Fill The Pantry
The chefs at Cherry Street have begun to plan for the upcoming holiday meals. Now is our time to try to stock our pantry. The anticipated kitchen grocery list this fall can be met through the help of the community.
- ground beef……..6,072 lbs.
- chicken ………..3,652 lbs.
- eggs …………..1,257 doz.
- cheese …………1,860 lbs.
- milk …………..1,623 gal.
- bread ………….930 loaves
- salad ………….1,754 lbs.
- fruit ………….5,230 lbs.
- canned vegetables..9,889 lbs.
- potatoes ……….2,342 lbs.
- healthy cereal ….1,221 lbs.
Your $20 at Work
The amount of eggs that can be purchased with the same $20 depends on where you are spending that $20.
Round Up App On Your Phone
Round-Up App is a way for Cherry Street to generate donations in a passive, easy method. A donor can decide how much and how often to round up- thus making a donation to Cherry Street. You can round up purchases at only the stores you select. You can set a minimum and maximum amount by transaction or by the month.
Ways you can get the app:
- Go to: https://roundup.app/p/cherrystreet
- Download the app on your phone and search for Cherry Street Mission Ministries.
Leave A Legacy
One sentence in your will can make a lifetime of difference. To leave a gift in your will, simply share sentence with your attorney or financial planner: “I bequeath $______ or ____% of my estate to Cherry Street Mission Ministries, 1501 Monroe Street, Toledo, Ohio 43604”.
The Medically Fragile
A startling vision at Cherry Street Mission Ministries is how many how many medically fragile people are residents at Cherry Street. These are the people who are most likely to catch COVID-19 and have major complications due to the virus.
Edward is a young, healthy male resident. He sees the elderly and the ill guests who stay at Cherry Street. These guests have him concerned. “Now see that’s what I’m worried about. I am in a room with a lot of the older man. They are more likely to get sick or hurt.”
He goes on to say, “I love it here at the LRC [Life Revitalization Center]. You guys are absolutely doing 300% what is supposed to be getting done to keep us safe”. Indeed there aren’t perfect ways to keep everyone safe all the time. Cherry Street is following best practices provided by the Centers For Disease Control. “I see how you all are cleaning, disinfecting and providing masks to keep us as safe as you can. It’s awesome”, says Edward.
Working with other agencies and connecting residents with resources like nursing facilities, Veteran Affairs, Area Office On Aging and Neighborhood Properties Inc is one of the many ways Cherry Street strives towards fast-tracking some of those who are physically compromised or with delicate health out of Cherry Street and into a facility that will be able to better attend to their needs. Those who are medically fragile truly are Hungry For Direction and Hungry For Safety. When you support Cherry Street Mission Ministries you are not only feeding someone for the day through the provision of a meal. You are Feeding Futures for those who seek stability and safety during the pandemic and the uncertain times yet ahead.
You can make a change in the life of the medically fragile by donating today.
A letter from the CEO
Our Mission
Cherry Street Mission Ministries is committed to delivering solutions that will reverse the cycle of poverty for all people in our community through providing purposeful discipleship and the restoration of hope in order to release God’s greatness.
As faithful supporters in these weirdly different days, you have continued to show what it means to provide for the solutions to reverse the cycle of poverty. The individuals that are affiliated as guests with Cherry Street have a most tenuous scenario when it comes to facing the national/international dilemma that we all have been working through with the corona/COVID 19 virus. Unlike most of us, the residential guests at Cherry Street live in a congregate setting and have no place of isolation in which to retreat. Our staff (who are essential employees for our community) have worked passionately right alongside the guests in this communal environment, to ensure the best practices available are employed for one another’s health and safety. And during it all, your support of the on-going work here allows us to continue our mission. With your support we provide daily hot and nutritious meals for 100’s of the residential guests thus allowing for healthy bodies to fight infection. We have the resources to purchase personal protective equipment and commercially approved chemicals that clean and sanitized our spaces and that have prevented serious illness and hospitalizations. Staff and guests are participating in training sessions weekly (and sometimes more often!) to bring to light the best practices that are recommended as the environment changes. During the long hours of “staying at home”, there continues to be opportunities to access spiritual studies, critical thinking games and activities and telehealth connections to mental health providers. All of these efforts have perhaps given those staying at Cherry Street a true sense of safety in a world of uncertainty. All of these things, and many more, allow us to continue to give guests access to the hope of a brighter new day and a vision of God’s greatness that is available to us all.
We Miss Our Volunteers
While we are staying safe, we miss our volunteers! We are still all in this together and look forward to seeing you all again soon!
House Meetings – Keeping Guests Informed
Each day brings new information about re-opening the state and what will be different in the world. Poverty and homelessness carries its own kind of stigma and ostracization. Fear and ignorance of catching COVID-19 from those at Cherry Street further the stigma. Stigmatized groups may be subjected to:
- Social avoidance or rejection
- Denials of healthcare, education, housing or employment
- Physical violence.
Stigma affects the emotional or mental health of stigmatized groups and the communities they live in. Stopping stigma is important to making communities and community members resilient.
To combat fear of the unknown, Cherry Street has been striving to get timely, accurate news to the guests. House meetings provide information, respond to questions and an opportunity for dialogue. Usually meetings are convened by leadership of Cherry Street. House meetings have been a valuable tool in disseminating changes in policy, providing encouragement and assurance Cherry Street is not shutting its doors.
The Covidnator
It doesn’t have a super hero’s cape, but this machine is doing super things for Cherry Street. The Covidnator allows Cherry Street to put home-made cloth masks into the machine to sanitize and kill all covid-19 germs. By sterilizing masks on a regular basis Cherry Street can provide clothes to each guest.
Learning Through Fun
With COVID-19 temporarily sidelining many of our guests’ attempts for housing, employment and generally moving forward, Cherry Street Mission has been challenged to find ways to help guests continue making progress. recreational activities – such as board games, cornhole, football, kickball and rides to the park – at first glance can be easily dismissed as unimportant.
Here are some benefits:
- Learning Cooperation – Cooperating and following rules are helpful transferrable skills.
- Social benefits – Social skills are a key element to functioning well in the community.
- Reversing self-isolating behavior – Drawing someone with a dysfunctional mindset out with others can expand a person’s world view.
- Relational benefits – Conversations lead to relationships. This is what our guests usually lack.
- Mental health supports – Mental illness can be so isolating; games can create a positive experience.
- Community – Creating a sense of community is a step-up from relationships; it’s a sense of belonging. One guest stated after a game, “I felt like I was sixteen again and not homeless.”
- Fitting in – How many of our guests have a low self-esteem as a result of failures, self-inflicted or otherwise? Feeling like you fit is something we all crave.
- Safe Involvement – Many guests need to feel safe. There is something very disarming about games, reminding us of simpler times.
- Behavioral – When the stakes are small, dealing with difficult emotions (anger or frustrations) can put another notch in their EQ tool belt to better handle things in the future.
- Challenging the inner psyche – Past failures or traumatic experiences can create a toxic inner narrative. A fun activity challenges that inner narrative with a cheer or a compliment that can create a crevice that allows a little light in.