OCTOBER 2013

Family matters

A time for giving thanks and a time to give As we wrap up the Thanksgiving holiday and give thanks for all the support we’ve received this year, we wanted to take a moment to wish you all a very happy holiday season. May you be surrounded by loved ones and find time for sharing treasured moments together. Let us all keep perspective on what is truly important in our lives and use this season to celebrate those intangi-ble gifts we are blessed with. These are trying economic times for us all, but more difficult for those in our community who live daily with their essential needs unmet. Bethesda Project’s mission to find and care for the abandoned poor and to be fami-ly with those who have none is more alive than ever today. We have opened up our winter shelters at full capacity and are ready to open up the Bethesda Café at Broad Street Ministry on December 15. Part of the Be-thesda Beacon, these winter programs engage shelter-resistant homeless individuals through patient and per-sistent outreach and by providing daytime drop-in

hours to offer referrals to housing and treatment pro-grams. Last year we had an extraordinary success rate – moving 30% of the 378 men and women that stayed at the Café to better housing and treatment. Your contin-ued support of Bethesda Project makes this possible. On this #GivingTuesday, would you consider making a gift to Bethesda Project this holiday season? Visit http://bethesdaproject.org/get-involved/contribute to donate today. We thank you and wish you a great holiday season!

Guest column: In his own words

My name is Michael and I live at My Brother's House. I was raised in a loving family with two parents and a dog. I am college educated and worked in the hospitality field for many years, something I enjoyed very much. In 2000 I became very ill. It was not long after that I found myself homeless. I did what most homeless do—imposed on family and friends which turned into a nightmare. After being on the streets I was ready to end my life and I tried, but God had other plans. After watching me walk aimlessly, Bethesda staff member Misty—my angel—offered to help me and placed me at Bethesda. My life has changed so much since. I catch myself singing sometimes I am so happy. My dear friends, I pray none of you will ever know how horrible it is to find a private place to perform daily hygiene. Your continued prayers and contributions allow people like me to hold on to human dignity. Thank you.

DECEMBER 2013

20 fundraising ideas to support Bethesda Project Want to help support Bethesda Project but don’t know

where to start? Here are some fun ideas to help you get

started! For more tips, visit BethesdaProject.org.

1. Start now: The earlier you begin fundraising, the

more success you will have. Start by creating a

pledge card that you can distribute to your cowork-

ers, family and friends. Make sure to explain you

are raising money for Bethesda Project and give a

summary of who we are and what we do.

2. Make your own contribution: Lead by example

and make your pledge first.

3. House/dinner party: Make fundraising fun! Host

a dinner party or throw a fundraising party. Collect

donations and entertain at the same time. Create a

theme (like a costume party) and have fun. Invite

10 or more of your friends. Have each guest donate

$50, spend no more than $20 per person on food

and you’ll have $300 or more in donations by the

end of the night.

4. Corporate matching gift: Ask your company to

match the amount of pledges you receive from your

coworkers and ask all donors if their company has a

matching gift program.

5. Corporate sponsorship: Identify one of the major

companies in your area and ask them to support Be-

thesda Project.

6. Fundraise with social media: Utilize your online

networks to raise money towards your goal with

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.

7. Colorful sponsor letters: Stand out among bills

and junk mail and print your fundraising letters on

colored paper. Send them in colored envelopes too.

8. Signing your correspondence: Add a short sen-

tence at the bottom of your email signature saying

that you’re supporting Bethesda Project, add a link

to our “Donate Now” page, and ask for a pledge.

9. In Memory of/In Honor of cards: Order these

cards directly from our website and use them during

the holidays and life events. If you have an upcom-

ing birthday, shower or wedding, consider asking

your guests for a donation to Bethesda Project in

lieu of gifts.

10. Meet the press: Does your company distribute a

newsletter? Does your company have intra-office

email? Take advantage of these…it’s a perfect way

to get the word out and even get your company in-

volved.

11. Get an article in your local paper: Call us at 215-

985-1600 to talk about media outreach opportuni-

ties in your local newspaper and how to successful-

ly get your story placed. Include information about

how people can contribute and have a photo ready

to go!

12. Raffle: Hold a raffle where everyone that contrib-

utes is entered to win a special item, such as a

homemade quilt or baseball tickets. Ask a local

store manager what the hot-selling item is and see if

he or she would be willing to donate a percent of

the sales from that item to Bethesda Project or do-

nate an item to be raffled.

13. Garage sale: Do you really need all that extra stuff

taking up space in your garage, attic and/or base-

ment? Gather it up, ask your friends to do the same

and pick a weekend to hold a garage sale where the

proceeds go to Bethesda Project.

14. Bake sale: Become Julia Child or Mrs. Fields and

host a bake sale with your friends at a garage sale,

at work, school, or at a religious organization’s

function.

15. The “extra change in my pocket” box: Create lit-

tle boxes for you, your friends and family and have

them place it on their dresser, desk and at work to

collect spare change. It can add up quickly!

16. Voice mail message: This will alert everyone who

calls you that you’re up to something special! Let

them know that you need their support!

17. Your local restaurant: Ask your favorite local res-

taurant to host a fundraising dinner for you. They

supply the food and you supply the pledge cards.

Ask if you can place a money jar at the front of the

restaurant: Check with the manager. They may be

willing to place the jar in a high-traffic area so

many patrons will see it.

18. Guest bartending: Ask your local watering hole if

you can come and work behind the bar and donate

all tips you make back to Bethesda Project. Most

bars will also agree to drink specials for the occa-

sion. Invite all your family, friends and their friends

to come out.

19. Movie/performing arts ticket donation: Ask your

local movie house or theater to donate several tick-

ets. Auction them off and put the money toward

your pledges.

20. Host a movie party: Order a new release from

Netflix, make some popcorn, and invite your

friends and family over for the night. Charge $5 and

have plenty of pledge cards out!

It’s #GivingTuesday in Philadelphia!

Bethesda Project has joined #GivingTuesday, a first-of-its-kind effort that will harness the collective power of a unique blend of partners—charities, families, busi-nesses and individuals—to transform how people think about, talk about and participate in the giving season. Coinciding with the Thanksgiving Holiday and the kickoff of the holiday shopping season, #GivingTuesday inspires people to take collaborative action to improve their local communities, give back in better, smarter ways to the charities and causes they support and help create a better world. Taking place today, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, #GivingTuesday will harness the power of social media to create a national moment around the holidays dedi-cated to giving, similar to how Black Friday and Cyber Monday have become days that are, today, synonymous with holiday shopping.

This #GivingTuesday, Bethesda Project will be raising awareness of our mission – to find and care for the abandoned poor and to be family with those who have none. Help us spread the word on your social networks by using hashtag #GivingTuesday. A special thanks to Jenkintown Building Services for supporting Bethesda Project this year with a Gift of Service and to the leadership of BOMA - The Building Owners and Managers Association - for supporting us through a penny drive collection.

We have a day for giving thanks.

Two days to shop—Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Now, we have a day for giving back.

This is the time of year when many Americans will be making charitable donations, and we’d like to share some

exciting news. The Giving Library (www.GivingLibrary.org), an online video archive that connects donors to

nonprofits, is kicking off a $100,000 “Share to Give” campaign on #GivingTuesday, the national day of giving.

This is a way for you to support Bethesda Project this holiday season. All you have to do is share our Giving Li-

brary video on Facebook or Twitter, and the Giving Library will donate $5 to us. It’s that simple! Participants can

share up to five organizations per month, and the Giving Library will donate up to $100,000 during the campaign.

There are no gimmicks and no matching contributions.

Please take a minute today to log on to the Giving Library and share our video.

How to Share:

1. Visit www.GivingLibrary.org and search for Bethesda Project.

2. Click the photo to access our page then click the “Share Now” button.

3. Create an account if you don’t already have one.

4. Click “Share on Facebook” or “Share on Twitter.”

5. Share either the default message or a message of your choice.

6. Bethesda Project will receive $5 per share (when shared directly from the Giving Library page).

Thank you for your support of Bethesda Project on #GivingTuesday!

An easy way to give back

A very, very happy Thanksgiving

This year the Bethesda Cooks and their many friends put together over 700 meals for the residents and guests of Bethesda Project. Their hard work brought our members a traditional turkey dinner menu with all of the fixings. Special thanks go out to Jerry and Karen Leimkuhler, the Bethesda Cooks, Jim Byrnes and the kitchen staff at Aronimink Golf Club and Caley Ele-mentary School PTC in King of Prussia. We love the way you love us! THANK YOU!

The ladies at Spruce Street enjoyed a wonderful

meal.

Our residents were thankful for the Thanksgiving

feast.

Volunteers celebrate with residents at Bainbridge.

Volunteers visit Spruce Street.

What better way to work up an appetite than a trip to the

Magic Gardens? Our guests at My Brother’s House en-

joyed a delightful tour and even got to meet the artist

who created the beautiful place!

2013 HOMELESS MEMORIAL

DAY

Thursday, December 19, 2013

4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

Thomas Paine Plaza, Municipal Services Building

1401 J.F.K. Boulevard, Center City Philadelphia

Remember * Hope * Heal

As we approach the first official day of winter, hundreds of Philadelphians will

gather to remember those homeless and formerly homeless Philadelphians who

died in 2013.

We use this occasion to call on all Philadelphians and all Americans to re-

commit ourselves to ending homelessness.

Join Bethesda Project for the 2013 Homeless Memorial Day

Like Homeless Memorial Day on Facebook

www.facebook.com/HomelessMemorialPhilly

Follow Us on Twitter: @HMDPhilly

Looking for refs and teams! Philadelphia Insurance Companies (PHLY) is

hosting a 3-on-3 basketball tournament to bene-

fit Bethesda Project, on Saturday, December 14

from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Hagan Arena on St.

Joe’s University Campus. Entry fee is $100 per

team. Register now at

http://phly3on3.evenbrite.com.

Thank you to our

volunteers!

Saint Norbert’s Parish volunteers

meet new Senior Case Manager,

Lauren T.

Medford Middle School

volunteers visiting

Bethesda Bainbridge

Saint Norbert's Parish volunteer

Michele Howard helps prepare

lunch for the Bethesda Bainbridge

residents.

At the “everybody’s birthday” cele-

bration, Saint Norbert's volunteer,

Sue, is congratulated by Bethesda

Bainbridge residents Joe B, David

K, and John M.

Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and connect with

us on LinkedIn!

1630 South Street

Philadelphia, PA 19146

Tel: (215) 985-1600

Fax: (215) 732-8214

www.bethesdaproject.org

Bethesda Project at the Philadelphia Marathon

At 6:15 a.m. on Sunday, November 17, the 16-man Team Bethesda rolled out of OBP for our 7th Philadelphia

Marathon. Teaming up with the City of Philadelphia and Clothes-Pin (Clothes for People in Need), our intrepid

volunteers stationed themselves to follow the runners and gather up discarded running gear. Two hours later we

loaded 451 bags of clothing onto our truck for distribution to the city’s homeless men and women. As one of our

men commented: “This is recycling that makes a difference!”

In addition, this year two of our very own took part in the

Philadelphia Marathon on behalf of Bethesda Project. Jason

Miller, Associate Director, Clinical Services/Director of Stra-

tegic Initiatives teamed up with Katie Mulcahy, Program Co-

ordinator at Bethesda's North Broad residence for this year's

race. The two trained hard for the grueling 26 mile run

while supporting Bethesda Project's winter shelter programs

with each mile they completed. They have a goal to raise $1,000 and are very close to reaching it! It’s not too

late to donate to their efforts. Visit http://www.gofundme.com/bethesdaproject to learn how you can make a

difference.