Healthy Homes and Tables participants celebrate with family photos, kids giving gifts to parents and a visit with Santa Claus.

After 11 months of living in a hotel, this family will be moving into one of Love Columbia’s Extra Mile transitional homes. Their path forward advisor Heather said, “Terrance and Erika work really hard and I am so excited for their next chapter.”

After losing everything in a house fire, Tiffany and Frankie and their two young daughters decided to move to the area for a fresh start. They struggled to find housing and during that time they lived in homeless shelters and hotels, as they looked for full-time employment. Today we are celebrating with Tiffany and Frankie for being accepted by a landlord and receiving a donated car in the same week! We asked Tiffany for one word that would describe receiving the vehicle. Tiffany started crying and said, “How could I only use one word to describe such a wonderful blessing?”

This fall, we started offering Extra Mile coaching on Monday evenings at In2Action for their participants transitioning from incarceration. One participant recently celebrated moving from having no credit score to a 708-credit score. “Everyone deserves another chance and by providing the Extra Mile Class to the gentlemen of In2Action we are helping them to make and achieve financial goals that will continue to benefit them throughout their lives,” Love Columbia Financial Coach, Sherry Wyss said. “It’s also a relaxed and fun way to build friendships plus provide additional resources like credit building and career coaching for even more success.”

A glimpse into the handwritten entries inside of the Joy Bell notebook.

With this final newsletter of 2023, we want to express both gratitude and expectancy. We are grateful to God and all the people who gave and served to love their neighbors forward. We are also grateful for all the people who bravely took steps to overcome barriers, learn new skills and press forward to improve their lives. It has taken courage to give time, money, and material goods in these times of high inflation, and perhaps even more courage to press forward when the cost of providing for your family’s basic needs exceeds your monthly income.

We have been repeatedly stunned by the bravery we have witnessed this year. Pandemic relief funds ended at the peak of post-pandemic inflation and the tightest housing market most of us have ever seen. In spite of this, Love Columbia served more people than ever before (nearly 2,500 households) and mobilized over 300 volunteers (an official count far less than the actual number).

We have hundreds of precious, handwritten records of heart cries from our prayer request box, and praises from our Joy Bell notebook. Between these written lines, we know countless acts of love and sacrifice took place. Neighbor stood beside neighbor each and every day, and our hearts were moved to go deeper in several areas in the coming year.

In 2024, we will launch:

• Good Dads – courses to strengthen parenting skills and promote economic stability of fathers
• Rent Well – training to help people obtain rental housing and become successful tenants and neighbors
• Living On A Fixed Income – educational support group
• Youth Homeless Demonstration Project – collaboration with Flourish youth shelter to provide housing and supportive services to 18–24-year-olds

Thanks to ARPA funding from the City and County, we will have the privilege of building a six-plex to provide transitional housing for families experiencing homelessness. The units will be walking distance to our main office, allowing maximum support to the residents.

Thanks to Anderson Homes Foundation, and three brave donors, we will have the privilege of pioneering My First Home, a pilot project to provide starter homes for graduates of our homeownership program. This spring, three families will purchase new homes at less than market value to start them on their journey to build wealth.

In 2024: more people will be supported on their journeys. More hope will be given. And more people will have the blessing of giving and serving. Courage has won the day, even in the most trying times.

Thank you for believing change is possible and supporting that belief with love and generosity. We look forward to more empowerment to prosper and live joyful lives in the coming year.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,

As we reflect on the empowering service and generosity shared this past year, and look forward to extending more love to our neighbors in 2024, we invite you to make a year end gift:

Love Columbia brought key community partners together to form a collaboration with Good Dads, a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering fathers to be the best parents they can be. Through a range of resources, events, and support services, Good Dads has helped countless fathers in southwest Missouri and Kansas City become more engaged in their children's lives. We are excited to collaborate with Good Dads to bring their impactful programs and resources to the Columbia community. To find out about the Love Columbia course that starts on January 8, and other upcoming community courses, contact: tonid@lovecolumbia.org. Courses for fathers will begin in January at several locations.