Dear Friend of the Mission,
Thank you for your many prayers, cards and get well wishes after my unexpected surgery in early February to replace my congenitally malformed aortic valve. Your outpouring of concern really encouraged and blessed me beyond words. The surgery went well, and I am recovering well. In fact, my doctors gave me the go ahead to ease back into work – weeks ahead of the mid-April date that I was originally given. It is good to be back! I am working about half time and focusing on specific projects to benefit the Mission. Heather Rice, my Executive Assistant, has done an outstanding job directing the Mission as the Acting Executive Director since my surgery on February 6th. Thank you for your extra generous support which helped to ease this critical area of concern. Your gifts helped to make up for my absence and inability to do fundraising.
Please continue to give as generously as you can. We recently had all of our safety systems inspected including our fire alarm system, our sprinkler system, our smoke and heat detectors, our kitchen hood fire extinguisher system, all of our fire extinguishers and our emergency lighting system. Any deficiencies must be repaired quickly to keep our buildings up to code and safe for the 55 homeless men who live here. As you can imagine, these safety systems tests and any needed repairs are expensive but they must be done. These additional costs are on top of our high winter heating bills and our reduced thrift store income because of the cold winter weather. Thank you for keeping the Mission a safe haven for our men. Lloyd Ayers, Philadelphia’s Fire Commissioner, credited our well maintained fire safety systems for protecting all of our residents from any injury when we suffered our arson fire seven years ago. Because our safety systems were in good operating condition, all of our men were able to safely evacuate the buildings.
Also, please consider supporting our thrift store ministry. We certainly need your financial support, but please shop at our thrift stores and also encourage your church, school or community group to do a good used clothing and shoe drive for us. Thanks!
Thanking God for you,
Robert A. Emberger, D.Min.
Executive Director
P.S. We continue to have a great giving opportunity for the rest of April – the Feinstein Foundation will once again proportionally match your donations with its annual $1 million dollar giveaway during the months of March and April. Although this is not a dollar for dollar match since the $1 million is divided up proportionally among all of the participants, nevertheless this is an easy opportunity for us to receive free money from the Feinstein Foundation. Thanks for increasing the value of your dollar by sending your gifts in during the month April. Not only will the Feinstein Foundation proportionally match the cash gifts you donate to the Mission, but the Feinstein Foundation is also allowing us to assign a value of $1.00 per donated food item or pound to increase the amount of the grant we receive from the Foundation. For example, if you, your family, or your church donates 25 canned goods or 25 lbs of food to the Mission, we can count your gift of food as a gift of $25.00 toward the Feinstein grant. As a result, your cash and food donations wonderfully benefit the Mission in more ways than one! Thanks for your help.