Dear Friends,

With every week that passes, the situation for the unemployed, the hungry and the homeless in Orange County just gets more serious. The Orange County Rescue Mission has been operating at full capacity for months. Demand for our services is well beyond anything I have ever seen in my nearly 20 years at the Mission. County services have been cut to the bone, or eliminated entirely. Governor Schwarzenegger and the legislature are taking an ax to state programs that serve children, the sick and the elderly. (That’s not a political statement, that’s just a fact!)

In this environment, the Orange County Rescue Mission is one of the few reliable social safety nets out there. Every week I wonder how we’re going to make it from Monday to Friday. How can we possibly keep up with the rising demand? That’s why I am attaching this special report. Operation Lighthouse is the Mission’s special campaign to raise the resources we need to continue to serve as many men, women and children in need as we possibly can. Our goal is to raise $295,415 in the next six weeks. It’s a huge effort, but I know with your help we can keep the light on for the Least, the Last and the Lost.

Can you send a gift today? I won’t suggest an amount. Look into your heart, or ask the Lord for guidance. I trust you to do what you think is best.

God bless you!

With your help, Lucy* went from tragedy to triumph.

One afternoon when she was 17, Lucy’s* estranged boyfriend broke into the house where she was staying. He murdered their 3-month-old son, then shot himself. It was a scene of unimaginable horror. And it drove Lucy into an almost two-decade spiral of drug abuse, depression and pain.

It’s a spiral she’s only now pulling herself out of, thanks to God’s healing love and your generous support of the Orange County Rescue Mission. Lucy’s collapse following the murder of her infant son is particularly tragic since she had been trying so hard to escape drugs. “My mom’s family introduced me to drugs in junior high,” she explains. “I longed for my mother’s love and approval. That’s why I did drugs with her. She’d say I was a good daughter. I became her main supplier.”

At 14, Lucy tried to escape. She ran away from home, she says, and “pretty much lived on the streets with my friends.” That’s where she met her boyfriend, and became pregnant before she was 17. It took years for Lucy to admit that drugs and alcohol could never drive away her pain. She entered a detox program, and later found the Orange County Rescue Mission. She’s been rebuilding her life at the House of Hope since last winter.

“I don’t know what my future will be,” Lucy admits. “God is still working on me. But I have my personality back. I smile and tell jokes now. I haven’t done that in a long time. “God gives us choices,” she continues. “To do good or do bad. I see now that God picked me up every time I fell. When I was hurting, I believe He was hurting too.”

* “Lucy” asked us not to use her photo or real name with this story.

Matt and Jennifer found themselves on the street after being kicked out of his mother’s house following an argument. They found a cheap motel room and began calling around for help. That’s how they found the Orange County Rescue Mission. They joined us at the Village of Hope early in the year. So far, their story isn’t unusual. About the only unique element is that Matt has severe vision problems. But as his wife says, “He doesn’t let it hold him back.”

During a walk on the beach last spring, however, everything changed. “I bent down to pick up a seashell. As I came up, the world started spinning,” Jennifer recalls. “I said ‘Something’s wrong. I can’t feel my leg.’” Jennifer had suffered a stroke. Doctors later said that if someone hadn’t called 911 immediately, she might not be walking today. The stroke was the latest manifestation of a gene mutation that runs in Jennifer’s family. “My blood clots too fast,” she says. “I have liver disease and an enlarged pancreas, and am diabetic.”

Matt and Jennifer’s story shows the full range of services your support allows us to provide. “I’m considered permanently disabled now,” Jennifer says. “The Mission staff is helping us find low-income housing, peer and counseling groups, and got us in touch with an employment service. They even pay for my prescriptions and gave Matt bus passes so he could visit me in the hospital.”

“I didn’t want to come to the Mission,” Matt admits. “I thought things would be a lot different. But this has been a blessing. “The Mission came along at just the right time.”

Giving to the Mission often goes down in the summertime. But this year’s “summer slump” comes right when more people than ever before are looking to the Mission for food, shelter and other urgent care.

Please do your part to keep the “summer slump” from hurting our neighbors who have already suffered so much. Thank you!

She may be retired, but she is far from retiring. June Malchow formerly worked in the banking industry, but when she retired from employment last year she quickly became bored with the quiet life and has transformed herself into a volunteering tornado.

June has been a long-term financial supporter of the work of the Orange County Rescue Mission. She began donating some 25 years ago when a member of her family experienced a period of homelessness; she has continued to make regular donations ever since.

June was looking forward to retiring and "taking it easy" from work last July, but after only a short while she suffered a resurgence of her depressive illness that she attributes to not having sufficient order in her life. When she had recovered, after medical treatment, June thought about volunteering as a means of adding an extra layer of interest to her week. Naturally enough, the Orange County Rescue Mission came immediately to mind.

In September last year, June attended an orientation meeting and decided to volunteer for three hours a week assisting with filing in the Volunteer Management office. She was shortly to transfer to the case management office where she is currently supporting three case workers with their filing requirements. She says, "I feel useful doing this work, I like to organize things and it frees up the time for the case workers to spend more time counseling the residents."

June has obviously made a strong impression on the other staff, she adds modestly, "I don't need them to thank me, I really enjoy the work and it helps me even more than I help them." There is a possibility that all filing will be centralized in the near future and June expects that if this happens she will be involved with filing for a full day each week.

June strongly commends the work of the Orange County Rescue Mission for putting order and structure into the lives of the residents, as well as providing a caring environment for their Spiritual growth. She explains, "I think one of the main things that homeless people lack is a clear structure to their lives; the Rescue Mission provides this vital sense of order for them."

The turning point for June was attending the volunteer orientation at the Rescue Mission. She suggests that anyone with time on their hands take a good look at the work OCRM is doing by attending a similar event getting involved in whatever area in which their skills can be best used.

Thank you, June! Keep up the good work.

It is not easy to find someone who has been a friend for over 30 years. But the homeless within Orange County have long been blessed by the relationship that the Orange County Rescue Mission has had with Disneyland Resort spanning that many years. It is hard to summarize in a brief article, the extent of the relationship or the real value that has been provided through Disney. As times have continued to turn difficult for those in need in our community, Disney has continued to find creative ways to continue their long-sustained support, either through their volunteer programs or through generous donations.

For instance back in 2005, when the Gulf Coast was hit so hard by Hurricane Katrina, Disney was one of the first donors who stepped up to assist the over 1,100 evacuees who fled to Orange County. At that time, OperationOC was a newly formed disaster response organization led by OCRM and Disney arrived to help with a full truck of donated essential supplies for Katrina evacuees.

Under the Show Your Character program, Disney promoted partnerships with high schools and non-profit organizations encouraging students to become leaders in their community. In 2006, Lutheran High School of Orange County partnered with OCRM and 200 Lutheran High School seniors volunteered at the Rescue Mission’s Village of Hope. They renovated the facility (see adjacent photo) and also helped to refurbish a playground area at the Mission’s shelter for homeless women with children. A third construction team of students worked on a project at Double R Ranch, an equestrian facility for abused children. Because of their outstanding volunteer efforts, Lutheran High received the Show Your Character Excellence Award which provided significant funds for the Orange County Rescue Mission! Lutheran High partnered with OCRM again in 2007, receiving even more funds for the homeless!

In 2009, the remarkable volunteer organization of Disney, VoluntEARS, provided a grant which enabled homeless adults to attend college through the Summer Academic Institute. In 2010, another planned event with VoluntEARS will reach out to the homeless school-age children at the Village of Hope by contributing to the Summer to Remember program.

Disney has provided essential community support through OCRM, when the VoluntEARS have held food drives, delivered box lunches to the working poor in local motels, and hosted gift-giving Christmas events with the Mission, bringing smiles to the faces of the homeless children.

OCRM has been the beneficiary of Cast Community Fund and Community Service Award grants which have been used directly to provide needs to homeless men, women and children. Six times a year, Disney delivers donations consisting of their unique brand of merchandise, including toys, colorful Disney T-shirts and backpacks, much to the delight of the homeless families who receive them.

The Orange County Rescue Mission truly values this long friendship with Disney and is so very grateful for their generous and loyal support towards the homeless. Disney has been a big part of making the Orange County Rescue Mission a happier place to be!

“Every week, thousands of Californians are reaching the end of their unemployment benefits. Then where will they turn for help? Mary Ann Milbourn, economics columnist for The Orange County Register, brought this to our attention a few weeks ago in a post on her Handling Hard Times blog.

“The recession in California has dragged on for so long that nearly 100,000 people have exhausted the almost two years of unemployment benefits available, Milbourn writes. “Loree Levy, a state spokeswoman, said the number of people falling off the unemployment rolls is expected to grow by several thousand every week going forward.” Milbourn explains that while Congress recently passed a bill expanding unemployment benefits, it only covers the more recently unemployed. People who have exhausted their 99 weeks of benefits are still out of luck.

“As of April 26, more than 96,000 Californians — equivalent to a city the size of Mission Viejo — had used up the maximum 99 weeks in unemployment payments,” she writes.

Source: Mary Ann Milbourn, “Nearly 100,000 lose unemployment benefits,” Handling Hard Times blog,
April 30, 2010, www.economy.freedomblogging.com

I wish we could spread the holiday spirit across the year...

“The holidays are a hectic time. People are thinking about the less fortunate, and so the Mission kitchen receives huge food donations in November and December. We get so many frozen turkeys that we’re still giving them out to hungry families months later. I’m grateful to everyone who volunteers or donates food. But I wish we could spread that holiday spirit across the whole year.

Donations to the kitchen drop way off during the summer. We get produce and bread, but not many usable proteins like ground beef, turkey, chicken or roasts. The kitchen has been operating at full capacity since January. Sometimes we prepare 1,000 meals a day. I don’t see that changing any time soon. The need is real, 365 days of the year. That’s why your generosity is so important right now.

I hate to start my column on a somber note, but for many in our community, the economic crisis is going to get far worse before it gets better. My proof? If you haven’t read the article inside this newsletter about thousands of Californians reaching the end of their unemployment benefits, please take a moment to do so.

Many of the people that article describes are our neighbors. When they reach the end of their unemployment benefits, where can they turn? County services are slashed to the bone. The state is out of money. Churches and volunteer organizations are stretched to the limit. The Orange County Rescue Mission is the one remaining safety net.

These days are an emotional roller coaster. I often wonder how we can ever keep up with the rising tide of people looking to us for help. But then I receive a check, a van full of donated food, or even an encouraging note from a friend like you, and suddenly things look brighter again.

Fortunately, the Mission has two powerful “secret weapons” that make me sure we can ultimately keep pace with the ever-increasing need. One is God’s bottomless well of grace and love. And the other is your amazing generosity. Thank you for your compassion, your partnership, your prayers and your generosity. I look forward to hearing from you again this summer.

In His service,

The Descanso Endurance Ride is an annual event held in Descanso, CA, in the heart of the Cleveland National Forest in San Diego County. For 20 years, this event has been just as much a contest pitting horse and rider against the California wilderness as a race between riders.

This year, 144 riders spanned distances of 15, 25 and 50 miles vying for the coveted “Best Conditioned” prize, although for many it was matter of honor just to complete the ride. Among these “Wild at Heart” contestants were five representatives of Double R Ranch. Cameron Tonioli rode 15 miles on Missy and completed the ride in third place, accompanied by Kevin Finster on Kia. Double R graduate Bryan Dobyns partnered with Patriot to tough out the 50-mile race in 16th place. Randy Garcia and Glen Chapman participated as ground crew.

Congratulations to the Double R Ranch men who through this contest demonstrated the very crucial character qualities of discipline and perseverence.

The Orange County Rescue Mission is committed to helping you assist the poor in the most cost-effective way possible. That’s why we take extra care to use every penny efficiently. As part of that effort, we are governed by an independent Board of Directors. We are also a member in good standing of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA). Upon your request, we will send you an audited financial statement prepared by an independent certified public accountant.

At the Orange County Rescue Mission, a full 81 cents of every dollar given goes directly to help the homeless. If gifts received are above a specific need, they will be used for Mission programs where the need is greatest. Your support is greatly appreciated. With your help, the Orange County Rescue Mission works to make our community a better place for everyone to live.

Ralphs Community Contributions Program!
Congratulations to Ralphs for donating almost $3 million this past year through its Community Contributions Program. If you are signed up through your Ralphs Rewards card, and have designated the Orange County Rescue Mission as the beneficiary, then a portion of these funds have been donated to assist us in bringing hope to the Least, the Last and the Lost of Orange County.

TAKE UP THE CHALLENGE!! If just 60 people sign up and use their Ralphs Rewards card, 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!)

From March through May, 20 Ralphs shoppers accumulated $242.89 for OCRM just by shopping for their family groceries as a community programs shopper! Join today and help!

Click here to sign up.

Thank you!