Local church pastors and business leaders are uniting together in our 7th Annual Hope For Homes aka, "No more Shacks Campaign" with Alabama Rural Ministry (ARM). Lisa Pierce, director of ARM will live in a make shift shack for up to eight days. Other business leaders will commit to 4 hours or an overnight stay in another "shack" next to Lisa's. The goal is to raise awareness about poverty housing in our local throughout Alabama, provide efforts for people to volunteer to help repair homes, and to raise $50,000 which helps with the materials cost of these homes. The need is great as there are over 100 families on our needs list requesting help in our local area. With a housing shortage of 90,000 units in Alabama and a declining housing stock with our elderly, the need is always great and before us.
The “shacks” will be located in front of the Auburn University Wesley Foundation along Gay Street (across from Tiger Rags) beginning Saturday October 18, 2014. Lisa and the shack dwellers will have information about poverty in Alabama and specifically Lee and Macon Counties. This is also a children’s event. With a $5 donation, children can paint on part of the shack as a way to connect them with home repair needs and service. And they get a free paint brush. Information at the shacks will give tangible ways to volunteer and help families in our community. Rain or shine, we will be there!
Who else is staying in the shack? Rev. Rusty Hutson from Cornerstone Church, Rev. George Mathison from Auburn United Methodist Church, Rev. Libba Stinson from Grace United Methodist Church and more. We hope our community will come see them and make a donation or pledge towards our $50,000 goal! All donations are tax deductible.
ARM will also be sponsoring noon lunch seminars throughout the week with other organizations who will lead short sessions about poverty or other aspects of families in our community. These will be held at the Auburn University Student Center beginning Tuesday, October 21 and running through Thursday, October 23, 2014. On Thursday night October 23rd, from 7pm - 8pm, local gospel choirs are coming to sing in front of the shacks as part of the benefit.
For more information about The Shack or the workshops, see our web site www.arm-al.org, email lisa@arm-al.org, or call (334) 501-4276.
ARM is a 501(c)3 faith based organization that serves families through home repair and children’s ministry. Each year we are able to repair 30-40 homes for families in our community. Most of the work includes roof repair, floor repair, and building handicap accessible features. The families served tend to be elderly, have a disability, or are single-parents. Volunteers complete 95% of all the repairs and we host approximately 600 volunteers per year.