Greetings:

It's hard to believe graduation is upon us already.  This coming Friday, May 28th, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. the GNRM will be hosting its annual graduation ceremoney for those women and men who have successfully completed their Recovery Programs. 

Part of the graduation ceremony acknowledges the achievements these programmers have made while attending classes in the Academic Center.  Programmers can attempt and successfully achieve more than 1 certificate.  Friday evening this year's graduates will be able to take pride in the following achievements"

• 1 Woman and 5 Men will have taken and passed their GED exams (which is the equivalent of a high school diploma).
• 8 Men will have received ACC (Academic Center Certificates).  These certificates recognize significant improvement in the areas of Reading and Math; as well as the completion of an essay, resume, or possessing the ability to type up to 40 wpm.
• 7 Women and10 Men will have received ACLSC (Academic Center Life Skills Certificate).  One of the women will be the FIRST IN-STEP graduate to obtain this certificate!!  In order to earn this certificate our programmers must show significant improvement (an average of 80%  or better on all lessons attempted) in the areas of Math, Reading, and Writing, completion of a resume and cover letter, learning how to write and maintain a budget, learning how to type up to 40 WPM with 95% accuracy, and 50 hours of electives in a minimum of 5 different subjects ranging from Vocabulary, Math, Religion, Logic, Science (either physical or life), Astronomy, History etc.
• For the first time ever 4 men will be recognized for obtaining an AACLSC (Advanced Academic Center Life Skills Certificate).  I enjoy this part of the program because our students are provided with the opportunity to choose any subject they are interested in.  They then spend 60 hours researching their subject, write a ten page paper, and teach what they've learned to the rest of their classmates and me (the teacher).  For once I am able to sit back and learn from our students!  What a treat!
• 2 Women and 3 Men will be recognized for attending and successfully completing and passing (with a GPA of B or better) classes at Shasta College or the Institute of Technology.

Congrats to all of you!!  I'm going to miss you!

Do you have an interest in helping these men and women change their lives around?  You can,  by volunteering, a morning or afternoon a week  - classes run Monday and Wednesday mornings ( In-Step and Women) and Tuesday and Thursday monrnings and afternoons (for the Men).  Please give me a  call or email me.

Looking forward to having you become a part of the Academic Center Staff.

Lynn Swanson

Academic Director

242-5920

242-5924 Fax.

lswanson@gnrm.org

"Love is a friendship set to music." E. Joseph Cossman

Project Homeless Connect today, May 19th.  Nearly 1,000 people showed up to get help with things like housing, haircuts, employment and a host of other services from about 70 public and private service agencies.  Estimates show the number of people seeking help today was roughly double that of last year's event.  Photo's below show the line which streteched from the Convention Centers front all the way out to Veterans grove near the main entrance of Turtle Bay.

I promised everyone I would have a few pictures from last week's bomb scare behind the Mission.  For those of you who haven't heard, a weather monitoring device that had been aloft came down via balloon or parachute about 1/2 block behind the Mission next to an impound yard.  A CHP working on an impound noticed the device and heard it buzzing and saw that it was attached to what appeared to be wires or cords and called in the bomb squad.  Three Mission buildings were evacuated, but all ended well after the bomb squad recognized that it was not a threat.

Good News Rescue Mission: Our prayers are with the people of Haiti after the powerful aftershock. Here at home, the powerful weather is filling the Mission to overflowing. Last night, we topped 230. About 45 men are having to utilize our chapel floor at night and about 24 women/children are having to share floor space at the House of Hope.  And, about 60-70 utilized our extreme weather rules which allow guests to stay in our chapel during the day.

Grant students donated 15 bicycles -- complete with helmets -- to the Mission just in time for the GNRM Christmas Celebration this Saturday, December 19th.  Recipients will be announced in a special presentation during the Children's program Saturday.

 Hello To all~

 Want to give everyone an update on how In-Step is doing. We currently have 11 in program. They are all doing good, we actually have a young lady who is do to graduate on the 29th of November her name is Jennifer Wilson. She came to us very broken. No place to live, no job, basically with no hope. Today Jennifer is stabilized on her medications her finances are stable and she found a place to live :) Thank you God for your promises of restoration,  Thank you to every one who donates to the Mission weather it be through donations of money, volunteering, food donations and especially through prayer. You are helping to change lives here 1 life at a time.

Thank you to Taylor Motors, Big Bike Weekend organizers, Tropical Talapas and EVERYONE who helped with Stuff the Truck today.  You all are A W E S O M E!!!!

Keith Ayala (red shirt), the 7th & 8th Grade class teacher at Igo Ono School dropped off a donation today of a $200 gift card to Raley's.  His 8th Grade class held a drawing for the gift card to raise money for their class trip later in the school year.  The Mission won the gift card due to the generosity of an anonymous ticket buyer who listed the Mission on their tickets in place of themselves.  Keith presented the award on behalf of the class and said the students were tremendously excited that the Mission won.  THANK YOU IGO-ONO 8th GRADERS!!

We recently awarded BIMORE:Spend Less (formerly the Shasta Discount Outlet) a hard earned trophy for their efforts on behalf of the Mission during our "March to End Hunger" food drive last spring.  They took first place in our business division by raising or donating over 8,000 pounds of food during March and April this year.  A big thank you to Robin, Ralph, Joanna and the whole BIMORE gang for all you've done to help the hungry in our community.

Mountain Vista's Project

On August 26th, the Mountain Vista's Senior Living home will unveil a new wheelchair accessible box and laptop garden.  The men of our New Life Recovery Program were heavily involved in nearly all aspects of construction and I think it turned out great!  Great job men!

This coming Thursday at Communion I will be recognizing Students of the Month for the In-Step, Women's and Men's Programs

2 men will be receiving Learning Center Certificates.  This means these men, during the time they have been meeting the requirements for recovery, have shown significant improvement in Math and Reading skills, have completed a resume and cover letter and/or have studied subjects such as science, history, religion, or geography.

Two women and four men will be receiving their Learning Center Life Skills Certificates.  One of the women receiving her Life Skills Certificate will be the first in our In-Step Program to accomplish successfully the following requirements:  Programmers are required to improve their math, reading, and writing skills, complete a budget course and quiz, become proficient in typing, research a career after having their career assessments interpreted, and study a minimum of 5 different subjects totaling 50 hours.

Congratulations!!!!!

I am in need of volunteers to assist me in helping these men and women reach their potential.  If you would like to be a part of this life-changing  experience please contact me at 530-242-5920 or e-mail me at lswanson@gnrm.org.

"Always do what you say you are going to do.  It is the glue and fiber that binds successful relationships."  Jeffrey A. Timmons

Lynn Swanson

July was a rough month for donations as the timing of the 4th of July holiday impacted early month giving.  We simply were not able to catch up from essentially a lost week in July.  Summer is traditionally bad, but this is probably one of the worst months we've had since I joined the Mission in the spring of '08.  That said, we're hoping for a better August and ask that you keep us in your prayers.

Hello Everyone :)

Just a little update on our In-Step program. We have 5 clients. We actually have one who is graduating in August. These men and women are really working hard towards something different for their lives. Dealing with mental health issues and addictions can be challenging, however they are putting everything they have to make that change in their lives.

Please come check out the Fashion Revival fashion show at the downtown mall on Market Street this Saturday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.  Tickets are $20 or $10 with clothing donation to the House of Hope.  For more information call me at 530-241-3608.  A BIG THANK YOU TO POSH MAMA BOUTIQUE FOR THEIR SUPPORT OF THE HOUSE OF HOPE!!!

            - Lori

Hi, all.

With the launch of our new site, we are looking for any history the community may have of the Good News Rescue Mission.  We'll be compiling what we get and will include much of it right here on this site.  So, if you have any pictures of the early years of the Mission, its staff, volunteers or anything else directly related to the Mission, please let us know.  God bless and thank you!

Hi everyone!

Welcome to the new site.  This is an exciting change for all of us here at the Mission.  The new site will allow us to better communicate with you directly on timely information.  The Donation page here will be a great source of information on our ongoing current needs, upcoming projects and ways you might become involved.  So please, come back soon and often.  And for all of us here, thank you for all you do for our neighbors in need.

God bless,

Wowie, Zowie Batman!  Food services now has their own page.