Dear Friend of the Mission,
As the wonderful old Christmas song declares, “There is no place like home for the holidays!” But when you are homeless, there is no place called home for the holidays. Christmas can actually be a terribly sad and depressing time for a homeless person. This is why the Mission pulls out all of the stops to make Christmas a wonderful and festive time for our men. We deck our halls with all kinds of Christmas decorations, we have special dinners and Christmas treats for our men, we provide new toys and gifts for the children and grandchildren of our men, we distribute Christmas presents to each of our men, we play Christmas music and sing Christmas carols, and above all, we celebrate the good news of Christ’s birth in our chapels. Christmas at the Mission is truly a special time filled with joy, love and hope. Some of our men even testify that Christmas at the Mission was the best Christmas they ever had.
As we close out 2013, we need your help. Please consider making a special gift to the Mission so that every day at the Mission can be filled with the joy and hope of Christmas. Here are a few ways you can invest in our men and give them a hand-up, and not just a hand-out:
- A special year-end sacrificial gift. God will use your gift to change a life.
- If God has especially prospered you this past year, please consider sending a large gift to the Mission. Large gifts take big bites out of our budgeted expenses, strengthen our services, and are major investments in the lives of our men.
- A gift of appreciated stock. A gift of appreciated stock is always a great help and can also provide you with some excellent tax benefits. Please consult with your financial advisor to confirm these tax benefits. We can easily arrange for an electronic transfer of your stock. If you would like to do this, please call me at 215 438 3094 (ext 102).
- A charitable IRA Rollover – 2013 IRA owners 70 ½ years or older are able to make an IRA distribution directly to a charity and not include it as income (however no charitable deduction is allowed for the gift). This may be a good way to satisfy your required minimum IRA distribution and keep your IRA experiencing tax-deferred growth.
Thank you for investing in the lives of our men – to give them hope and a future! May you and your loved ones have a wonderful Christmas and a New Year filled with peace and joy.
With warmth and friendship,
Robert A. Emberger, D.Min Executive Director
