Wow!! What a crazy, cold Christmas week!! Thanks to all of those who supported us by providing meals, serving at the Mission, praying for protection, keeping the lights on, and donating products and money to make this a success! We absolutely could NOT have done it without your support!
The Warming Center opened Friday, Dec 23, 2022, at 4:00 am when the temperatures began dropping. We remained open through Christmas Day, all the way through Tuesday morning at 10:00 am, for a total of 102 hours of continuous operations.
During the week of Dec 23-30, we had 82 unique people stay overnight in the Warming Center. A total of 276 bed spaces were provided to keep people out of the cold.
In addition, we saw a surge at the Mission during the week as we continued to provide services. In addition to those staying overnight, we provided services and meals for an additional 135 people. A grand total of 1,150 meals were provided (770 breakfasts plus 380 lunches and dinners).
I can’t even begin to calculate the amount of coffee, hot chocolate, apple cider, and bottles of water we provided. All I know is we had a lot of near-empty shelves by the time the year ended.
Honey was glad to share her Christmas morning with her “family,” as pictured above. All in all, it was an exhausting and incredible week. We made lots of new friends as volunteer servants showed up to be the hands and feet of Jesus for those we were able to serve.
A few last thoughts we must not forget: The Salvation Army, Anderson’s only full-time emergency shelter, remained open and stayed at capacity throughout this event. Our friends at Clean Start washed, dried, and folded hundreds of sheets and blankets to support our operations.
This was all possible by the Grace of God and the hands of many, many servants that showed up to share the love. We can’t thank you enough!!
