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Bread of Life Mission 

Description

Bread of Life Mission is located in the heart of Seattle and provides critical human services to homeless men and women. Our ultimate purpose is to rebuild and transform the lives of individuals and families who are suffering from homelessness, addiction and abuse.

Mission Statement
Bread of Life is a Christian Mission that provides meals, shelter, and essential services for people in need in Seattle. Our mission is to help individuals overcome the vicious cycle of homelessness through a Christ-centered recovery model.
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Bread of Life Mission
PO Box 4276 
Seattle 
WA
98194-0276 
(206) 682-3579 

Mr. Willie Parish, Jr 
Executive Director 

Programs

Bread of Life Mission Programs

Rescue
Provide the basic necessities of food, shelter and clothing. Providing over 200 meals per day, 100 beds per night and hundreds of articles of clothing each month.

Recovery
"LifeChange" is a twelve-month resident recovery program that helps individuals break free from lifelong drug and alcohol addictions.

Transition
Heroes Subs -catering services- is a social enterprise business that is a continuation of the Mission's work. It builds off of the LifeChange Program and offers a unique transitional employment opportunity for those in recovery.

Recent Successes and Current Challenges

In 2009 Bread of Life celebrated 70 years of continuous service to the homeless in Pioneer Square. On May 25th, the mission was honored by the Seattle Mayor's Office with a proclamation of Homeless Veterans' Day highlighting the mission's long tenure of service in the city and commending the Bread of Life for reaching out to those in need of help.

The mission building is nearly 120 years old and many features are in need of improvement. Bread of Life is seeking $10,000 for renovation of the 2nd-floor men's bathroom.

Evaluation


Bread of Life Mission (the Mission) provides services to homeless men in the downtown Seattle/ Pioneer Square neighborhood.

Proven Success
The Mission’s “Life Change” 12-month recovery program and “Heroes Subs” life skills and job training program offers individuals the opportunity to overcome obstacles and become productive members of our community. Heroes Subs provides catering services to local organizations and has become a significant and successful training program with sales revenue now exceeding operating and program expenses.

In 2010, the Mission opened a new Day Shelter program that provides a safe place, free lunches, counseling and recovery programs, workshops to develop life and job skill training, and opportunities for homeless individuals to address long-term issues so they can eventually experience self-sufficiency. The Day Shelter is open Monday through Friday, 10am-4pm. They are serving 150-200 individuals a day.

Collaboration
Bread of Life Mission has worked to develop strong alliances with other homeless service providers--such as Union Gospel Mission, the Compass Center and Operation Night Watch--to leverage their services to clients.

Food donations come from Trader Joes, Fred Meyer, QFC and Food Lifeline. The Mission recovers an average of 21,350 pounds of food per month that would otherwise end up in landfills.

Financial Health
The Mission experienced an increase in revenue in FY2009-2010 over FY2008-2009 due to an increase of nearly 100% in the number of new donors. The Mission has a well developed fundraising program. The private contributors provide 85% of their income. The Board has projected a surplus of $180,325 in their current fiscal year.

Grant History with The Seattle Foundation:

Grants Awarded through The Seattle Foundation Grantmaking Program:

DateAmountPurpose
12/10/2009 $20,000.00support general operating expenses.
12/10/2007 $16,000.00support general operating expenses.
3/16/2005 $25,000.00support general operating expenses.

Financials

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