According to members of the board (which, as a disclosure, yours truly is a member), the move came on the heels of a difficult winter that saw their bills increase beyond their income and a notice from their current landlord that she was exercising her options to end their lease after 5 1/2 years.
The Mission helps members of the community in need - be it issues with hunger, homelessness, joblessness, et al - by not only helping them out in the immediate but in the long run by trying to help them lift up out of their situations. They do this by direct means and by education. They also educate the community at large about these same issues.
For the past several years, they have worked with other area nonprofits, government agencies, churches and assorted groups, helping hundreds of families and individuals out of their situations.
The following is the press release they sent out about moving to their new space at 214 East Harford Street in Milford, PA.
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Big
Move For Calling All Angels Mission When Supporters Step up And Say
They Can't Close Thrift Shop
Milford,
PA – June 21, 2017– Calling All Angels Mission is moving their
thrift shop – Calling All Angels Thrift Shoppe – to to 214 E
Harford Street in Milford, thanks to the support of members of the
community and two organizations in particular.
Earlier
in the year, after a financial crisis of sorts (expenses were quickly
outstripping income), the Mission had to evaluate if they could keep
the thrift shop open or not. With an outcry in the community that, as
one patron stated, “you just can't close, you do so much good in
the community”, the board of directors decided to look into other
ways of staying open. But then their current location was no longer
available for lease and they had three months to leave.
“We
found ourselves in a quandary,” say Charles Reynolds, board
secretary / treasurer. “We not only needed the shop to raise the
money to help as many families ad individuals as we could, but it was
our way of staying in touch with the needs of the our community. But
we also knew that the cost of finding a new place was going to be a
challenge.”
Enter
Kim Emmet and Alex Hazzouri.
When
Kim Emmet of Community Vocational Services, Inc. heard that the
Mission was thinking of closing their thrift shop, after five and a
half years of helping so many in a community, she said she had to
step in and help.
Alex
Hazzouri, Executive Director of The Advocacy Alliance, offered advice
and support to help the nonprofit deal with their many challenges.
“Kim
and Alex are a blessing,” says Lauren Anderson-Reynolds, the
Executive Director of Calling All Angels. “There are people in this
world who take the time to care, to help another person, and out of
the goodness of their heart, give a beautiful gift that not everyone
would do for a person they did not know. That's Kim and Alex. Two
true angels.”
“Since
the shop opened its doors in December of 2011,” Reynolds says on
behalf of the Calling All Angels board. “The Mission has grown,
reaching an area of four counties in each of the three states in the
tri-state area, serving a population of over two and a half million
people. From its humble beginnings of helping the local food pantry
to its partnerships with other area nonprofits, government agencies,
churches and community based groups, the Mission will continue to
grow and continue to help our friends and neighbors in need. Due to
the success of the thrift shop, Calling All Angels has helped
hundreds of families and individuals during their times of need, and
has helped raise awareness of the plights of hunger and homelessness
in our area. The board of directors want to thank the community for
its continued support of their Mission, all the donors and patrons of
the shop, and the volunteers and staff, without all of whom the
nonprofit could not continue to help those in our community in need.
And we wish to give a special thank you to, Liz Steen, Kim Emmet and
Alex Hazzouri for their invaluable assistance in a time when we were
the ones in need.”
The
new location, at 214 E Harford Street in Milford, PA, will be slowly
moved into over the next few weeks. Although it is planned that the
old shop will be closed by July 14 and the new shop in operation by
that time, an announcement will be made via social media and a press
release as to the actual date and time of the opening, and the date
for the shop's Grand Re-Opening.
***********************
Anyone who wants to help, either directly or financially, can contact the Mission at callingallangelsmission@gmail.com, visiting their current location at 611 Broad Street Milford, PA or calling 5760-409-6055.
Until later, this is just me, Thinking Out Loud.
Charles
