We are so thankful for Faith Community Church in West Covina for partnering up with our Church Relations department to host a sock drive to benefit URM.
The month long drive, called “For Feet’s Sake”, brought in 11,500 pairs of socks! This is the largest donation by a church in the history of Union Rescue Mission.
Thanks so much to everyone who helped put this drive together to help bless our guests here at URM!
Tune in tomorrow to see Union Rescue Mission and some of our guests featured on CBS’ “The Bold and the Beautiful!”
Recently, URM was approached by the show to help them learn more about homelessness and Skid Row, because they had decided to incorporate homelessness into the story line. Well, they ended up coming down to URM to film and some of our guests even got to be featured on the show!
Everyone had a fun time having the cast and crew join us for a day. We are also very thankful that the issue of homelessness will be shared with a wider audience. Thanks so much to CBS and ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’ for choosing URM to be part of such a special project.
To check out past episodes, including todays, that feature scenes on Skid Row, click here, and be sure to watch tomorrow to see URM on ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’!
This week, kids at URM enjoyed a Pumpkin Carving and Decorating Party with Paris Hilton as the host!
Paris, along with her sister Nicky and some other friends (including her furry friends dressed up in Halloween costumes!) came to URM bringing pumpkins, dinner, snacks, and craft supplies!
It was a night of fun for the kids and their parents, making crafts, carving pumpkins, and hanging out with Paris, Nicky and their friends. Paris also brought some hair accessories from one of her lines for the girls, which they were all very excited about.
Thanks so much to Paris and Nicky, and their friends for bringing a night of fun to the kids – it was a welcome distraction. We are so thankful for everything you’ve done! :)
Aura and Albert Guzman never expected to find themselves experiencing homelessness. They had a wonderful family and good jobs. But as a family of four with a baby on the way, the economic downturn that caused them both to lose their jobs was more than devastating – it was life threatening.
Their savings didn’t last long and soon they ran out of options. Thankfully, they found Union Rescue Mission where they were able to stay as long as they needed to get back on their feet – together, as a family.
We hope you will take a moment to watch this video to see how lives have been renewed. And please consider giving to Union Rescue Mission to help families like the Guzman’s find their way home this Thanksgiving season.
Last week, we were honored and delighted to have Stubb’s BBQ out of Austin Texas provide all of our guests with a tasty southern BBQ lunch!
The restaurant, which also sells its delicious BBQ sauces and marinades in grocery stores nationwide, went on tour across the country, partnering with homeless organizations to serve up authentic Texas BBQ and Stubb’s sauces.
Stubb, the founder, enjoyed telling people he was a just a cook, but he was also much more than that; he was a lover of people and loved making them happy with his barbeque and sauces. That is why the company decided to give back by starting their “Feed the World” tour, which travelled the country from April 2010 – November 2010.
Our guests were definitely grateful for the amazing home-cooked meal. Thanks so much to Stubb’s for including us in your generous tour!
This morning over 400 volunteers from UCLA came downtown to serve in a multitude of projects at Union Rescue Mission. From cleaning, painting and beautifying, to serving meals, playing with children, and taking part in water walks, the students really took “Day of Service” to a whole new level.
This event is part of a larger project, UCLA’s 2nd Annual Volunteer Day, which includes about 5,000 student volunteers serving in several communities throughout the greater Los Angeles area.
We are so grateful to all the students who came out to give us some much needed help. Rev. Andy Bales said “It is exciting to see so many energetic students giving their all to make a difference in our community! Thanks for making such a difference in the lives of our precious men, women and children experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles”.
Photos courtesy of Tamryn Fyvie.
David spent almost his entire adult life trying to numb the emptiness he felt inside with methamphetamines. He traveled the country, always searching, until he finally found something he loved – cooking! But even a great job as a chef in a well-known restaurant wasn’t enough after awhile, and he turned back to drugs. Thankfully, David came across Union Rescue Mission and since then, his life has been turned around.
We hope you will take a moment to watch this video and see how lives, like David’s, are being changed at Union Rescue Mission!
Check out this great time lapse photography of the recently created mural during the 9/11 Day of Service.
Big thanks to Artists:
Kathy Sullivan Amberson Hansen
Loni Klein
Christina Issa
Joanne Nall
Matthew Nall
Tomorrow, September 11, 2010, we are expecting about 150 volunteers from all over Southern California to join us in service projects to help people living on Skid Row.
The event is our 1st ever “You Are the Mission” Service Day, and we are very excited to join with volunteers to serve our guests here at URM and our neighbors on Skid Row in projects such as Foot Washings, a Splash Zone and Carnival Treat Booth, Wall Cleanings, Mural Paintings, Street Washings, and Photo Booths!
Be sure to check back tomorrow to see how the event is going. You can follow find us on Facebook, and follow our URM Twitter or CEO Andy Bales for up to the minute updates and pictures from the day!
This morning ,the Assistance League of Southern California and Union Rescue Mission along with over 30 volunteers joined together to provide some much needed back-to-school assistance to children on Skid Row.
A fully outfitted 53-foot trailer was loaded with school clothes, back packs, and supplies to hand out to over 200 school-aged kids!
The UCLA School of Nursing and Jules Stein Mobile Eye Van also provided children with their required immunizations, physicals and eye exams.
Union Rescue Mission CEO, Andy Bales said “We are so thankful to the Assistance League of Southern California for equipping our precious children for school. Our hope for their future as educated, productive world-changers is greatly enhanced by this wonderful opportunity”.
