Feeding the Multitudes

Over the past few months, the Mission has been working on our Centennial 3-6-5 project. The idea for a 3-6-5 project did not originate with us, but we are grateful to be able to use this idea as a tool to show our supporters (fellow Rescuers) the work the Mission does on a regular basis. Each week, seven photos are chosen to represent that week in the "life" of the Mission during its 100th year of service. Staff and those who visit the Mission's page on facebook are able to "like" and comment about the photos of the week. The photo with the most comments is chosen to represent the Mission as the profile pic of our page on facebook.

This past week, the photos have all been of drawings done by some of the children who stay at our women and children's shelter. Too many people are unaware that the Mission actually provides shelter to men, women, and children. And the reality is that we are currently providing shelter to more women and children than men. (Last month, for example, we had 153 different women and children stay at our shelter.

The theme of these photos included Jesus walking on the water, self portraits by the children, and the feeding of the 5,000. Our executive director works with the children every Wednesday evening and had the opportunity to help teach them this story about God's provision.

One of the great things about this story, and the photo that was chosen, is how it represents what the Mission does every day. For 100 years, we have existed solely on the faith that God will provide. Last year, we served 118,000 meals, and we could only do that because people were moved with compassion and donated funds and food. These "Rescuers" were an answer to prayer, our prayers and those of our guests.

Thank you for helping us help others. Thank you for being a Rescuer!

City Rescue Mission Fights Hunger

On Friday, October 28, 2011, the Lansing State Journal ran an article about the food bank consolidation for our area. It is always a good thing to see "overlapping" agencies work together to ensure efficiency and the best service possible for those in need. This move to "streamline efforts" and "eliminate confusion" just shows again the dedication of these agencies to meet needs.

However, the Mission does not participate with these agencies. And while we recognize the very obvious need for these agencies, we want to ensure that our supporters are not confused that donations to either or these organizations will help alleviate the burden we currently face.

As reported in the article, these "two food banks came on the scene in the early 1980s." The Mission, as many of you know, is now celebrating 100 years of service in Lansing and has served meals to the public since we first opened a "soup kitchen" in January of 1930. This year, we will serve a record number of meals (estimating over 112,000 at current trends) to homeless and low income men, women, and children. Food shortages have affected our ability to provide emergency boxes of food from our independent food pantry and may cause us to re-evaluate our current meal policy (serving meals seven days a week to the public).

Again, it is not our wish to detract at all from support for the food bank or its tireless efforts on behalf of those in need. Our wish is only one of clarification for those of you who have been, as the article said, confused by the two concurrent local food banks and who are unsure as to the Mission's possible connection to either of these agencies.

We operate independently; after an evaluation of the services we offer and the needs we have, we found it was not advantageous to participate. If you have questions about our position or perhaps would like more information on how to help "pack the pantry" and provide meals to thousands of men, women, and children in need, please email info@lcrm.org.

Yum and Yummier

If I had the time, I would create a blog dedicated to making the entire capital city area aware of the fact that our public dining room provides more than just food...it provides good food. Our cooks work very hard to use the variety of donations that come in the door, and sometimes that requires some creativity.

Tuesday, Abby made mention of an overabundance of jello that had been donated. "I think I'll make up some jello." Wednesday dessert was jello, with angel food cake, whipped topping, and maraschino cherries. Tuesday afternoon, a young man came to the door hefting grocery bags fulls of apples and bananas left over from an event. The gift was thoughtful but the bananas were past their prime. The answer: banana pudding topped with real bananas.

There are meatball dishes, chicken dishes, rice or pasta cooked one million and one ways... I could go on but nothing I could ever write could fully describe the effort, creativity, and compassion that goes into a meal at the Mission. From the base ingredients (donations all), to the hard work of our cooks, to the hands of volunteers who serve the meal (cafeteria style) to our guests, love truly is in every bite.

Even after the meal is finished, labor goes into keeping the facility one of the cleanest restaurants in Lansing (as we are required to meet the same health codes as a restaurant). All of this is because of the generosity of our supporters. It is their efforts that helped put over 95,000 meals on the table for men, women, and children in need in Michigan's capital area.

Little Boy Blue

Yesterday, there were some rather excited noises coming from the chapel...not excited in a good way. A young boy, there with his mom and two other siblings, had come in for the noon meal. As is our policy, guests sign up for lunch between 11 a.m. and noon, have a short chapel service, then come through the public dining room for a hot meal. As we serve 2 meals a day to the public (not including breakfast to our guests), 365 days a year, staff has the routine down to a near science. Not that there aren't the occassional interruptions. Like yesterday.

The little guy was crying because, as he told a staff person while his family was signing in, he was hungry. How do you help a little, three year old boy, understand that food is coming? Bryan bustled the whole family into the dining room, so they could get some food into those hungry little bellies.

It's tragic that a mother with three small children has to look for a free meal...but it's good to know that those in need do have a place where they can go to get help. Whether they are three or eighty three. The generous donations of our faithful supporters make meals and our other services available to those in need. So that the thousands of people who come to the Mission find the lights on, the buildings warm, and the food delicious :) Thank you for helping us help others!

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.

Needs a little vanilla...

The City Rescue Mission of Lansing is a faith ministry. What that means is that we do not have any "steady" sources of revenue, i.e. grants, federal/state funds, etc. All our services are provided solely by donations. Bottom line: people choose to give.

What this also means is that sometimes we come pretty close to scraping the bottom of the barrel, but we never have. As our executive director likes to say, "We make people aware of our needs, and if they feel God desires them to give, they do."

A few weeks ago, Roger, our director of operations needed to go make a run to one of our supporting churches. This church keeps one of our yellow "Mission barrels" in their lobby. There are a few churches and organizations in the area who host these food collection barrels for us. Volunteer drivers or our director of operations will make a run out to empty them as the need arises (see our website homepage, www.lcrm.org, for video).

This day, Roger happened to notice, as he was picking up the bags from the barrel, a bottle of vanilla was laying all by itself. He tucked it into a bag, and as he left the building to continue his errands, he thought about that bottle of vanilla. It's not a usual donation; most items we get are boxed or canned goods. He wondered just how they were going to use that solitary bottle of vanilla.

As he arrived back at the Mission and began unloading, Kevin, one of the cooks, walked past from the kitchen.

"I'm heading out to the store, Roger," he said, "I need to pick up a bottle of vanilla."

Imagine his surprise when Roger reached into a bag and handed him the vanilla. Such a small, ordinary thing that symbolizes the amazing experience of relying every day on the Lord's provision. Whoever gave that bottle could hardly imagine it would arrive at the perfect time. But that's what God's timing always is, perfect.

So That's What I Smelt...

Dining at the Mission can be an educational experience. Through the years, we've served an astonishing array of interesting dishes, besides the normal "Mission fare." Because at least 90% of what our cooks serve comes from whatever arrives in the form of donations, anyone serving in the Mission kitchen has to learn how to be a little creative with their recipes. It wasn't until I began to work at the Mission, for example, that I learned that such a thing as smelt even existed, let alone that people ate the little things. I've had many culinary firsts here, swordfish, collard greens, asparagus (what can I say, I had a sheltered childhood), and even buffalo (not that I tried that dish. Does anyone remember Elvis from Fenner?).

It is actually pretty amazing when you think that in 2008 alone, we served enough meals to feed a family of four, 3 meals a day, for over 19 years. Much of that food comes from regular families, like the one pictured here! Do those few extra sale items you pick up and donate make a difference? Just ask the hundreds of men, women, and children who will get a hot meal tonight because of your compassion!