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Please support us now during our time of need

Please help us now during our time of need

Dear Friends,

You well know that since 1965, the Bay Area Rescue Mission has been faithfully caring for the homeless, impoverished and desperately discouraged. It is with a heavy heart that I send you this letter of both joy and deep concern.

Like Charles Dickens' Tale of Two Cities, I have a "tale of two Missions" to share with you.

First the great news:
By the end of 2007 the Mission will have provided more than 1,500,000 meals (more than 4,100 meals every day) and provided more than 72,650 bed-nights of shelter for homeless people.

And our just completed audit revealed that for the fiscal year, our program expenses made up 83.9% of our budget. Administrative overhead was 6.2% and fundraising costs was reduced from 10.7% to 9.9%, down from the previous year.

This is an outstanding picture, in the non-profit world. It means that we are putting more than 83 cents per dollar into direct care and aide for our homeless guests.

As you can see, there is much reason to celebrate!

But, alas, the very sad news:
As you know the Mission is a privately funded Christian Ministry. We depend on God to supply all our needs.

For more than 42 years, He has not only sustained the Mission, but has promoted its exponential growth from a 12-bed "pray and stay" soup kitchen to a fully equipped emergency, as well as long-term Christian recovery center for hundreds of men, women and children.

As of December 10, we recorded a $500,000 deficit for the calendar year. Our donations were down by 42% in October, 15% in November, and 34% for December (as of the 10th) compared to the same months last year & yet, the number of requests for help has increased by more than 25%.

Our plan and response:
This week we have started implementing every cost-saving measure we can to reduce expenses. And we will continue using only the most economical public awareness tools to generate income.

Please know that we will do everything possible to retain our level of services to the homeless and impoverished without interruption.

Please, would you pray for the Mission and the precious people who come through our doors every day? Would you please pray for our finances? If you have the means to help we would be most grateful for your help at this time of critical shortage. If you have information about folks who may be able to help us, I would also appreciate hearing from you.

Remaining steadfast in your service to the homeless and needy.