Open Hearts, Full Plates Fundraiser for Many Paths World Service

OPEN HEARTS, FULL PLATES

Hello Beloved Friend!

Welcome to autumn! We know that cooler days, warmer clothes, and the pleasure of joining together with friends and family are just around the corner. For each one of us the gift is different, but for everyone the holiday season affords us the illimitable opportunity for gratitude.

As we anticipate the freshness and activity of this festive time, a sizeable percentage of our local population will not. Thousands of men, women and children who co-exist just minutes away from us are getting ready for a totally different reality: an ongoing, stomach-lurching fear that they will not have a place to lay their body down this evening, or put some food--any food--into their child’s mouth before nightfall.

The numbers have nearly doubled in just two years. Look at the statistics:

Almost 140,000 people now live without permanent shelter in LA County.
Single parent families with small children are the largest growing sector on the street.
In the San Fernando Valley, a place once regarded a bastion of middle-class stability and security, nearly 13,000 residents wonder where they will sleep tonight.

We know that this is not okay with you. We also know that it’s easy to feel overwhelmed with the dismal poverty in our midst. You might be feeling pressed yourself at present. How can you be part of something that requires little but really makes a difference?

Many Paths World Service has an answer.

A 501(c) 3 nonprofit, public-benefit charity devoted to visionary solutions to the challenges of today’s world, Many Paths World Service has launched “OPEN HEARTS, FULL PLATES,” a campaign that creates the only permanent location for meals served to those living without shelter in the San Fernando Valley. Prosperity House, a unique, high-quality soup kitchen is designed to provide over 200 nutritious meals each day in an enriching, nurturing environment that encourages visitors to see themselves as complete, spirit-filled beings.

The instant that news of Prosperity House got out, people started responding. Many Paths World Service raised over $13,000 since January, just by word of mouth and through Facebook, and we are grateful to our contributors. But now we must launch our vision in earnest, and bring it to completion.

Here’s how OPENING YOUR HEART goes to work for others:

$3,500 provides a commercial stove for nutritious soups prepared daily
$2,000 supplies comfortable dining room tables and cozy, padded chairs
$1,000 covers the tables with clean linens, quality dishware and silverware
$500 provides full plates for 500 people
$250 bathes the walls in radiant, tranquil colors
$100 furnishes books, chairs and lamps for an inspirational reading room
$___ choose the amount that feels right for you
Of course, Many Paths is involved in several other good works. We’ve begun to establish a core curriculum, multi-dimensional in scope and fully accessible to all. Already met with great success, it is our vision that this low-cost or free, introductory and advanced coursework will lead toward accreditation as well as non-denominational ordination. As always, Many Paths World Service, through its curriculum, provides a supportive inspirational and safe environment to effectively explore your spirituality with others no matter where you are on the path. There are many other ways to support our work, too.

Each donation is so important! And, when you participate in “Open Hearts, Full Plates,” you can choose the gift that you like best. Honor someone’s birthday, wedding or anniversary. Celebrate the memory of a loved one, or earmark your gift for a family’s 2010 Thanksgiving dinner. If you contribute in the name of someone special, we’ll send that person a lovely letter of acknowledgement.

Won’t you open your heart this holiday season? Each dollar of every tax-deductible donation brings Prosperity House closer to serving its first meal. We want you to join the Many Paths Community where everyone finds compassionate encouragement, so together, we deepen our experience, serve others in need and craft our common future.

Come with us, and begin the joyful work!

Mark Jacobs and Sue Mattson

Many Paths World Service


PS. Perhaps you know 1 friend or more who’s also passionate about feeding those who go hungry on our streets. Please forward our campaign. If you’d like a stack of contribution cards for your friends, just let us know and we’ll be happy to mail you as many as you need to spread the word.