Today I met a member of the House of Delegates at the gym. As we were conversing he said, “You must really have challenges working with 400 men in your program at Helping Up Mission!” He visited the Mission but he had a hard time understanding how 400 men with an average of 20 years of addiction and 30 months incarceration time could all live together in a peaceful and organized manner.
I shared with him that managing the program was always a challenge. But, it is not my greatest challenge! My greatest challenge is fundraising. That is what keeps me up at night – keeping our thousands of donors in touch with the human souls who need their help every day. If we don’t do that effectively, giving drops. If giving drops, people are hurt because they don’t receive the help they need. Keeping our beautiful donors in our hug is the really big challenge – especially in these uncertain times.
Sincerely,
Bob Gehman
Executive Director
P.S. After I wrote this message to share with you, I opened today’s Baltimore Sun and the first thing I saw was this article, “Need Rises As Giving Falls”! It talks of the struggle of area non-profits to meet the increasing need for assistance in a time when giving is decreasing.