The Union Rescue Mission (URM) has been the primary service provider to the forgotten veteran, abused housewife, afflicted neighbor and the desperate addict for over 65 years. Our mission is to provide an environment where the love and compassion of Jesus Christ can help people overcome and prevent life’s diversities. URM offers hope to hungry, hurting and homeless men, women and children.
Through our compassionate and professional staff, we provide men and women the necessary programs to help them overcome their addictions. Equipped with the necessary tools to help them successfully rebuild their lives, it becomes possible to break out of the cycle of poverty. And, through our outreach team, URM has touched the community with compassion and a message of hope, assisting thousands of people every year by providing meals and emergency shelter.
The Mabee Foundation, a non-profit corporation formed in 1948 by Mr. John E. Mabee and his wife, Lottie E. Mabee, has issued a challenge grant of $450,000 to the Union Rescue Mission $3 million campaign, “CHANGING LIVES…STRENGTHENING COMMUNITIES”, to help in the construction of a 14,000 sq. ft. men’s facility at 2921 Confederate Blvd and remodel the Mission’s women’s facility at 823 S. Park. The purpose of the Mabee Foundation is to aid Christian religious organizations, charitable organizations, and institutions of higher learning.
The $450,000 Mabee grant has a matching component and completion timeframe attached to the offer. The Union Rescue Mission has one year to raise the funds through pledges and donations. The grant money will be given once the funds and/or pledges have been received. “We have until December 31, 2012 to raise an additional $1 million to complete the campaign, and if we are successful we will receive the Mabee grant.”
For more information on the Mabee Challenge Grant or how you can be part of reaching the matching funds goal, contact the Dr. William D. Tollett at 501-370-0808.
Union Rescue Mission Ground Breaking for Men’s Facility
http://www.todaysthv.com/news/article/209563/2/Union-Rescue-Mission-hosts-groundbreaking-ceremony
http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2012/may/02/union-rescue-mission-breaks-ground-new-center/
Union Rescue Mission Ground Breaking Speech- By Dr. William Tollett
“Welcome”
Speaker: Dr. William D. Tollett, Executive Director
Changing Lives Strengthening Communities Campaign
Jill Cox from of office of Representative Tim Griffin
Mayor Mark Stodola
Board Chairman John Bailey
Members of the Board
Aaron Ruby, Ruby Architect and Associates
Catherine Johnson, Catherine Johnson and Associates
Jeff Massey, Massey Construction
Distinguished Guests
Union Rescue Mission Staff
Ladies and Gentlemen
A very good morning to all of you…
I’m Dr. William D. Tollett, Executive Director of the Union Rescue Mission. It is my honor and privilege to welcome you to today’s Groundbreaking Ceremony which celebrates the visible beginning of a new milestone in the journey of the Union Rescue Mission.
This is a joyous occasion, especially for the many of us here who has been personally involved in conceptualizing and shaping the mission, and organizing and directing the Changing Lives…Strengthening Communities Campaign. Today, as we commemorate the groundbreaking for an inspiring and critically needed new building, we are celebrating among friend: Friends who share our vision and aspiration for the future Union Rescue Mission; Friends who recognize the unique role that the Union Rescue Mission plays in the life of the homeless, addicted and domestically abused; Friends who are leaders of religion, education, government, commerce and other professions, who will inspire the next generation to make their own notable contributions as servant leader; Friends and donors who have stepped up to expand their levels of support to make this dream come true.
Like the leaders and builders before us, the project that we are celebrating today has required leadership, foresight, careful planning and philanthropy. And while we are just breaking ground, today is far from the beginning of this project. In fact, this early step has been years in the making! We are all part of an amazing history of caring for the Union Rescue Mission. Each of us here today has had a special role in getting the mission to today’s ceremony. However, as you know, there is a lot of construction to do and more funds need to be raised to reach our capital campaign goals.
We are still CHANGING LIVES…STRENGTEHING COMMUNITIES!
In Genesis 18:14 as God informs Abraham and Sarah that they are going to have a son late in the golden years of their lives, He asks Abraham this question: “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” You and I know the rest of the story. At age 100 Abraham and Sarah conceive, have a son named Isaac and begin to fill the Promised Land of Israel with their descendents. If God can do that what else can He do?
In recent days some of you have reminded me again that the project we begin today has been dreamed of, talked about and promised for nearly 15 years. “Is anything too hard for the LORD?”
As the people of God we boldly and confidently shout: NO! With God all things are possible. By God’s grace and by His power at work in the hearts and lives of 100s of friends, staff, board members, architects, builders, contractors, sub-contractors, material suppliers, and many more.
What we begin today is one more evidence that nothing is too hard for the LORD. Today it is my delight to thank each of you for your vision, persistence, prayers, words of encouragement, financial investment, wisdom, creativity, optimism and energy that have helped bring us to this point in time.
God is a faithful God. He is a God of great abundance. Today we celebrate and give thanks for the marvelous way He has raised up just the right people at just the right time to bring about the construction of the Union Rescue Mission Men’s facility. I add my thanks to those already mentioned and want especially to share my deep appreciation for the following:
- John Bailey for his leadership to the Board of Directors, John Gill as he has chaired our CHANGING LIVES…STRENGTHENING COMMUNITIES campaign, and the passionate staff who serve faithfully every day those God brings to our doorsteps;
- Catherine Johnson for her willingness to tackle one more project and to give it her focus in developing our partners and stakeholders to make today’s groundbreaking possible;
- The Board of Directors who boldly approved this project and is resolved to complete it.
- And most importantly our partners who are standing in support of this project.
- I also want to recognize one of our donors, prayer partners, volunteer, and most important my best friend…my wife, Rhonda, who has unselfishly surrender me to work feverishly since September 2011 most every night and weekend writing grants and developing our campaign strategy.
Dear friends, today, with the LORD we begin this task. We do so with great boldness, confidence, optimism and thankfulness because there is nothing too hard for the LORD.
I invite our Board members, Catherine Johnson, Aaron Ruby and Jeff Massey to join me. With this spade we now break ground, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. May the building which will be constructed here be dedicated here to the glory of God and become a blessing to His people.
Closing thanks and prayer
So, to give thanks for this day and for each of you, I offer these words that God gave to Paul to give to the congregation of Christians at ancient Philippi:
I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:3-6)
Let us pray.
Dear Lord Jesus, we also give our gratitude to You for redeeming us in mind, body and spirit from our fallen sinful nature so that we can live in Your mercy and know the joy of salvation every day.
O Holy Spirit, continue to inspire us to place all of our confidence in You for beginning and the completion of this center for the homeless and addicted. Remind all who use it that You will keep them strong on the race of faith in this life all of the way to eternal life where we will be with Jesus who won the race for us. In His name we pray and sing our thanks to you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
In closing, I look forward to standing here with you upon the successful completion of this project and cutting the ribbon together with you in December 2012! Finally, on behalf of the campaign leadership I want to extend our thanks to each of the stakeholder groups represented here today. You are invited to a reception across the street in our chapel.
Thank you!
Please click the link below to see pictures of the facility at 2921 Confederate be torn down. Check back weekly for more pictures.
http://s1146.photobucket.com/albums/o533/Unionrescuemission/