Join us this October for the Amazing Quest to Understand Homelessness. Associated Ministries has designed this energizing new event to take participants on a compelling journey illustrating the challenges our neighbors experiencing homelessness face. Teams complete engaging activities related to homelessness at multiple learning stations inside the McGavick Conference Center in Lakewood; each encounter is designed to open your eyes, engage your mind, and touch your heart. At the end of the Quest there is music, food and fun for everyone!
To participate, form a team of four or more people by gathering your family and friends, workplace co-workers, fellow students from school, or adult or youth groups from your congregation to come together for this eye-opening and bonding experience. Register your team online here.
The team with the most points at the end of the Quest wins a great prize! How do you earn points? By successfully completing the learning activities at the Quest event, combined with bonus points you can earn for raising funds in advance (an online fundraising page is created for each registrant) and by collecting and bringing donated items to the Quest (such as blankets, socks, sleeping bags and tarps).
AM Executive Director Mike Yoder says, “I believe Amazing Quest can move the needle on awareness about the crisis of homelessness in Pierce County. There are so many misconceptions about homelessness; this event addresses these misconceptions in an accessible and family-friendly way. We have two goals: to illustrate the struggles of our neighbors who are experiencing homelessness, and to raise money and resources to inspire change and make a lasting impact.”
DON’T MISS the 2nd annual Amazing Quest to Understand Homelessness on Sunday, Oct. 7, 2018 at McGavick Conference Center at Clover Park Technical College (4500 Steilacoom Blvd Lakewood, WA 98499); the course is open for you to take your 1-2 hour journey any time between noon and 4:00 pm. More information is available online at https://associatedministries.org/amazing-quest-2018/.
Join us this fall to go on an eye-opening Quest you’ll never forget! Sign up today!
Volunteer Opportunities
It takes dozens of volunteers to run the Amazing Quest, and many serving opportunities available. Please click here to volunteer.
When Lana* came into the Rapid Rehousing program at Associated Ministries, she was struggling; pregnant and had two little girls sleeping in the car with her. She began working very hard to find housing and applied at a few different places and was denied the same amount of times. The reasons varied; her credit, her criminal record, her income, but she did not stop. The Rapid Rehousing team worked alongside her and we finally found a landlord willing to give a young mom another chance at success.
Through Rapid Rehousing, Lana received help with move in costs and from that moment on Lana was making great progress including paying 100 percent of her rent, her electric bill, getting her oldest child into school, and even working during her last month of pregnancy. She was working very hard and was making it, but she had one big concern; her home had begun to show the signs of a roach infestation. She bug-bombed the place a couple of times on her own, but was unsuccessful.
As time passed and her tries to end the infestation failed, and as her pregnancy advanced, she grew more concerned. Lana had gotten used to cleaning incessantly and watching her children around the clock to make sure that no bugs got close to them, but once she realized that her newborn baby would be exposed and in danger, the thought of staying there was becoming less a safe option. At that point Associated Ministries put out the word to the community for assistance. We needed help in preventing Lana’s housing from becoming insecure.
RAMBO Pest Control answered the call. RAMBO offered a completely pro-bono fumigation service for the entire four-plex! They got out there right away and took care of the problem, then offered a discounted monthly service that Lana was able to present to her landlord and neighbors, in hopes of keeping the homes free of bugs.
“We appreciate how RAMBO stepped up so quickly to lend a hand to a family in need”, stated AM staff member Alexis Agee-Cooper. “Their willingness to go above and beyond to ensure the entire four-plex was fumigated, was a wonderful gift to the all of the tenants and the community.”
Since then, Lana’s baby was born and the efforts of RAMBO have helped her keep her home and feel safe and secure. We are so grateful for the efforts of RAMBO who took care of a vulnerable person in need, and proved that there are many ways in which we can help end the problem of housing insecurity. They showed how we can all be a part of the solution in different ways.
*For confidentiality, the name of the client has been changed.
