DURHAM RESCUE
MISSION, NC

The primary facility is a former church building that was not designed to accommodate the number of residents served with emergency shelter, life skills classes, and kitchen/dining space, plus the thousands of people who attend community events.

The residential facilities are aging and expensive to maintain. We showed the Board that the most cost-effective solution is to tear down these buildings and rebuild suitable living conditions.

The key to this project was putting together a Case for Support. Together, we complied all the applicable information like the size of the center, number of beds, parking requirements, number of volunteers and special needs of this community. This helps ensure that the appropriate size project is developed and address local community concerns.

Working with local community leaders and the board of directors, We designed a new 20,000 square foot multi-purpose building that will provide space for enrollment, education, lodging, dining halls, recreation, and food storage that will be the capstone of the campus. Included in our plan is a remodel of the existing church building which will continue to be used for church services, large group meetings, offices, and classrooms.

We pointed out two intriguing things happening with funding for expansion projects right now. The Greatest Generation who have supported local Rescue Ministries for decades are beginning to contribute large amounts of their wealth towards capital campaigns. Through financial planning their families are taken care of and now they want to pass a legacy to the causes they have supported for decades.

The second thing is that existing Executive Directors who have led these ministries for decades are looking towards retirement. Yet THEY are the one’s who have built the relationships with current donors. In most cases, new leadership lacks these connections.

Durham Rescue Mission is developing a three-block area around the Main Street church building to create an efficient campus to meet current and projected needs of helping the homeless and the hurting of this region for years to come. The Restoring Hope, Rebuilding Lives Campaign is an exciting opportunity to invest in the revitalization of Northeast Central Durham.

With 70 shovels plunged ceremoniously into the ground on January 29, 2012, the Durham Rescue Mission started work on the Center for Hope – a $4.5-million, 34,000 square foot addition to the Rescue Mission campus.