With YOUR help the Community Raised $13,565 to help the Homeless in Elkton
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Thanks to your generous support our Board of Directors matching gift campaign raised $13,565 from 35 individuals and congregations in our community. That means that with the 50% match from our Board of Directors we will reach our $20,000 goal! There is no way we can express the full extent of our gratitude, but we hope that each of you who participated in this campaign--by donating, spreading the word to your friends, and encouraging others to look at the work that Meeting Ground does--knows how deeply thankful we are.
With your support during this campaign and into the future, we will continue our efforts to end homelessness in Cecil County and beyond. Every dollar that you donate allows us to:
- Promote personal well-being by providing access to showers, personal hygiene items, and laundry services
- Feed as many as 150 per day
- Assist with application fees when seeking permanent housing
- Hold daily case management sessions and give referrals to services needed
- Provide transportation to job interviews and medical appointments
- Offer employment resources, including interview skills, job application assistance, and resume writing
- Assist with obtaining birth certificate, social security card, and State ID.
These are just some of the services that your donation helps Meeting Ground provide day-in and day-out so that we can help pave a path home for our participants.
You can see the original message from our Board of Directors below, detailing why your efforts this past month were so vital to our work.
Remember, we couldn't do what we do without YOU! Please keep our clients in mind as you consider future charitable contributions, and thank you once again for your generosity!
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Meeting Ground's Board of Directors Joins Forces with the Community to Help Support our Homeless Neighbors
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Dear Friends of Meeting Ground,
With the help of many local churches and a very large number of volunteers we have managed to keep the Emergency Rotating Shelter open since the week of Christmas. Those experiencing homelessness in our community have had a safe, warm place to eat and sleep during the bitter cold weather. This is a volunteer effort that still requires a lot of coordination from Meeting Ground's Sheri Snyder, who has been very capable and committed to directing the Emergency Rotating Shelter and Mary Randall Center. Thanks to all of you who have helped out in some way.
Meeting Ground provides many other services that are not volunteer based. Providing in-house small group workshops, as well as knowing who to refer to what assistance program, providing a warm place to stay during the mornings, a place to shower and do laundry, housing women and children short term until they can get into their own place, helping with rapid rehousing, getting people connected with health services, housing veterans, encouraging addiction counseling, etc. is all part of what Meeting Ground does every day. It takes trained personnel to get these things done. As you know, many Americans are a paycheck away from losing their apartment or home. Meeting Ground strives to be there for people when that happens, but also to intervene to prevent it from happening.
Meeting Ground is experiencing some very tough times financially. Income is not keeping up with expenses. Belt tightening has occurred in many ways, unfortunately at the expense of some services. We get many grants from private as well as government sources, but they are not sufficient for this rather labor-intensive type of community care organization.
The Board of Directors, in a show of commitment to meeting the needs of people receiving assistance from Meeting Ground, would like to announce a matching gift proposal. As a group, we are offering to match 50% of funds received from donors between now and March 31st up to $20,000. This will take the pressure off the finances for a time and allow Meeting Ground to continue providing the high-quality assistance that has provided hope to so many of our brothers and sisters.
Please send your checks to Meeting Ground and indicate "BoD matching funds" on the Memo line. If you donate online, you can indicate that this is for the "Board Match" in the "Designation" field at the top of the webpage. And finally, you can also send money directly from your bank account if you prefer. Just contact us for our account information and let us know when you initiate a transfer so that we know to match those funds!
The Board of Directors of Meeting Ground:
Tina Poffenberger, President
Larry Gaultney, Treasurer
Joan Swanson, Secretary
Laura Cochran
Heidi Gaultney
Jean Schedler
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The Word
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Galatians 6:2: "Carry one another's burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."
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Quick Links
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I
f you would like to donate to Meeting Ground, please select one of the easy options below.
Or by mail to:
Meeting Ground
PO Box 808
Elkton, MD 21922
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