The campaign is called Hope to the Hungry, and since 1998, K-LOVE listeners have donated enough money to provide over 1.5 million meals and care to those in need all across America…including here in Reno and Sparks and across Northern Nevada.

We want to invite you to listen to the K-LOVE Radio Network on Tuesday, November 24, 2009. Your generous donation will feed and care for the many hungry people in our local community and will provide us with an opportunity to share the hope that can start with a meal.

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With a Thankful Heart,

Rick Redding

Executive Director

Reno-Sparks Gospel Mission

Elbow-deep in mushy chorizo, I question my judgment.

A week earlier, it sounded great when I announced to my staff that I’d help serve breakfast at the Reno-Sparks Gospel Mission. I’ve been employed at the Mission for 12 years now – executive director for the last four – but still I knew little about the food operations.

This seemed the way to learn.

I’d get up early. Have some coffee and doughnuts with the gang. Serve some tasty meals to our program clients and homeless women. Sounds good.

The plan collapsed at the 3 a.m. chirping of my alarm. I never realized how much I could loathe an alarm clock. Why didn’t I just do lunch?

I wearily staggered into the Mission kitchen a little after 4 a.m. that Friday, hoping to sit and swig some coffee, maybe read the morning paper. Instead, Chef Paul Parent tosses me a towel and some latex gloves. He points to a little kitchen sink.

“You can clean there,” he says.

I use my towel to clean the porcelain and metal handles – all the while wondering what this assignment was teaching me about kitchen operations. Humility? Submission?

My answer arrives seconds later, as Paul leans over my shoulder and says with a grin, “I meant you can wash your hands there.”

I knew I was in strange territory. You see, outside of this kitchen, I’m the Executive Director. Numero Uno. The Boss Man, they call me.

In the kitchen, though, I’m like a little kid in everybody’s way as they ping-pong from one station to another. It’s all part of the busyness of a food services division that annually prepares about 200,000 meals to the homeless and needy.

The day starts early – 3 a.m. for some – and ends past 8 p.m. for the kitchen crew that daily serves 500 hot meals to recovering addicts, homeless men and women, volunteers from a clothing closet for the homeless, and women and children from local motels.

By 5:15, I had stuffed about 200 omelettes with cheese and sausage. Cut up four full cantaloupes. Squeezed and arranged 16 tubes of nasty-smelling chorizo. Helped bake trays of tater tots.

Even made about 100 cups of coffee.

Christian music station K-LOVE plays as the first wave of Mission renters and clients shuffle into the dining room. Most grab a cup of coffee. Some stop and stare in disbelief at the “new guy” in the kitchen before turning away with a smile.

By 6 a.m., the dining room is full as the 80 men and women in the Mission’s 13-month recovery program wait for breakfast. After prayer, I take my place alongside Dennis, a program client, to serve omelettes, tater tots and toast to the steady stream of hungry clients.

There are a few good-natured wise cracks about keeping my day job. But most smile and say “thank you” as they quickly move through the serving line. Within minutes, we serve over 125 meals without a hitch.

Dinners with my wife and four kids cause more chaos.

At 8 a.m., about 60 homeless women from the Mission and city-run shelters chatter their way into the dining room.

Spatula at the ready, I again take my place. Dennis and I greet each guest with a hearty “Good morning!” Each, it seems, returns the greeting with equal robust.

As I serve, I look into their faces and wonder of their stories. I know many have or are addicted. Most have been brutalized some how, some way. They are hardened by life on the streets.

And yet this morning their eyes sparkle like school girls getting ice cream on a hot summer’s day. Excited. Happy. Thankful.

As the last woman takes her plate and sits down, I pray that we made even a small difference today. Maybe it was the meal. Maybe it was the respect.

Maybe the kind words we uttered.

Dennis and I look at each other. We both smile.

It’s only 8:20 a.m. and already it’s been a great day.

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Anyone who answered the knock on their door received a free turkey and a bag full of groceries. Some refused, saying they didn’t need the help.

Others rushed the Mission trucks, grateful for the assistance in these tough times.

“Thank you! Thank you!” one man said as he walked away, arms full.

Mission men’s services coordinator Todd Smith, pictured unloading turkeys, said the day begins by helping others. It ends by feeling blessed.

“You can’t help but be touched when you see their smiles and hear their gratitude,” Smith said. “It’s very humbling, but also inspiring because we’re in a position to help them.”

The cards cover a variety of topics such as congratulations, birthday, encouragement, love and affection. Each is uniquely designed and left blank on the inside for a personal note.

Church volunteer Suzette Thoeni – who’s made similar cards for 10 years – came up with the idea, and spent hours with the women helping them design and decorate the cards.

“We were hoping that this would help these women become interested in something they didn’t know about before and give them a sense of accomplishment, not only in doing something creative but also in helping the Mission continue to help others,” she said.

The Mission is asking for a donation of $30 or more for a pack of six miscellaneous cards, or $50 for packs of 10. All proceeds directly help women in recovery and emergency shelter services.

To order, please call Tammie at 775-323-0386, Ext. 16 or send an email to tammieb@rsgm.org.

The March 28-29 event was the centerpiece of the church’s “Reveal” weekend designed to demonstrate compassion to the poor. Over two days, LifeChurch members and staff and volunteers from the Mission prepared a pancake breakfast, barbeque lunch and an outdoor church service attended by more than 300.

Aside from the delicious meals, more than 70 men and women gave their lives to Christ. Eleven souls were even brave enough to be baptized in an inflatable pool in the 40-degree weather.

Rick Reynolds, pastor of LifeChurch Downtown, which meets on Sunday nights at the Mission, said the event was a “huge success” by many standards.

“We wanted to reveal the love of God to people downtown. We wanted to tell them that we’re not just here for a weekend, but we’re here for the long haul,” Reynolds said.

“We were overwhelmed by the response. It tells us there’s a need and that we have the answers.”

The event, held in early March, attracted a wide variety of participants, from college students to dog walkers to community activists.

“We were stunned by the numbers,” said Rick Redding, the Mission’s executive director. “I was told we’d have about 100 or so, so I was guessing we’d get about half that. The end result was incredible. This community has got a huge heart and they showed it.”

Redding said demand for Mission services is increasing in the current economy. “It’s a growing problem,” he said. “More and more people are coming to us for service. Some are homeless or hurting for the first time.

“They don’t even know what’s out there to help them. They come into the Mission with a scared look and ask, ‘Can you help me?’ We’ll give them whatever we can, from food and shelter to clothing and other necessities. That’s why we’re here.”

Walkers at the “Walk a Mile” event began at Wingfield Park in downtown Reno and worked their way through a path off the main strip that the homeless travel every day. Participants – which included corporate-sponsored groups from Wal-Mart and Best Buy – concluded at the Mission, where walkers were given tours of the facility while learning more about Mission operations.

“It’s always an eye-opener for people,” Redding said of the tour. “Most people don’t realize the extent and magnitude of what we do for the city, from meals and clothes to shelter and recovery programs.

“Everyone always say the same thing: ‘I never knew.’ We tell them the more they help us the more we can help others. It’s a big job that takes all of us working together.”

With nightly temperatures plummeting below freezing, the Mission will put up to 20 mats on the floor of its dining room for men wishing to come out of the cold. Men will receive a hot shower, hot meal and a warm blanket for the night.

Rick Redding, Mission executive director, said the shelter will open only when temperatures are predicted to drop below 20 degrees or in severe inclement weather situations such as heavy snowfall. Tonight’s low is expected to reach 8 degrees.

“We see these men on the grounds with tarps and wet blankets. There is no way we can look the other way,” Redding said. “I wish we could do more, but opening up our dining room in extreme cold situations seemed the right thing to do.”

The Mission also operates an 18-bed homeless women’s shelter, a men’s 60-bed cold weather overflow shelter for the city and a 100-bed addiction recovery program.

The women’s shelter is full, but during cold weather during the day, women can come in out of the elements.

Redding said the Mission also will provide ski gloves and fresh blankets to all homeless men who want them.

The Mission served more than 25,000 meals between Thanksgiving and Christmas alone, while helping hundreds more with food assistance from its community pantry.

“We’re definitely seeing a spike in people seeking help,” said Rick Redding, executive director. “On one hand it breaks your heart to see so many hurting people and families. But on the other hand, we feel grateful that we’re in a position to help them. If we have something they need, we give it to them.”

With the help of 30 volunteers and the entire Reno Bighorns NBA basketball team, the Mission served more than 1,000 meals and gave away about 600 winter jackets and hundreds of knitted hats and scarves during its traditional Thanksgiving dinner.

“This is so wonderful,” said one young woman, holding her infant daughter as she ate her turkey dinner. “This makes me feel normal again, even if it’s just for a little while.”

The Mission also teamed up with LifeChurch of Reno to pass out about 100 frozen turkeys and side dishes to low-income families during the annual “Random Acts of Kindness” event.

Mission staff and volunteers are now gearing up to serve similar numbers during the Christmas dinner, which also features wrapped presents for children.

But while the holiday season is now a memory, Redding said the need continues on.

“Unfortunately, the need is there every single day,” he said. “Our work never stops.”

With over 5,000-square-feet of deals next to the Dollar Loan Center at First Avenue, the Mission’s new store is a treasure trove for bargain hunters looking for sales tax-free deals on furniture, appliances, electronics, name-brand clothing and other household items.

“We’ve wanted to come to Sun Valley for quite some time now,” said Rick Redding, the Mission’s executive director. “They need more shopping options and this is a great location.”

The Mission now operates six Thrift Depot locations in the area:

• Thrift Depot Kietzke, 630 Gentry Way (at Kietzke), Reno. 825-4424. 9:30-6:30 p.m. Mon-Sat.
• Thrift Depot Reno, 575 E. Fourth St. (at Elko), Reno. 786-4499. 9:30-6:30 p.m. Mon-Sat.
• Thrift Depot Sparks, 640 Greenbrae Dr., #160 (Greenbrae Shopping Center), Sparks. 331-5020. 9:30-6:30 p.m. Mon-Sat.
• Thrift Depot North Hills, 1075 North Hills Blvd. (Raley’s Shopping Center), Reno. 677-2266. 9:30-6:30 p.m. Mon-Sat.
• Thrift Depot Prater, 1450 E. Prater Way (Hacienda Plaza Shopping Center), Sparks. 331-5528. 9:30-6:30 p.m. Mon-Sat.
• Thrift Depot Sun Valley, 5105 Sun Valley Blvd., Ste. 200, Sun Valley (at First Avenue next to Dollar Loan Center). 674-6444. 9:30-6:30 p.m. Mon-Sat.