faithful support to the City Rescue Mission.

This week, Gordon Food Services' area stores are asking customers if they'd like to "give for a cause." This week, shoppers can round up to the nearest dollar, and those proceeds go to support the City Rescue Mission. This is to lead up to the Grand Opening of their new Okemos Store. Mark Criss, our executive director, will attend the ribbon cutting next week.

Saturday, August 28, 2010, is the 10th annual "Backpacks of Hope" giveaway. The Mission will be distributing backpacks and school supplies to children in need (as supplies last). From now until Friday the 20th, you can drop-off school supplies at 607 E. Michigan Avenue, Lansing. If you know a family struggling financially, tell them to visit the "Get Help Now" page of our website (www.lcrm.org) to see how they can benefit from the giveaway. If you'd like to help with this project (daytime hours), please call our director of volunteers, Russ Kinyon, at 517.485.0145 or email him at volunteers@lcrm.org.

Gift and Bible, in the Delta Center, has started selling used books and CD's, the proceeds of which go to support the City Rescue Mission. They also accept donations of books and music for this project.

You can also register, this month, to participate in the Lady Classic, a golf outing hosted by Capital Area Women's Lifestyle Magazine (visit www.cawlm.com or call 517.203.0123). CAWLM has once again chosen the Mission as their charity beneficiary for the golf outing on Thursday, September 16.

A very busy month lies ahead, and we are grateful to all of these businesses and organizations who desire to help us help others.

Backpacks of Hope

So, the weatherman had hinted at rain, and with this summer the way it's been going, it seemed as though it were a certainty. However, early on a Saturday morning, in spite of the dreaded forecast, hundreds of people were lined up outside the doors of Lansing Charter Academy. They were all waiting for the doors to open at 9 a.m.; some of them had been waiting for over four hours.

Inside, volunteers for the City Rescue Mission and Lansing Charter Academy were also waiting for the doors to open. Russ Kinyon, CRM Director of Volunteers, was explaining the process each family would need to go through to be eligible to receive a backpack from the Backpacks of Hope giveaway. An annual event, the City Rescue Mission collects backpacks and school supplies and distributes them to school age children of families in need. With the economic forecast nearly as gloomy as that of the weather for the giveaway day, this extra boost was greatly needed by many families.

At the rate of over 12 bpm (backpacks per minute), all the backpacks filled with school supplies were distributed within a few hours. The volunteers then collected remaining school supplies in plastic bags and gave them out as they were able.

Altogether, over 1,300 children received help through this much needed program. The City Rescue Mission is grateful to the many volunteers and supporters who made the 9th annual "Backpacks of Hope" giveaway a reality. We're also grateful to Lansing Charter Academy, for offering their new building to us, and to Christian Services, for their help as well.