Andy Bales' End of Month Update - August 2022

I want to give you an end-of-month video update.
We've had quite a month, starting off with some back-to-school events and parties and getting kids everything they need for school.

USC Dental, School on Wheels, and Caldwell Banker did an event here in downtown Union Rescue Mission on the rooftop for our kids, while Bel Air Presbyterian held a back-to-school party for our kids at Hope Gardens, and now all our kids are ready to go back to school and have a great time.

We had a great visit from Kathryn Barger, 5th District Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who's been a longtime friend of Hope Gardens Family Center and Union Rescue Mission. She came and visited our Angeles House and took a tour and was really impressed with all that's going on at Angeles House.

It's always iffy when we do something out front of our building on the sidewalk at Skid Row. But Wendy Birch from KTLA 5 and iHeartRadio insisted. It is all part of the iHeartRadio mission to all the downtown missions’ events. We had burritos and frozen yogurt for everybody. It was a great time out on the sidewalk and lifted everybody's spirits, thanks to iHeartRadio, KTLA and Ralph’s, and Food for Less. If you shop there this month, the proceeds will help URM and other missions on Skid Row.

One of the toughest things about Union Rescue Mission is I've been here so long that I've watched fellow teammates retire, and I watched Chaplain Tino, longtime chaplain, retire, and we just saw, I believe, longest serving employee and longest serving chaplain that I know of in our Union Rescue Mission history. Tino Rodriguez retired recently, and he's been here the entire time that I've been here. In fact, he's been here nine more years than I've been, and we finally were able to send Tino off. It was a day with him, speaking in chapel, lunch with Tino, a special goodbye celebration with Tino, and hopefully, we will send him off and show him the love that we have for him and his faithfulness.

Always a highlight of Union Rescue Mission is our graduations. We held our graduation for about eight or nine men up on the rooftop. Proud, courageous men whose testimonies, whose stories were incredible, the trauma they have gone through in their lives, the trauma that they've overcome, the brand-new men that they have become. It was just a great time celebrating these men, hearing their stories, and watching them graduate in full cap and gowns and celebrate their day. And thanks for all you do to make that possible, to make recovery possible.

Lastly, I want to discuss what an amazing event you can take part in. You can get more information on this event at URMOvertheEdge.com. You can help by either sponsoring somebody or by rappelling off a building or taking it upon yourself to go over the edge and rappel off the 25-story Hilton Universal Hotel in Universal City.

It's not just a matter of raising funds, but every dollar goes towards the life-saving, life-changing work at Union Rescue Mission. We couldn't do any of this life-saving, life-changing work without you. Our partners, we depend completely on you. We do not take government funds because that would limit our ability to have recovery programs, and it would also limit our ability to freely and voluntarily share our faith. We know that's where our powers come from. And we know a lot of that comes from you and can't thank you enough.

God bless you and Thank You.

Rev. Andy Bales
President/CEO