YOU made a difference! THANK YOU!
East Shore has just participated in our 28th year of serving homeless men at ESUC through Congregation for the Homeless (CFH). This program is part of the year-round rotating shelter program giving the men a safe place to sleep, obtain meals (including a hot dinner), laundry, showers, case managers and stability! Typically, every month, the men rotate to a different church on the Eastside. ESUC hosts the men in October. This ministry is part of the Earth and Social Justice Ministry.
Like most things in 2022 – things are returning to “Pre-covid” routines. Approximately 15 men occupied Spring Hall from 6:00 pm through 8:00 am each day. They also “stayed in” on Saturdays, October 8 and 22. CFH provided a full-time staff member to be with the men at all times. The men have been kept safe and healthy throughout the year.
ESUC provided cleaning material, toiletries, food for breakfast and lunch. The men were able choose from cereal, yogurt, protein bars, snacks, fresh fruit, etc. Several members of ESUC volunteered to deliver groceries and supplies to Spring Hall. Thank you! These items were provided by your pledge to ESUC or through generous donations of the shoppers.
Every night the men were provided a hot dinner – ready to go! For the first 15 days of the month, these dinners were provided by Bellevue First Congregational Church. The second half of the month was provided by various members and groups of ESUC. We had two additional dinner contributors: Cheryl Jurrus from St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church provided two meals. The Hyatt of Bellevue provided dinner the first and third Monday of every month, regardless of where the rotating shelter was located.
Additional thanks go to our ESUC staff – Dianne and Celil for prep work on Spring Hall and being the “go to” for necessary facility items; Vanessa for helping keep the accounting squared away; Rebecca for helping pave the way to allow the men to stay 24/7; Rev. María Cristina for making sandwiches and support; Amanda Alice and LeAnne for RE participation; Nicole for publicity/technical support; and Jenny for office support!
As you can see – this is a big project. THANK YOU TO EACH AND EVERY ONE WHO WAS ABLE TO HELP IN SOME CAPACITY!
At the time of this writing, we are still in the midst of our ministry. A more detailed report will follow. Please know your kindness and generosity are so very much appreciated. The ministry team of Dean Dubofsky, Peggy Phillips and Priya Vaidyanathan could not have done this without each of you! Please consider joining our ministry team for October of 2023! We would very much like to hear from you. We are happy to answer questions about the program. The yearly commitment is quite limited to August and September (preparation) and October when the men are present. Many hands make light work and the work is so worthwhile! Dean Dubofsky ([email protected]) 425-495-3328, Peggy Phillips ([email protected]) 425-417-1366 serve as Co-chairs.