CRM to Sponsor the Historic Badin Triathlon

The Charlotte Rescue Mission is sponsoring the first annual Historic Badin Triathlon on Saturday morning June 7th, 2008. The triathlon is a swim, bike and run competitive event that will be a fundraiser for the mission. The Town of Badin, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, will be the site of the event. The 750 meter swim will take place in adjacent Badin Lake. The 11.4 mile bike portion will take place on surrounding country roads. The 5k run will be through the town.

Registration begins on January 3rd on the website of the company that will produce the event. Their web address can be located at www.setupevents.com. There you will find information about the event and instructions on how to register as a participant. You will also be able to sign up to volunteer by filling out the volunteer form on the Historic Badin Triathlon web page at the previously mentioned website. You may also contact Gary Kaufman to volunteer. He can be reached by email or by phone at (704) 334-4635 ext. 208. This would be a great volunteer opportunity for a church youth group.

This event is made possible in part by Middle Ring Cycles, Wachovia, God’s Country Outfitters and SYSCO.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Christmas Day News Coverage

News 14 ran the following story on Christmas day at the mission:

CHARLOTTE -- Volunteers served hundreds of hot meals in Charlotte Christmas morning to those in need at Charlotte’s Rescue Mission.

The mission’s kitchen was packed with volunteers long before the sun came up. "They were here before [5 a.m.] getting ready to serve a hot breakfast for the homeless,” said Rev. Tony Marciano, executive director.

Read the whole thing here.

Deserts Needed for Christmas

It's that time again, we need deserts! That's right, every year at our Christmas dinner for the homeless we serve homemade deserts - pies, cookies, cakes...anything and everything. These pastries are provided by donors just like you. What a difference it can make to a homeless person... who knows where their last meal came from? If you can bake a pie or desert of any kind, please bring them by our main location at:

907 West First St
Charlotte, NC 28202

We will be passing out gift bags to all of our guests which will include toiletries and toys for the kids. Remember, we need these items by Christmas morning. God bless and have a wonderful Christmas!

Toys Needed for Christmas

Although we do not have program space for children, we do serve families (including children) during our holiday meals. For Christmas, we like to pass out toys as we usually have some to give to homeless and poverty stricken children who will come through our doors on December 25th. If you have a few toys you could spare, why not drop them by the mission to share the Christmas spirit with those less fortunate?

You may drop off toys (for all ages) at our main location:

907 West First St
Charlotte, NC 28202

We are close to Bank of America stadium. Merry Christmas!

Christmas Shopping for the Homeless

Shopping can be a very difficult thing. I have found that the gifts homeless people want are both simple and complicated items. The simple things they crave are safe shelter, hot meals and clean clothing. The difficult thing they so desperately need is to walk away from the streets. At Charlotte Rescue Mission, both gifts are given to our clients.

One client, who recently finished our Rebound men’s program was so grateful for the opportunity Charlotte Rescue Mission gave him. For 90 days, he addressed the things that for too long, had made the streets his home. In addition, he spent years in jail. He came to me on his last day in the program, showing me his completion certificate. His smile went all the way around his face. I have never seen anyone so happy. Then, he looked at me and said, “This is just the beginning”. He was ready for the next chapter in his life.

Each year, there are hundreds of stories of lives like his that are changed.

Join Us For New Years!

Help us bring in the New Year celebrating 'new beginnings'. Join us at The Big Chill uptown for Charlotte's premiere alcohol-free New year's eve party.

We'll have a great buffet, dancing and door prizes. The master of ceremonies will be comedian Mark Mathis and all proceeds will benefit the mission.

Ticket prices are $60 for an individual and $100 for a couple. Click here to learn more. Hope to see you there!

Giving to the Mission in Lieu of Christmas Gifts

The Charlotte Observer recently ran this article, telling one couple's story of how and why they started supporting Charlotte Rescue Mission:

Mindy Leonard and her family haven't exchanged Christmas presents in 10 years.

"We said, `This is getting out of hand. We'd rather just give to charity,' " said the 35-year-old Charlotte commercial real estate appraiser.

Every year at the holidays, Leonard and husband Kevin give $300-400 to the Charlotte Rescue Mission, a Christian charity that runs residential chemical dependency recovery programs for men and women.

Leonard recalls doing some research on Guidestar.org, a Web site that publishes the tax returns of charitable organizations. It's there that she thinks she read that the Charlotte Rescue Mission doesn't take government funds. That was appealing, she said, because that means the organization is free to act in the best interest of the community.

A quick check of Guidestar shows Leonard was right. The Charlotte Rescue Mission doesn't take government money. On its 990s, the field for government funds was blank.

Tim Troutman, donor services supervisor, said that while some Christian charities accept government money, they might have to change their program to get it, and Charlotte Rescue Mission doesn't want to do that. "We attribute the success of our program to the fact that we are a Christian organization," he said.