In This Issue
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Donate
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Donate Online
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Mission Events
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7th Annual Harvest Farm Fall Festival & Corn Maze presented by the Colorado Eagles
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August 29th through October 31st
4240 E. County Road 66 Wellington, Colorado
(Exit 278 from I-25)
All proceeds raised will support the Denver Rescue Mission.
For more information, please visit www.HarvestFarm.net, or call 970.568.9488.
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Harvest Farm Fall Festival’s 97.9FM Big Country Giveaway Saturday
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Saturday, October 24th
10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon
Listen to 97.9FM for prizes and giveaways!
For more information, please call Devany @ 303.313.2427.
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“Do What You Can” Food Drives in partnership with KeyBank
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| Denver Nuggets Game at the Pepsi Center
Friday, Nov. 13th
Colorado Avalanche Game at the Pepsi Center
Saturday, Nov. 14th
Bring canned food and help feed the poor and hungry this winter!
For more information, please call Lisette @ 303.313.2414. |
Thanksgiving Banquet-in-a-Box
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Tuesday, November 24th
7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The Crossing
For more information, please call Katie @ 303.313.2415.
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Great Thanksgiving Banquet
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Wednesday, November 25th
11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Lawrence Street Shelter
For more information, please call Katie @ 303.313.2415. |
Planned Giving
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Do you have questions about estate planning? Planned giving? Your will? Each month, we feature articles and interactive features that cover such topics. We hope it will be a useful resource for you.
Father/Daughter Generosity Benefits Those in Need at Denver Rescue Mission
Time Is Running Out!
Consider a Charitable Gift Annuity for Your Year-End Gift
5 Ways to Keep Your Money From Slipping Away
Quiz: What to Know About Your Family Finances
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Download and Print the Newsletter
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Quick Links
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Statistics |
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How You Help
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YTD
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Meals served
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49,205
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394,125
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Beds
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12,747
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111,856
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Chapel attendance
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5,396
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44,262
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Food boxes distributed
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135
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1,245
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Furniture (households)
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76
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621
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Clothing (lbs.)
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25,069
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231,566
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Chiropractic
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41
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268
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Dental
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41
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335
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Medical
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147
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1,501
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Optical
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165
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1,000
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JAMES
James looks on with hope and pride at the Mission’s graduation ceremony in June of 2009 where he was recognized for completing the New Life Program and for obtaining his GED.
James now lives and works in Chicago where he is close to his daughter and grandkids.
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After completing high school in 1969, James was faced with a challenge—one unlike any he’d ever encountered before. His name had come up for draft during the Vietnam War. “I chose to go into the Marine Corps because I loved the uniform. I didn’t know then we would be the first ones to hit the beachhead,” he says.
Once I got over the fear, it was just another day of trying to survive,” he adds. “ Every day I didn’t know if I was going to go home or not because there was so much death present right beside me.”
Back in the States, after completing two tours of Vietnam, James’ body was safe from combat, but his soul was tormented. He was beset by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and fought painful flashbacks daily. “My [friends and family] had no conception of what was going through my mind and what was in my heart. I had lost all sense of what love was about.”
For seven years, James worked as a recruiter for the Marines. He retired from service as a Sergeant Major and started his own painting company. On the outside, James was very successful. On the inside, he was still haunted. When his wife of fourteen years left him, he could no longer take the pain and isolation and turned to drugs for the first time. “The first time I used the drugs, I was addicted,” he says. As a result of a growing drug habit, he found himself serving a ninety-day jail sentence without ever having so much as a traffic ticket.
In jail, James’ life changed. As he says, simply, “God took me. I went to what they call the prison ministry. It was just the Lord’s time to call me, and when the preacher called collect, I stood up and gave my life to Him.”
James had heard about the Mission’s New Life Program from another inmate—that the program helped men gain sobriety, overcome emotional wounds and find healing, hope and purpose. “I knew that if it had anything to do with God, that was the direction I wanted to go,” he says. “It’s an intense program, and you have to have total commitment to make it through.” He believes that the New Life Program and his church in Commerce City gave him the newfound focus and lifelong friends that will help him stand strong against the temptations of drugs.
James says three men in particular encouraged him: “Chaplain Major was like a brother to me. Chaplain Swihart was always there to listen to whatever I had to share with him, and Chaplain John Raney was my best friend. I can’t explain to you how these people were always on my side. The Rescue Mission is an awesome place.”
Since graduating from the New Life Program, James is most looking forward to “having a continual personal relationship with God, having peace in my life, and the rest of my life staying clean and sober.”
He recently got back in touch with his family after having been estranged from them for sixteen years. Last week, James’ nephew started working a roofing job with him. He stopped working for a moment to say to his uncle, “It is a great thing to have you back. We have missed you so much.” |
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MICHAEL
Michael, who served as a military police officer in Korea, comes from a long line of service. His father and older brother served in the Army as well. “My mom is so happy about the program,” Michael says of beating his drug addiction and finding renewed hope through Denver Rescue Mission’s New Life Program.
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ARTHUR
“I love the food, I love the shoes, and I love the ham. I had two other brothers who were also in Vietnam at the same time. One of them died, the other one is in Texas. I’ve lived in Denver for sixteen years.”
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Above, Arthur and his grandson share a meal at the Mission. |
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From the CEO
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Dear Friends,
So often we try to tell you success stories of people’s lives being changed while at the Denver Rescue Mission.
These stories motivate me to keep going. I am sure they let you, too, know that there is hope, and that together we are making a difference in people’s lives.
However, today I would like to tell you about someone who is not even in our New Life Program. He has been in our Respite Program for the last several days, after having recently come out of the hospital following surgery. Our Respite Program at The Crossing provides medical convalescence to homeless people who have no place to go, thereby saving taxpayers’ dollars for uninsured hospital stays.
This gentleman approached me today and said, “I have been here recovering from surgery the last several days, and I just wanted you to know that I am going to go into the New Life Program. I am so excited! I have been drinking for the last 50 years—since I was 5 years old—and I am excited about changing my life. I do not have any family. I have been living on the street, and your program is the hope I need.”
I do not know anything about this man except what I have just told you. But his hope is real. His desire to change is his one goal in life. Frankly, he has hope because he has been treated so well in our Respite Program, and because he is seeing the change in some of his friends who were on the street with him before, but are now in the New Life Program. Overcoming fifty years of addiction will not be easy; but because of the Denver Rescue Mission and because of your support, he has a second chance.
Thank you for partnering with us as we provide hope!
God bless,
Brad Meuli
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Community Support
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News
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Operation Help End Hunger
Join Mattress King and KMGH Denver’s 7 for Operation Help End Hunger from Thursday, November 26th through Wednesday, December 16th. Visit one of the 35 Mattress King locations and purchase a “Help End Hunger” bracelet for $10 to help feed 5 people. With the purchase of a bracelet, you will receive 10% off store purchases (see store for details). For more information, contact Devany at 303.313.2427. To find the location closest to you, visit www.mattresskingcolo.com/locations.php.
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