The single greatest gift we can give to another person is empowerment.
As we continue to move toward the warm weather season and begin enjoying all of the activities that are offered to us in our city, we need to remember that there are people and families still continuing to struggle to make it through each day.
Currently in Atlanta, there are an average of 4,000 beds available each night, for an average of 6,000 + people who need them. That means that there is a 2,000 + deficit in available beds.
Many people that are currently living within the homeless population underwent a major life crisis that led them there, and they are either unsure of how to get themselves out of the situation, or have lost the means to do so.
As our focus continues to be empowerment, we are beginning to explore more options that could be made available to the population, to help them find stability in employment and housing. This is very much so a “What came first, the chicken or the egg?” scenario. Getting a job will enable people to get housing. However, without housing, it’s difficult for people to present themselves well enough to get a job.
As we move forward, we continue to recognize the need for us to work together as a city wide collaboration effort to combat the homelessness epidemic here. Many people who read our blog and stay current with our organization, not only have many talents to contribute to the cause, ideas to share that could bring more insight, but also potentially the means to help empower a group of people who otherwise could be stuck in a cycle.
If you have any special skills, talents, or resources that you would like to contribute to our cause, please contact us. Thank you!
Jamie
While we are continuing to get our office space/storage locations ready for operation, we still have a few ways that you can contribute items or monetary donations to our organization.
For item donations:
You can review the list of items that we need for our office space on our Wish List tab and can Contact Us for the best location to drop those items off.
For monetary contributions:
We are currently looking for monthly contributors. You can donate monthly for any amount you would like on our GoFundMe account. Simply click “donate.” Next to the box for the amount, check “Yes! Donate each month.”
If you would prefer, you can also donate on our Paypal account – you can choose to turn that into a monthly contribution as well.
As always, we would like to thank all of our volunteers, and all the people who have donated money, items or their time. We simply wouldn’t be able to accomplish all of our goals for the city of Atlanta without the support of the community. Thank you!
Jamie
Today, I’m sitting here thinking about how intense and how long it is going to take me to complete the third 3rd awareness campaign.
In fact, I have shared the idea with many close friends, and some people honestly think it is nuts. Well, I really don’t think it is nuts… I just think it will make a strong statement for all the children who struggle with generational poverty, lack, and broken families. I only have 24 more DAYS left… I will reveal this Sunday what it is…
Pray that this campaign changes others, changes me, and helps us #lovebeyondwalls!
With the summer quickly approaching (finally!), #lovebeyondwalls will be facing new challenges, while trying to serve the homeless in Atlanta. Instead of looking to find ways to help people stay warm, we will need to find solutions on how to keep people adequately cooled and hydrated.
Sometimes it’s easy to overlook the significance of running water in our homes, but here are some facts to think about:
• More than 6,000 Metro Atlanta people (women, children and men) are without a home on any given day.
• Adult humans need between 11-15 cups of water daily for survival in mild temperatures. When temperatures reach mid-summer Atlanta heights, the need for clean water intake goes up significantly.
• Young children are extremely susceptible to severe dehydration and heat stroke, because their internal temperature regulators are not fully matured.
• There is limited availability for free water in the city of Atlanta, and most of the homeless population will be dehydrated during the summer, many of which will need medical attention for heat stroke or severe dehydration.
While we focus on bringing essential tools, support, and opportunities to the community in Atlanta, we also have to ensure that our dedicated volunteers will have proper hydration during our ongoing projects. In our first three months of operation, we had over 750 volunteers contribute their time to the cause. Our volunteers are at the heart of our operation, and we thank each and every one of them for their time.
If you would like to get involved in any of our projects, whether it’s to volunteer time or to donate goods, please contact us through our “Contact” tab. We are also looking for monthly sponsors at this time, to help us raise the money we will need to continue providing opportunities to the community, and to further make an impact on the homelessness crisis we are facing as a city.
#projectTHIRST – Launch May, 2014 – Stay involved to learn details on ways to help!
Jamie
We are excited about partnering with India Faith Ministries in India to resource many kids with shoes who don’t have any at all. This will kick off our #lovebeyondborders initiative to share the love of God with people across the globe. Thank you so much for your contribution to our #givemilesaway campaign!
Below I received an email from the kids the other day saying, “THANKS!!!” Not only did this warm my heart, but it is reminding me of how God loves every single person on this planet.
Keep praying for #lovebeyondwalls
Terence
We are approaching a historic month for #lovebeyondwalls! Why? Because in the month of April we will occupy our first office/slash storage space. Below is a picture if you have seen it yet:
Of course it is not a gigantic building, but it will be something we call a headquarters & home.
It will be a “launchpad” for the work we would like to continue doing in our city (ATL), country, and world.
It will be a place where we can get planted and grow as an organization. We ask that you do four specific things to help us get planted into our new office/storage space in the month of April (whole month).
1) Pray – I ask that you pray that God allows us to get planted, and immediately continue to reach people who do not have any hope.
2) Give – I ask that you look at our simple “wish list” and contribute in of the items on it that we need. This is ALL from scratch, so we will need your help. But, if we have to spend the first month on the floor with laptops working, we are cool with that too. LOL. Simply click [HERE] to visit our “wish list” page.
3) Volunteer – We will post the days that we will start working on the building to clean it, and make minor repairs to it. We ask that you volunteer to help get our building together. We will need help getting organized, painting, etc. Why? As we get planted, we can help more people.
4) Share our story – If you know someone who could help us move forward, share our story. You never know who “you know” that we can help, or could help us.
Thank you for reading this blog. Pray for #lovebeyondwalls as we aim to “PLANT LOVE” in the city of Atlanta! Below is the graphic for the new campaign #plantlove
Terence
Today marks 90 DAYS since we officially launched our site, blog, and went public with #lovebeyondwalls… It has been an amazing ride so far, and we hope to continue to change and impact lives all over the world.
It has been really cool to see our ten year history (severing the community) start to impact so many lives. God deserves all the credit.
Below is a quick update charting our movement over the last 90 DAYS… Of course it includes numbers (which I don’t like sharing), but it at least reveals some sense of measuring. I have chosen to share this because we have had many supporters, donors, and people to sow into to our organization. We want to reveal to our supporters how they are helping us to move and impact lives!
20 FACTS FOR #LOVEBEYONDWALLS IN 90 DAYS
- We have led 3 people to faith.
- We have baptized 1 individual.
- We have gotten 3 people off the streets.
- We have established over 50 relationships with people who are homeless.
- We have served over 1K homeless men, women, and children.
- We have mobilized over 1K volunteers both local and nationally to get involved with our campaigns.
- We have generated over 30 partnerships.
- We have raised over 12K socks from local and national supporters to distribute to the homeless community.
- We have raised over 1K hygiene products to distribute to the homeless community.
- We have partnered with 5 churches to mobilize people.
- We have secured 5 drop-off locations.
- We have stopped three evictions.
- We Have raised over 1K shoes to distribute to the homeless community.
- We have had over 15K website visits around our awareness campaigns.
- We have grown our social media following by %1000 (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook).
- We have set up our first educational campaign.
- We have worked with two major news stations, and 1 radio station.
- We have mobilized over 200 students in K-12 schools to get involved in our efforts.
- We have partnered with 5 schools.
- We have inspired over 100 people locally and nationally to start their own community work.
- We have made history with the first 30 mile walk for homelessness in the city of ATL.
There are more facts….but I can’t share them all right now. However, I want it to be known many of the numbers above are not to pat ourselves on the back, but to track what God has miraculously done as we have selflessly given ourselves to the work of God.
WE WANT TO THANK EACH OF YOU FOR SUPPORTING!
We hope to continue to have more of an impact in 2014 as we share more of our creative efforts. I ask that you keep our efforts, campaigns, and ideas in your prayers.
Terence
