This month, the Ross Medical Education Center campus in Portage held a clothing drive called Clothes for a Cause. The goal of the students, staff, and faculty was to spread warmth to their community this holiday season. The drive was held as one of the activities on the campus this holiday season as everyone looks forward to the time off of school and with their families. By the end of the drive, nearly 150 articles of clothing for men, women, and children had been donated by the students to give to the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission. The staff had the privilege of dropping off the six totes of donated clothing items and they were greeted happily by the volunteers of the Mission.
The Kalamazoo Gospel Mission offers help to those in need through food, shelter, and clothing as well as services to help people recover from addiction and get back into the workforce through job skills training. The Mission receives 95% of its funding from private donations, and also relies on volunteers for help with their programs. They are always looking for volunteers and accepting donations to continue to offer the resources they provide for the community. Their programs include a used car lot, thrift store, women’s shelter, men’s shelter, children’s ministry for kids in the homeless shelter, and recovery/job skills programs.
The Mission was founded in ministry in 1933 in Kalamazoo, Michigan as a soup kitchen, feeding up to 150 people every night. Over the years, the Mission grew, and thanks to the contributions of many local Kalamazoo companies and bakeries, they are able to continue to feed the hungry in the local area. Still today they seek to offer their services with faith and a non-denominational approach.
More can be read about the Kalamazoo Gospel Missions’ programs and events at http://www.kzoogospel.org/. If you are interested in making a donation or volunteering, contact them at (269) 345-2974.