On Easter weekend, over 6,000 people attending services at Rancho Community Church heard the great news of the new Temecula Murrieta Rescue Mission which has already begun serving the hungry and homeless of the Temecula Valley. Pastor Scott Treadway and Temecula Mayor, Maryann Edwards celebrated the event of this new Rescue Mission through a ribbon-cutting and officially launched this joint venture of Rancho Community Church in Temecula and the Orange County Rescue Mission! OCRM President, Jim Palmer, presented an engraved sword to the church and recognized them as “Warriors” who have stepped up to fight for the needs of the Least, the Last and the Lost during a time when so many churches are pulling back because of the economy.

Since this joint venture began, 14,450 meals have been provided to 289 hungry families and individuals who are suffering from this economic crisis. Since March 25th, every Wednesday from 4:00 – 6:00 pm food boxes containing a week’s worth of non-perishable food for a family of four have been distributed from the Temecula Murrieta Rescue Mission box truck. Several hundred volunteers have pitched in with a smile and a word of encouragement to those in need and have handed out the food boxes from the parking lot of Rancho Community Church.

In Riverside County, The Press Enterprise stated, “Jim Palmer has no problem explaining how the Temecula Murrieta Rescue Mission came about in less than two months. ‘Literally, it's a God thing to have two organizations come together so quickly,’ said Palmer, president of the Orange County Rescue Mission.”

Pastor Treadway delivered a tremendous Easter message, Living out Christ's Resurrection, and challenged his congregation, joined by Temecula Mayor, Maryann Edwards and Chairman Jeff Stone of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, to become servants to those in need by committing to the TMRM. He asked his congregation to bring canned goods and non-perishable food with them to church every week from now on!

It is clear that the launch of this new Temecula Murrieta Rescue Mission is just the beginning of a phenomenal new ministry for the Least, the Last and the Lost!

For more information, please e-mail David Jones, TMRM Manager, or visit the website.

“I’m working as hard as I can to stay focused,” says Danielle. “I want to change my whole life. It’s not all about me anymore.”

Danielle’s father abandoned his family when she was just 14. “He didn’t want our life,” she says sadly. As a consequence, Danielle began seeking attention and approval from other adults. Unfortunately, she didn’t choose her role models very well.

“Most of them had pretty terrible lives themselves because of meth,” she explains. “All my friends were on meth, and I didn’t want to do it, but it was all around me. “I had a good job grooming pets,” she continues. “But once I started using, one mistake after another caused me to lose everything in less than eight months.”

Last year, lonely, tired and six months pregnant, Danielle decided it was time to take control of her life, and joined us at the House of Hope.

“I’m trying to grow up and improve my relationship with God,” she says. “I’m working as hard as I can to stay focused. I want to change my whole life. It’s not all about me anymore.”

I grew up taking care of an alcoholic, Vietnam-veteran father,” Bethany says. “I had a need to nurture. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life, but I knew I wanted to be married.” Swept up by her dreams of romance and family, Bethany married a man also in his teens. “We were together six years and had two daughters,” she says. But as they entered their twenties, the bond weakened and they divorced.

Still hungry for a relationship, Bethany got engaged to the first man she dated after her divorce. Two more daughters followed. But here, too, maturity was a problem. “We would work hard and set aside a little money, and then he’d say, ‘We’re stable now’ and quit his job,” she explains. “He didn’t understand it was because we were working that we were stable. By the end, he wasn’t doing anything to support the family.”

After her second divorce, Bethany bounced from house to house, staying with a friend or a relative. Unwilling to be a burden any longer, she finally called the Orange County Rescue Mission for help. She and her four daughters now live at the House of Hope.

“Being here has taught me discipline,” she says. “I am getting my confidence back, and don’t feel like I need to be in a relationship to be happy. I’m not so emotionally needy anymore.”

Big Fundraiser Planned for May 4th!

On Friday evening, April 3, the cafeteria of the Village of Hope was filled with the delicious aroma of freshly baked breadsticks and pasta as the evening’s dinner was specially donated, delivered and served by Pat & Oscar’s of Irvine Marketplace. The homeless men, women and children living at the Village of Hope were delighted to receive this wonderful treat and were truly blessed by the graciousness of Pat & Oscars.

Zach Federoski, General Manager, personally came to serve the dinner with some of his co-workers, James Dickens and Sarah Hall. Reflecting back on the evening, Zach commented, “It’s kind of funny, I started this ‘adventure’ thinking maybe we could help a few people, make a positive difference. Instead I got emotionally affected. I see some things differently. It’s people like me and you that we need to help. The helpless children have a special place in my heart. Thank you very much for letting us help, it really has meant a lot to me.”

The “adventure” Zach is referring to is a large fundraiser on May 4, which Pat & Oscars has planned to raise funds for the Village of Hope. After visiting the Village of Hope, Pat & Oscars felt that during a time when people were struggling financially, they could enlist the community to realize that they could still come together and help others. So, they decided to set an example by serving an entire dinner to the Village of Hope, and then invite the community to take part in a fundraiser! They are calling it “A Night of Hope” and it will be held at their store in Irvine Marketplace on Monday, May 4, complete with the high school marching bands, face painters, comedian, gymnasts and other entertainment! A generous 70% of the entire evening’s proceeds will be donated to the Village of Hope! It will be a great family-friendly way to spend the evening helping those who are struggling. They are encouraging people to bring canned goods to the event to help the food crisis at the Rescue Mission, too!

We wish to gratefully extend our appreciation to Pat & Oscar’s for setting an example to the community and for the hearts they have to help homeless men, women and children.

A surge in violent attacks on the homeless makes reaching people in need more vital than ever.

Nobody was with him when he died. Someone found him that July afternoon under the beach trail in San Clemente and called the police. He was later identified as a homeless man named Erik. No one could say how long he’d been living on the beach, where he might have come from, or how long he’d been homeless. He was a son. Maybe a brother or even a father. Someone, somewhere, loved him. But he was alone when he died.

Growing up, Erik had hopes and dreams and goals like any of us. But somewhere along the way, things went wrong. Maybe he got into drugs. Maybe he had a mental illness. Maybe he just hit hard times. It happens to good people. On the street, bad problems get even worse. They said he died of “natural causes.” He was only 40 years old. So sad.

But drugs, disease and exposure aren’t the only dangers of life on the streets. We’re also witnessing a troubling rise of violent attacks on homeless people throughout Southern California. You probably remember last January, when Gregory Dahlgren, a homeless man in Costa Mesa, was attacked by a gang of paintball gun-wielding teenagers. Hit by almost three-dozen of the painful projectiles, Gregory was blinded in one eye as a result.

Crimes like this are an outrage. All these injuries and deaths are tragic, because they’re so unnecessary. Not far away from where they happened is a refuge for all who are lost or afraid: the Orange County Rescue Mission. Hot meals. A warm, comfortable, secure place to sleep. Counseling. A fully staffed medical clinic. And most importantly, hope.

It’s not too late to provide safety and hope for our neighbors in need. That is, if we have your help. Thank you for supporting the Orange County Rescue Mission. You may never know how many people you save from a dark ending on our violent streets. But God knows. He is grateful. And so are we.

The contrast between street life and Mission life is stark and dramatic. Thank you for giving homeless men, women and children a better choice.

This month we shine the Volunteer Spotlight on Greg Di Donato. He is fully employed as an inventory and quality control manager in a furniture warehouse, as well as currently studying in his leisure time to prepare for a new career in the Fire Service. However, he can still make time in his busy schedule to volunteer for the Orange County Rescue Mission.

Greg wanted to find a volunteer project that his work team could rally around and that would make a difference to the local community. During his research he was surprised to discover that homelessness is a major problem in Orange County, despite the superficial appearance of widespread affluence. As a result of his search, he came across the Rescue Mission web site and the wide range of volunteer opportunities available there. Greg was already familiar with the work of the Orange County Rescue Mission because he has lived in Orange County all his life; his mother has also been a long-term contributor to our work. After speaking with his mother, he decided that he could usefully apply his energy as a volunteer for the Rescue Mission. Greg found other projects for the work team to participate in (although they did take part in a Food Drive in the Spring of 2008) but he remains strongly dedicated to the work of the Mission himself.

Greg has been actively volunteering for the Orange County Rescue Mission since Christmas Eve 2007. He works in our warehouse recording inventory, cleaning the Jungle Gym at our Child Development Center and, more recently, participating in the preparation and handing out of food boxes.

Greg told me that the major benefit from his volunteer efforts is that he has met "...so many great, great, people." He said that given his busy life it is difficult to meet people and make new friends but his work for the Rescue Mission brings him into contact with so many inspiring and wonderful people.

When I asked Greg what he would say to encourage other people to become involved as volunteers for the Orange County Rescue Mission he modestly replied, "I'm just a manual laboring sort of guy with no particular skills, but there are so many little things that need to be done that don't require much. Everyone can find something they could do, and everyone there is always so thankful."

Greg is an excellent example of the many volunteers at the Rescue Mission who have seen a need and took action to fill it. Working together, each one brings their particular capabilities so that the Rescue Mission's vision can be fulfilled.

We want to thank Greg Di Donato for his valuable contribution as a volunteer and to wish him well in his continuing service to the homeless through the Orange County Rescue Mission.

Often, the people you meet in the Orange County Rescue Mission E-news will say something like, “If it weren’t for the Mission, I know I would be dead today.” I think that often they are speaking the literal truth. Life on the streets is dangerous. Frequently alone and unprotected, tired and undernourished, sometimes weakened by addiction, mental or physical illness, the homeless all too often make easy targets for cruel and predatory people.

As Southern California continues to face tough economic times, my fear is that crimes against the homeless, like the terrible assaults described in this newsletter, will only become more common. When I read about horrible cases like these, I wonder, “What if we had reached them first?” What if they had found a place in the Village of Hope? What if they were rebuilding their lives, with the help of people like you who support us with your gifts and prayers? By the time we read about homeless men and women victimized by predators, it is often too late.

But there is still time to reach the next man living on the streets ... the next mother and child sleeping in a car ... the next addict crying out for help. Believe me: your support of the Orange County Rescue Mission saves lives. It’s as simple ... and as profound ... as that.

In His service,

If you do your regular shopping at Albertsons or Ralphs, you can help provide support to the homeless. Just register your Albertsons Preferred Savings and Ralphs Rewards cards, select the Orange County Rescue Mission and percentage of every purchase you make thereafter will be donated to OCRM to assist us in bringing hope to the Least, the Last and the Lost.

TAKE UP THE CHALLENGE and SIGN UP TODAY!! If just 60 people sign up and use your Albertsons Preferred Savings and/or Ralphs Rewards cards, and the average quarterly shopping percentage brings in a modest $3.15 each, then those 60 people could make $756.00 a year! JUST BY DOING OUR OWN GROCERY SHOPPING! Of course, the more you purchase, the more you earn for OCRM. (We'll keep you updated on the quarterly progress!)

Click the following links to sign up:

Albertsons Community Partners (Enter ID # 49000125638)
Ralphs Community Contribution (Enter Non Profit Organization # 91204)

Thank you!

On Saturday, March 28, a team of 20 volunteers from the Calvary Church Shared Life Fellowship Class sponsored the 6th annual 5K Fun Run & Pan Cake Breakfast. It was a tremendous success, raising over $5,400 for the Least, the Last and the Lost of Orange County.

There were 64 participants who walked/ran through Woodbride Village in Irvine on a beautiful, sunny day that seemed custom-made for the event. After all the exercise, everyone enjoyed a delicious pancake breakfast, an awards ceremony and testimonies from residents of the Village of Hope.

Thank you, Shared Life Fellowship Class! Great Job!

Grace School Junior High of Huntington Beach held a clothing drive and brought a whole trailer-load of clothing to benefit OCRM. But they didn't stop there. In March, 30 7th-grade students spent an afternoon preparing envelopes for mailing and 27 8th-graders worked on cleaning projects at the Village of Hope.

Thank you, Grace School!

From April 3 through April 10, Fair Oaks Choir, a high school contemporary band and choir from the Sacramento area, performed and volunteered at several locations for the Orange County Rescue Mission:

• 40 students helped with landscaping, car washing, cleaning and food box packing at the Village of Hope.
• 20 students held a food drive at four Ralphs stores in the Anaheim area, collecting 924 pounds of food.
• The 70-member choir and band performed worship and read poetry during a chapel service.

What a blessing to see so many young people with a heart to serve. God bless you!