This holiday season, provide crucial meals
to men, women and children who are hurting,
hungry and struggling on our streets.
Each $2.38 you give feeds 1 person in dire need!
Can a meal really change a life? YES!
Duke Paulson, Executive Director of the Tacoma Rescue Mission shares the exciting news in this short video.
Hear how James’s life was completely transformed because of a meal!
Can a meal really change a life?
If you ask James that question, he’ll give you a resounding, “YES!” without hesitation.
“One simple meal changed my life,” James shares, full of awe and gratitude.
If it hadn’t been for generous people like you helping to provide meals, James would still be struggling to escape the streets and battling addiction. Not thinking anyone cared about him. Not knowing the transforming love of Christ.
“I was under addiction. I was in crisis,” he recalls sadly. “I was homeless and I needed a change in my life.”
That’s when James came to the Mission for a meal.
And that meal got him connected to crucial resources like our New Life Recovery Program.
James’ life is now completely changed. He’s overcome addiction. Has housing. Works for a local non-profit. AND has a powerful faith in Jesus Christ.
To think his journey to a new life began with a simple meal.
The transformation James experienced wouldn’t have been possible without the support of partners like you.
Please give today. Every meal you give will make a difference for someone who’s desperate for food and a changed life.
Our neighbors suffering in homelessness are desperate for a new beginning. They just need some help and a place to start. When you give a meal, you provide that starting point.
A meal can connect someone in dire need to life-changing resources that help them to escape the streets and begin to rebuild their life.
Resources like the ones below help to equip and empower individuals to overcome barriers so they can step into a better future.
And it all begins with a meal! The meals YOU provide.
“I thought there was no love for me out there anymore, but I was wrong. There is, and I found that in a meal.”
– James
“If this place did not exist, our baby would have died. That’s a hard, medical fact.”
– Dave
“The staff at the Mission gave me a voice . . . they kept encouraging me and more.”
– Jason
“The Mission helped me be more than I was. Without the confidence I now have with my GED, I wouldn’t be where I am.” – Paul
“This program is what made the difference. It’s not a clean and sober program, it’s discipleship.”
– Morgan
“I felt like there were chains holding me down. I didn’t know I could ask Jesus to release me. I can breathe now. Before, I felt dead.” – Kathleen
“I learned where my behaviors came from. Why I was so angry and defensive. It helped me have goals and achieve them.” – Amanda
“My life was getting bleaker. Being here gave me hope. You can really see the staff’s dedication to helping veterans like me.” – Justin
“Without the Mission, I wouldn’t be graduating.”
– Tre’von,
Age 17
“Now I have 16 months clean, I have a relationship with my children and grandchildren, I’ve overcome co-dependency, I have and apartment, a license and a car. It’s changed my whole life. And it’s just crazy to think it all started with coming to the Mission for dinner.”
Stephanie
“I thought there was no love for me out there anymore, but I was wrong. There is, and I found that in a meal.”
James
“When you have good food in your belly then the whole day is so much better. You start to have a future when you start feeling good”
Trevor
“That Thanksgiving meal showed me there was still hope.”
Kenneth
“When you’re hungry and dehydrated you start to lose grip on what’s going on. Just being able to get something to eat can center you again.”
Carol
“To see meals being handed out, I was so thankful for whoever was behind it. Like I was in tears, it meant so much.”
Dustin
“I was giving myself a slow death out there on the streets. I started coming here for dinner. The Mission saved my life.”
Sofia
“When you’re starving, you feel so weak. You can barely move, much less walk around. That first meal I had at the Mission turned everything around.”
Melissa
“Without this place, I would’ve been hopeless myself. I wouldn’t have known what to do.”
Willie
“I kind of gave up out on the streets because I didn’t think there were really any good people in the world. But when I came here and got a meal, everybody here was so nice and genuinely cared. It was a bright spot.”
Robert
“If someone cares enough to give me a hot meal, then maybe I can actually change.”
James
“I saw that it wasn’t just an act . . . the meals that staff and volunteers were serving showed me they cared. And wanted to help everyone coming through the doors anyway they could.”
Paul
“I thought I was actually going to dinner with my family jut because of the way they served us.”
Cameron
“The Mission is where most homeless people go to eat because they know that eating is different for someone who’s homeless. It’s not just eating, it’s that for a few hours you’re warm, you can use the bathroom, you can talk to the person you need to talk to so you can get help.”
Maria
“Feeding people is a big part of just opening the door. We do more than serve the homeless. We give people hope, security and motivation.”
Andrew, Mission Staff
“We know that meals, that food is a basic need.
We want to make sure, as we go into this season, that [our vulnerable neighbors] have enough food to eat.
And by bringing them in to eat, [the Mission] has an opportunity to work with them and change their lives.
I hope you’ll consider giving a gift. I know I’m going to.”
Victoria Woodards | City of Tacoma Mayor
“A meal is a basic need for every person. I can’t imagine anything more important.
And during the holidays, to have someone care enough to give you a hot, delicious meal? That’s a blessing for a person who is having a really hard time, the hardest time anyone can imagine.”
It’s something we can’t turn our back on. Let’s make sure people in our community are fed.”
Rex & Kathy Hadman | Mission volunteers and donors
Isaiah 58:10a (NLT)
Giving meals is a simple but powerful way you can make a big difference for a man, woman, or child who’s homeless, hungry, and hurting right now.
Every $2.38 meal you give provides vital food. AND opens the door to resources that can help someone escape the streets and rebuild their life.
We help all people; including clients, volunteers, donors and staff, to become their best. We provide emergency services such as shelter and food to the homeless or hurting; offer self-sufficiency programs to help lift a person from poverty and break the chains of addiction; support prevention programs and share our Christian faith.
Tacoma Rescue Mission | 425 South Tacoma Way, Tacoma WA 98402 | 253.383.4493
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The Rescue Mission is a registered 501 (c)(3) – EIN 91-0565014