Holiday Food Drive Update

This year’s Holiday Food Drive has been going great!!  Five elementary schools in Merced have been participating.  It is great to see children working together to help people who are hungry and in need of food.  The Merced Rescue Mission wants to congratulate and thank every school and student who has played such an important role in helping others! We are also grateful to Valley Christian Church of Atwater and Aloha Floral & Gift Shop in Merced for collecting hundreds of boxes of stuffing for our Thanksgiving Banquet. It is wonderful to see people rallying together to share what they have with people who need help!  God bless you All!

The Mission’s Holiday Food Drive is happening now through December 24th. All donations are appreciated! Drop off at 644 W. 20th Street in Merced. Food donated is used for our banquets and meals throughout the year.

To learn more about our food drive or our holiday banquets, please click here.

Year-End Giving: Keep our faith-based Hope for Men & Women program going strong!

The end of the year is nearing, and before the end of December, we are praying that donations will significantly increase in order to meet the needs of the Hope for Men and Women programs. The women’s program is expanding, and Misty Rose, our Hope for Women Program Manager, has reached capacity and is needing to place women in our Transition to Hope house for women. Seth Rodriguez, our Hope for Men Program Manager, has a waiting list and is working on filling a second house for our men’s program. Lives are being changed, and God is working miracles in our midst on a daily basis. During COVID, giving has been running behind. Please help us with generous donations that will help change even more lives.

Through your kindness today, we can continue changing lives through Jesus Christ. When you give online, choose "Faith-based program, Hope for Men and Women" as your gift designation. Thank you for your prayers and support. Together we are reducing homelessness in Merced County!

Village of Hope - New Campus Update

Phase one of our new Village of Hope campus is nearing completion. Our contractor, Skip George, of Commercial Construction Company, expects to wrap things up about the end of November. We are hoping to furnish the new facilities during December, and then move people in during January. We are most grateful to all who have responded with contributions toward furnishing the new facilities. We are about 10% of the way towards our goal. If you are able to join us in this effort, we would most appreciate it. For the apartment building for families, we are looking for about 8 more hide-a-bed sofas, new or used but in good condition. We can still use more dishes, pots and pans and silverware, used but in good condition. We do have to purchase metal framed twin beds with bed bug proof mattresses and for this, we need financial contributions. Thank you for all you do to bring the first phase of this new campus into reality.

Phase two of the Village of Hope campus is more than a dream! Through your generous contributions, we have raised over $350,000 towards our faith-based discipleship program facilities. The buildings for Hope for Men and Hope for Women, the building that will provide Hope for women who are pregnant, as well as the classrooms, chapel, and offices will cost upwards of six million dollars. Before we can break ground, we will need to raise three million dollars. These are huge numbers. All of this may seem out of reach, but we have a huge God and all of this belongs to Him. We are so grateful for all you are doing to make this all happen as we help people transform their lives together. To contribute toward building phase two of Village of Hope, please choose Building Hope Campaign as your gift designation when you give online.

For details on how to help us furnish Village of Hope phase one, please click here.

It takes a Village! Thank you for supporting the Merced County Rescue Mission.

On Monday, October 25th, members of the Social Services Department from Mercy Medical Center Merced toured the new Hope Respite Care facility together with staff members from the Merced Rescue Mission staff members. We hope to open in January. This facility will take in men and women experiencing homelessness who are discharged from the hospital.

Holiday Banquets Are Back, Your Help is Needed!

The Merced County Rescue Mission is once again coordinating banquets to serve people who are experiencing homelessness on both Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Eve. Both of these events will be held outside in the Behavioral Health Department parking lot between New Directions and the D Street Shelter (200 E. 15th Street). The Rescue Mission is coordinating its efforts with New Directions, the D Street Shelter, area churches, and other organizations. Serving these special meals is a beautiful example of our whole community coming together to care for people. Some clothing and other items will also be available at these events.

• Thanksgiving Day, November 25th at 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. - 200 E. 15th Street

• Christmas Eve, December 24th at 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. - 200 E. 15th Street

Your help is needed!

We need food donations for the banquets and meals throughout the year.

Food Donations: Please bring non-perishable food donations to 644 W. 20th Street, Monday-Friday, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

For Thanksgiving: We are in need of pre-cooked, boneless turkey breast, #10 cans of corn and green beans, boxes of instant mashed potatoes, turkey gravy mix, chicken broth, dinner rolls, pies.

For Christmas Eve: We need hams, #10 cans of corn and green beans, russet potatoes, dinner rolls, desserts.

Come to the Event In Person - To serve meals, to visit with people, to help us set up and/or clean up. Come to 200 E. 15th Street in Merced at 10:30 am on Thanksgiving and/or Christmas Eve.

It takes a Village of Hope! Thank you for your contributions!

Questions? Call (209) 722-9269, Monday-Friday, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

If your business or organization would like to participate in this food drive, now through December 24, and would like a collection barrel dropped off at your location, please call Anthony at (209) 947-8493.

Help us furnish the new Village of Hope campus!

We are excited and grateful to be receiving offers to help furnish the new campus. Gateway Community Church is working to furnish four lounges. Winton-Ireland Insurance Company is helping to provide furnishings. A number of individuals have also stepped forward to provide funding for this special project. There are still plenty of rooms that need sponsors and there is room for you to participate. Get creative! You can help as an individual, a family, a group of friends, a club, a church, or a business. There are many ways you can help us furnish the new Village of Hope campus, which will provide a place for families and veterans experiencing homelessness as well as those who are discharged from the hospital with no place to go. This is an opportunity for you to furnish a room in honor or in memory of a loved one as an ongoing tribute to them. Click here for more details.

A New Assignment - A New Adventure

My name is Don Borgwardt, and I started with the Mission a year ago. Back then I was a Peer Navigator with the Hope for Men program. It was a wonderful experience shepherding men in recovery and my confidence had grown in understanding the work of the Mission. But, as in life, all things are susceptible to change, and I was called upon to take on a different program.

That program is the Hope Respite program. A new assignment comes with both challenges and opportunities, so the first important step is to have some idea of what the program does. I found I was lacking a bit in that and soon found I was in for a steep learning curve. I always considered myself to be resilient and flexible, so I was ready to take on the challenge. For those that don’t know the Hope Respite, the program offers people coming from the hospital with medical conditions a place to stabilize during their recovery. It offers a bed with meals, monitoring of their conditions, and assistance in getting to and from needed appointments. In addition, staff sets objective goals so that the participants can get support for independent living and housing needs.

New responsibilities come with building new skills such as learning medical terminology and how to take vitals, introducing myself to relationships with our partners Dignity Health, Sutter Medical, and Central Valley Alliance, and understanding how to provide the best care for our clients. Now I am working on utilizing the information from our medical providers to continue the quality of care that they provide at their facilities and developing new strategies for processing clients’ intake and administering services. It is really about working in and learning from those around me to continue to grow and refine the Hope Respite program. I have called this an adventure because anything that can provide a challenge and help you learn is truly an adventure.

I would also be remiss if I did not recognize the provision that comes from having a servant heart and a relationship with Christ. All these folks are God’s people, and to provide for them requires that I grow in my knowledge and understanding. I am privileged to have the opportunity to serve in this program in the Mission. My desire is to make this the best program I can for the Mission and the clients… until the next New Adventure!

Managing Hope for Women

Hello, my name is Misty. I have been working at the Merced County Rescue Mission since February 2020. During my assignment here at the Mission, I was gifted with the opportunity to become the Program Manager for the Hope for Women faith-based, life transformation program. Since accepting this new assignment, I have experienced many challenges and many more joys!

I will have been in Recovery and Re-dedicated to Christ for over 15 years as of October 11, 2021. Managing at Hope for Women is truly the desire of my heart that only the Lord could have placed there and been so gracious to allow me to minister in this way. I have seen the Holy Spirit move in mighty ways: deliverance, healing hearts, love that conquers all, second chances at motherhood, women attending universities and colleges, physical health regained, mental health restored, and the greatest gift of all - a truly intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, the way, the truth, and the life!

Some of the challenges we are facing now is the overflow of women who want to enter. We are full and may overflow soon, Lord willing. The challenge for me is to make sure that the services received in this program are of excellent quality. Jesus knows we need willing and skilled hands and feet! This requires financial means to support this ministry. God is a way-maker, I know this for sure!

Ephesians 3:20 - Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.