Dream Center- December Newsletter 2012
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DECEMBER, 2012
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
1 A Heavenly Comeback
2 Dream Designs Resale Shop 3 Going Green 3 Frigid Blessing
4 Whats Going On?
4 Coat Drive
Merry Chistmas from
Kalamazoo Dream Center
Acts 20:35
“In all things I have shown
you that by working hard
in this way we must help
the weak and remember
the words of the Lord Jesus,
how he himself said,
‘It is more blessed to give
than to receive.’ ”
KALDREAM.ORG
1
A Heavenly ComebackSome Challenges in life are worth recounting, for they tell a deeper story, one which
goes beyond our richest expectations. 2011 was a year of challenge that the Kalamazoo
Dream Center had never faced before. Revenue had reached an all time low and the
possibilities of staying open had run out. Resources were no longer available to fund
outreach or even pay the next monthly expenses. With sadness, we had made our
announcement to close and we set our sights on liquidating. The process was long and
laborious and took three months with the doors closed to get everything sorted and
ready for a permanent closure. We were one day from sending our letter of dissolve to
close the organization.
But heaven had another
plan. I received a phone call
the day before releasing
our determination letter.
The message was simply
this, “the right ministry,
the wrong time”. The caller
believed that our efforts
should not end, that more
than ever this outreach
must remain to keep those
in the inner-city encour-
aged and keep the message of Christ going out to the community. That call set us on
a pathway of finding the resources to get us back on track, making
it to the next station of recovery and then onto the next.
Today, one year later, the vision of the Dream Center is marching forward. New life has
sprung up in numerous places and people are echoing the same message we heard at
the end of last year with a different twist,” the right ministry, the right time.” Not only
is the ministry back up and running full steam, but we have now doubled the amount of
families and hurting individuals we were reaching previously. The Center has also added
new ministries such as fresh dairy, meats, and produce. The desire to help bring sustain-
ability into the lives of those we minister to has also come to fruition with the addition
of our Life Skills classes launched in August. People can now learn ways to come out
of their poverty trap by learning healthy skills like financial responsibility, cooking on
a budget, how to develop a career and other topics that will be offered. Volunteering has
also made a launch forward as the Dream Center has refreshed its commitment to bring
quality individuals on board with a heart to minister compassion to needy. This was
a comeback with God’s name all over it.
Kalamazoo Dream Center Volunteers
2
THE NEW DREAM DESIGNS RESALE SHOP
In late October, The Kalamazoo
Dream Center held a pre-open
house to announce a new and
exciting venture, the Dream
Designs Store. It’s a new re-sale thrift shop soon in operation. The pre-open house
was held to share information on the mission that the store will fulfill. Fifty people
were in attendance to see what the shop will look like and how it will impact the
community. The shop is expected to be open close to the start of the new year.
How it began The vision for the store
started when the ministry came back from a near permanent closer
at the end of 2011. We believed at that point, it was vitally important
to find ways to provide sustainability and keep the privilege of
serving the community intact. New vision was birthed out of this
near tragedy which included a new thrift store that would provide
a selection of items that could be sold, allowing a source of revenue
to recycle back into the ministry keeping the Dream Center alive.
Soon after the vision was announced a store team was assembled.
Many great things followed. People began to show extra-ordinary favor to the vision, which included the donation of the Dream
Designs building (Located at 2922 Portage Street) by a local business man and a generous donation by a family to launch
this great project. Many others followed, donating their time and talents to get the shop operating.
How it operatesThe new re-sale thrift store will offer: • furniture • pictures and mirrors • select clothing
• lamps • knick knacks • other home goods FOR PURCHASE!
The shop will have similar items to offer which the Dream Center offers its clients however, we will not stop offering all the
free items that we have always been known to offer to those we minister to. We will continue to provide free emergency food,
free clothing, free household goods and fresh dairy and produce. The difference is, a very small percentage of some items
will be selected for use at the store. All of the proceeds from the store will go directly to operating the Dream Center and
will help establish financial sustainability.
Other great newsAnother exciting component of the Dream Designs vision is the opportunity to train people in a new skill to help them become
employable. The vision is to help our clients get back to work by giving s them chance to volunteer in a retail environment
and get experience to find work in that career path. Plans are also being made to turn the basement into a training center to
teach other skills to our clients to get them heading into the direction of employment. All we do in training will be focused
on Christ-centered principles and be designed to share Christ with the participants.
ImportantAll donations will be accepted at the Kalamazoo Dream Center whether earmarked for the store or the center. It is important
to reiterate that all opportunities, events and overall operations for the needy that have been established at the center will
remain and are even expected to grow in the future.
Look forward to future emails with more information on the progress of the store! We are excited to have such a blessed
opportunity coming our way and we hope to share it with all of the members of our community! Please expect the fully
furnished, fully stocked, fully designed, fully cleaned and exceptionally decorative Grand Opening continued on page 3
R E S A L E S H O P
Dream Designs Open House
GOING GREEN GOD WORKING IN THE DETAILS
Frigid BlessingBeginning in February of this year we successfully formed a partner-
ship with an Allegan based food distribution center. We are now seeing
between 1000 and 1200 pounds of fresh food coming to the center each
week, helping us to address the needs of the hungry. As a result, we were
able to begin offering fresh foods to our guests, something we desired
to do for several years. Fresh dairy, meats and produce were now being
placed into the hands of many needy clients.
This also posed a unique problem, cold storage space. The answer was to
find a commercial refrigerator and freezer that could hold food currently
being stored in four residential fridges and three residential freezers.
A portion of the answer came when a local church offered the commer-
cial fridge they inherited when they purchased and moved into their new
building. Life Spring Church offered us a beautiful four door commercial
fridge. Now, we only needed to find a way to move it. Thanks to our
generous friends at Allied Mechanical Services, they took on the project.
We are ecstatic about this new addition to our warehouse. Please pray
with us that we are able to acquire a commercial freezer that will
complete our refrigeration needs.
The Dream Center is proud to announce
their transition of GOING GREEN!
The Dream Center has had nearly all of
their mechanical equipment replaced with
new energy efficient and environmentally
friendly units. The best part about these
updates is that they were made available
and installed through a Consumers Energy
grant that the Dream Center was awarded
because of their immense food distri-
bution to the needy.
Changes include:
• A new gas furnace
• New radiant heat wall units
• New programmable thermostats
Going even greenerAllied Mechanical Services was chosen by
Consumers Energy to implement the instal-
lation of all the mechanical units through
the grant they awarded. AMS was so im-
pressed with our service to the community
that they wanted to make an investment
of their own into the project. To our delight,
they offered to install a new energy saving
air conditioning system and upgrade our old
florescent lighting to energy saving fixtures
throughout the facility. We are grateful to
God for such a great display of favor and
the generosity of these companies. With
these savings, we will be able to reach
out to the hurting even more.
continued from page 2
to be in the first of the new year! For any other information, feel free to
contact the Dream Center through email at kalamazoodreamcenter@gmail.
com or by phone at 269-382-4760, and keep checking our Facebook
for progressive updates!
Job Skills and Job Searching; Cooking on a Restricted Budget;
Successful Single Moms; and eventually a Job Retraining Program for
the unemployed, the under-employed and displaced workers seeking
employment. The Dream Center crew is excited and optimistic regarding
the potential for change in the lives we are impacting. As a faith
community, let us pray for genuine biblical stewardship
and corresponding lifestyles that honor God and provide
additional resources for Kingdom distribution.
Workers from Allied Mechanical Services deliver to the Dream Center a beautifulcommercialrefrigerator donated by Life Spring Church
Our new gas furnaceavailablethrough a Consumer’s Energy grant
3
Coat DriveA large scale coat drive was held on Friday, December 7th! It was a magnificent success and many needy families were blessed
with warmth and surrounded with the love of Jesus.
Here are the results:
• Over 150 head of households were served
• Over 450 coats were distributed
• Multiple blankets were given away
• Over 300 tooth brushes were provided
• Any remaining coats will be distributed
during regular Dream Center hours
• We were able to serve every walk-in!
Volunteer Donate items
Financial Gift Other
______________________________________________
Name
______________________________________________
Address
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
Phone
______________________________________________
All donations are tax deductible
GET INVOLVED
< Please cut and mail to:
Kalamazoo Dream Center
1122 Portage St. Kalamazoo, MI 49001
269.382.4760 www.kaldream.org
kalamazoodreamcenter@gmail.com
Become a friend on
POINTS OF SERVICE 2012 DECEMBER OUTREACH EVENT
4
The numbers below represents how many
points of service the Dream Center has
supplied through the primary services
we provide. The center has doubled its
numbers since the beginning of the year.
Clothing - 7,025
Emergency Groceries - 2,414
Fresh Food - 3000
Furniture, Bikes & Beds -135
S IMPLE WAYS TO SUPPORT
Meijer RewardsSign up at www.meijer.com/rewards
Our new number is 131257.
Tax Deductible DonationsAll financial donations to the Kalamazoo
Dream Center are tax-deductible.
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