Join us on the 7th of October, 2010 as we celebrate Life Changing moments at our annual benefit banquet.

Hear powerful testimonials and stories about how some of our residents were able to overcome the cycle of homelessness and begin to build their own personal path in the recovery process.

Romanita Hairston, VP of US Programs, World Vision

Alton Merrell, award-winning gospel pianist

The evening will begin at 6:30 with welcoming music by Alton Merrell, a world class gospel pianist. Alton is the the founder and president of Minstrel Enterprises LLC, a music ministry providing concerts, seminars, music instruction, consulting and arranging, as well as studio production services. He is currently a lecturer and PhD student at the University of Pittsburgh. Alton has collaborated with many notable gospel artists and received numerous honors including: Gospel Jazz Artist of the Year, American Gospel Music Award, and Best New Gospel Jazz Artist & Producer.

After dinner, World Vision’s Vice President of U.S. Programs, Romanita Hairston will be our keynote speaker. Romanita oversees partnerships with more than 4,000 organizations as well as programs that serve 1.7 million beneficiaries in 11 U.S. cities. She holds an MBA with an emphasis on leadership in non-governmental organizations from Eastern University in Philadelphia and has 12 years of leadership experience with World Vision.

The banquet will be held at Eastridge Church in Issaquah.

Individual tickets are $30 each, or you can sponsor a table of 8 for $250.  Please contact Leah for your reservation or table captain package.

Most recently, the ECF responded to a request at the Mission that supports an essential part of our daily operations while we strive to provide food and shelter to the homeless in Seattle. ECF’s contibution of over $32,000 will include repairs and replacements that will allow us to conduct a complete renovation to the bathrooms and showers that our guests use every day.

We are honored and touched to be recipients of this grant and offer our heartfelt thanks to the Employees Community Fund of Boeing.  Organizations such as ECF are essential in helping the Mission meet daily survival needs for the people who come seeking shelter and hope.

This year brought more people to the Mission.  The line started early, and the feeling of respect on the streets for our veterans brought warmth to the cold, rainy morning.

The ceremony was held inside, with the chapel filled to standing room only and people seated in the lobby and hallways.  Lt Col Garrett, a highly decorated colonel retired from the U.S. Air Force, gave the keynote address, and one of the Mission’s Life Change Program Residents sang the National Anthem after the color guard presented the flags.

Our homeless guests came from all over Seattle to participate and join us for the BBQ.  Within two short hours, we fed over 1000 people–a meal of steaks, chicken, hamburgers and hot dogs. The only thing moving faster than the food was our amazing team of volunteers who worked tirelessly from the set-up of the event through the clean up.

The City of Seattle offered amazing support, and the Mission would like to thank the Special Events Committee, the Mayor’s Office, and the Seattle Fire Department for all that they did to help make this important event possible.

Click on the image to make your donation and order your individually numbered shirt!

Every January, volunteers throughout Seattle and King County come together in a combined effort to determine the number of homeless people who are either sleeping in the streets or in shelters.  This effort is called “One Night Count.”  The number of people counted for 2010 was a staggering 8,559.

We want to lower the number of homeless people in Seattle, so we have created a campaign called “Each Person Counts” to draw attention to this cause and help us work together to change the trajectory of homelessness in Seattle.

Click on the image to find out what your personal number could be!

We’ve worked closely with B-BAM, an amazing local promotions company here in Seattle to create shirts that have a visual representation of this campaign.  B-BAM is our corporate sponsor in this initiative, creating the design, and helping us provide the best quality shirts at cost that allows us to turn the profits directly back to the Mission.

Every time a shirt is purchased, the number in the center will add up until we reach the number 8,559. At that point, every homeless person counted will be represented by someone who cared enough to contribute to this campaign.  100% of the profits will be used towards the cost of providing food and shelter to one of our overnight homeless guests at that Mission. While they are here, they will be presented with options and opportunities to end their personal battle with homelessness.

Please join us in taking a stand and reducing the number of homeless people in Seattle and King County.  Your contribution and the act of wearing your shirt will demonstrate that you are a part of the positive change.

Click here to make your donation and order your individually numbered shirt!

From the ECFA Website:

ECFA is an accreditation agency dedicated to helping Christian ministries earn the public’s trust through adherence to Seven Standards of Responsible Stewardship^TM. Founded in 1979, ECFA provides accreditation to leading Christian nonprofit organizations that faithfully demonstrate compliance with established standards for financial accountability, fund-raising and board governance. Members include Christian ministries, denominations, churches, educational institutions and other tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organizations. Collectively, these organizations represent more than $18 billion in annual revenue.

ECFA’s Seven Standards of Responsible Stewardship^TM focus on board governance, financial transparency, integrity in fund-raising, and proper use of charity resources.

As if that wasn’t enough…they have also been fundraising to help us purchase an industrial strength can opener and coffee grinder.

The bakesale was a stroke of yummy genius!

When a person comes to the Mission for a meal, we know that is one step closer to committing to a recovery program and taking personal action to end the cycle of homelessness.  The Bread of Life Mission could not do this without our volunteers, donors and the support of our local business community. Thank you!

Join the Orange Brigade!

Join us as we head back out to the streets on February 27th for our 3rd round of Drive-By-Fooding on Saturday the 27th of February from 1-4PM.

Have you wanted to do more to help feed the homeless but didn’t know where or how to get started?  Perhaps you want to involve your family in a program that goes beyond the day-to-day serving experiences.

We hope to see you at our next Drive-By-Fooding, as we head out ot the streets and feed Seattle’s homeless community with baked potatoes, chili and cheese. For more information, click here to email our volunteer coordinator!

The line for food is endless, but so is the work of our volunteers!

They decided that one of the best ways for them to help the Mission in a really sustainable way was to replace all of our faucets with new ones that are more efficient, thereby reducing waste and helping to lower our water bill.  Then they toured the facility to see what other areas could use upgrades in terms of energy conservation. What an amazing gift of time, labor and expertise.

Ecos Consulting, hard at work!

Still..that wasn’t enough…they wanted to do more.  They came as a team and served meals to the homeless for our Tuesday hot lunch, then stayed and helped to clean the kitchen.

Thank you, Ecos Consulting, and warm holiday wishes to all of you from all of us at the Bread of Life Mission!

Have you ever wondered what is “the right thing” to do when you encounter a homeless person on the street?  Often we want to give money, but deep down we’re not certain if that’s the best way to help someone.   Sometimes we have food or coffee with us that we give away, hoping that for a few moments we helped that person to be more comfortable.

The Bread of Life Mission is starting a new program that can help in those situations.  We now have free shelter vouchers that you can give to a homeless man (right now we are a “men only” overnight facility).  When your voucher is redeemed, we’ll send you an email to let you know that you helped provide food and shelter to that person for the night.  Knowing that you have helped someone in need can be a dramatic motivator, and we want to let you know that the way you care does make a difference.

If you would like some free vouchers, please email leahs@breadoflifemission.org and we will send them to you.