HELPING OTHERS

Hi Folks,

God bless you. After 31 years of continuous non-profit community service to the citizens of Pinellas County we are asking for your help. This letter is an introduction to the Suncoast Haven of Rest Rescue Mission and a brief description of some of the charitable activities that are supported by our wonderful donors. However, we are now financially broke because the increasing demand (poor hungry persons) far exceeds our donor based supply. Please consider helping us feed, nourish, and prop up thousands of desperately needy marginal domiciled families of men, women, and children and poor depressed homeless persons living in Pinellas County. How can I help? You can help serve the needy by donating a tax-deductible grant or any other form of assistance such as individual or group volunteers or donations such as clothing for all ages, used vehicles, or even establishing us as a life-insurance beneficiary, these are things that you believe will improve and help sustain the ordinary lives of the thousands of ­impoverished persons that we deal with on a daily basis.

The Suncoast Haven of Rest Rescue Mission was established in 1988 as a 501©3 nonprofit corporation now located at 1763 9th Avenue N., St. Petersburg, Florida 33713. We continue to serve the entire Pinellas County from this location. Our campus of hard-working staff and volunteers multi-task in serving any and all needy patrons as a public food pantry, a food bank for other nonprofits, a rehabilitation center, a church, and in conjunction with PTC (Pinellas Technical College) of St. Petersburg we operate a meal catering service that prepares and serves meals in the Pinellas County homeless shelter of Pinellas Safe Harbor, the homeless shelter of Pinellas Hope, and The Police Athletic League of St. Petersburg.

The doors to our Rescue Mission are always open seven days a week to the poor and needy. Our volunteer staff consists of around twenty (it varies) formerly homeless men and women who have officially entered into our drug and alcohol free Ministerial Volunteers In Training program for rehabilitation (tearing down the old) and ministerial training (building up the new), and we also receive daily labor assistance from many warm-hearted church volunteers and hundreds of Pinellas County Community Service workers.

Together, with compassion, sincerity, and the loving understanding of God, we provide free boxes of groceries, donated clothing, and donated toys to 44,154 computer registered poor domiciled families of men, women, and little children living throughout Pinellas County. Altogether, with the indispensable aid of our trucks and crews, we are this year collecting and distributing an average of 358,315 pounds of food (179 tons) per month, or 238,876 meals and meal equivalencies per month, or 11,943 meals perdav that are freely given to-the poor residents and homeless citizens of this county. Between year 2013 (when we moved into this larger facility) and this March of 2019 (6 years), we have provided 19.4 million pounds of food (19,450,115 - we keep good records) to the needy public living in Pinellas County. That food was converted into approximately 12,966,743 meals (over 12 million meals). There are about 50 (it varies) other non-profit organizations in Pinellas County that receive bulk foods from our Rescue Mission, such as children's organizations, veteran's Clubs, churches, retirement homes, hospices, deaf persons homes, various ministries, and many others. And now we are broke. Please help.

The Suncoast Haven of Rest Rescue Mission is a faith-based donor funded organization. Our immediate needs are to secure sufficient income (either bulk or monthly) to overcome a large economy-driven decrease in our donations (supply). Ours is a pretty good economic indicator of what is happening not only in Pinellas County, but also throughout the towns and cities of America (lots and lots of hungry people). With your gracious help, if you so choose, we shall continue to serve the hungry men, women, and little children of Pinellas County to the very best of our abilities. Thank you for your kind attention. God bless you.

Sincerely,

Rev. Lionel Cabral ©

Executive Director