In The News

Employee of the Month Nominees Honored With Night Out!

Last night, 11 of our amazing employees were honored with a night out to enjoy the Clippers game in one of the VIP Suites!  These employees were all nominated by their peers or managers to be named “Employee of the Month: April”.

We would also like to send a big thank you to Rick Rozman of Merrill Lynch for providing us with the Suite so we were able to treat our nominees!

Also, big thanks to all our nominees for their hard work each and every day and the dedication they continue to show to URM and the people we serve –  we couldn’t do it without them!

This months’ nominees:

Laura Bartlett

Phillip Choi

Sara Farnsworth

Jeremiah Johnson

Rae Marie Johnson

Monica Jokiman

Michael Jones

Elizabeth “Betsy” Kelly

Roygene Robinson

William Robles

Steve Solis

 

 

Calvary Church Brings Carnival To URM Kids!

Weekends are sometimes boring when you live on Skid Row, but today is different. Calvary Church – Pacific Palisades brought more than 100 volunteers to host a huge carnival for all the kids at Union Rescue Mission as well as kids activities and work projects at Hope Gardens! 

The carnival was split into two sections, with Jr. High and Sr. High enjoying tug of war, bumper car kids (you have to see the picture!), and other games, while the elementary kids are able to have their faces painted, bounce around in the jumpers, and play games for prizes!

In addition to donating their time, volunteer participants are calling on their friends and family to text the word URM to 85944 to make a $10 donation to further help the Mission.  Check back for more pictures on our website at urm.org during the next week!

 

Celebrate Good Times! – March Graduation

Congratulations to all the men who graduated from our Christian Life Discipleship Program on March 7th!  We are so proud of you!

Disciples

Leb Bradley
Eddie Daniel
Jon Federonich
Charles Holden
Clyde Johnson
Jeffrey Knott
Damon Peebles
Johnny Werschin Jr.
Mark Wells

Eagles

Phillip Green
Wesley Hunter
Kevin Perkins
Darrell Richardson
Michael Starr
Earle Turner
John Wilson

Messengers

Asa Belton
Phillip Craig
Richard Dolf
Raymond Shelly
Franklin Smith

New Life

Reynaldo DeGuzman
Bernie Martinez
Ryan Martinez
Brian Mitchell
Marcos Sosa
Daniel Zeron

Overcomers

John Haynes
Frank Randolph
Christopher Silva
Hugo Sanchez
Jeremy Whorton
Aaron Yackey

Text To Give

A new way to support Union Rescue Mission! To donate $10 from your cell phone and have it billed to your phone text the keyword URM  to 85944. You MUST reply with YES to the confirmation message to complete your donation.

Union Rescue Mission is supporting the text-to-give campaign for the Pop Laval Foundation. A one-time donation of $10 will be added to your mobile phone bill or deducted from your prepaid balance. Message and Data Rates may apply.  All charges are billed by and payable to your mobile service provider. Service is available on most carriers.  Donations are collected by the Mobile Giving Foundation and subject to the terms found at www.hmgf.org/t.  You can unsubscribe at any time by texting STOP to 85944.

Oasis Christian Centers Hosts Food Drive for URM

We would like to send a special thanks to Oasis Christian Center for hosting a food drive, with the donations going to URM!  They were able to collect more than 2,500 cans of food.

In particular, we appreciate the hard work of Pastor Phillip & Holly Wagner, Pastor Alex Jones Moreno, and the whole Oasis team for being out in the rain collecting food!

 

Please Help Keep the Winter Shelters Open!!

Today marked the end of our Glendale Winter Shelter, and on March15th, the remaining shelters will be closing as well. Unfortunately, the money that funds the armories will run out then, which means that the 670 people who have been staying at the Winter Shelters will have no place to go.

We would like to ask you to please be an advocate for those who are experiencing homelessness, and consider contacting government officials to keep the Winter Shelters open year round.  The number of people walking through our doors has continued to increase; we don’t ever want to see the day when we have to turn someone away.  Keeping the Winter Shelters open would ensure that we would not have to.

Please go to http://youarethemission.org/advocate. We are asking people to send a pre-written letter to Governor Schwarzenegger to help keep these shelters open by declaring a State of Emergency.  Then, contact the LA City Council, LA County Supervisors, and Los Angeles Housing Services Authority (LAHSA) to support our efforts. With your help, we can bring about a change!  Thank you so much for your support.

 

 

February End of Month Update

February has been a busy month for us at URM.  We hope you will take a moment to watch this video for exciting highlights on the events and challenges, including photos of our Hearts for Hope Fashion Show honoring Paris Hilton.

When you support us and share our message with others, you are helping to provide a better life for those who may otherwise be living on the streets of LA.  We cannot do what we do without you.

Blessings,

Hearts for Hope Fashion Show Extravaganza

Tory Burch Fashion Show - Models 

LOS ANGELES, CALIF. (February 8, 2010) — The Four Seasons Hotel in Westlake Village was teaming with celebrities as the Hearts for Hope fundraising celebrity fashion show got underway on Saturday February 6th presented by award winning designer, Tory Burch.  The star studded event was spearheaded by Alice Starr and a committee of people who have a profound heart for helping those experiencing homelessness.

 

The event honored two of the most recognized women that have had a personal impact on helping people experiencing homelessness, Socialite Paris Hilton and the courageously bold Leigh Anne Tuohy, the true life mother of adopted son Michael Oher, depicted in the movie “The Blind Side”. Union Rescue Mission CEO, Andy Bales, was all smiles as he presented Paris Hilton with the coveted “Heart for Service” Award.  A teary eyed Paris humbly accepted her award and replied “I have received lots of Awards but this one means so much more to me because it’s about being a humanitarian, something I am getting into doing more of this year”.  She expressed much admiration for the work of Union Rescue Mission and thanked the crowed of over 400 for coming out on a rainy Saturday afternoon to support the Mission.

 Paris Auctions off Personal Picnic

All proceeds benefit the Union Rescue Mission’s Hope Gardens Family Center, a transitional and permanent supportive housing facility serving women and children.  

 Attendees included:

  • Heart for Service Award recipients- Paris Hilton & Leigh Anne Tuohy
  • Heart for Service Award Presenter- Union Rescue Mission CEO, Andy Bales
  • Some Celebrity Committee members included; Jackie & Anson Williams, Roma Downey, Kathleen Quinlan and Rick Springfield
  • Event Hosts – Kevin Dretzka and Stanley Gerlach Jr.

Silent Auction