Santa Barbara Rescue Mission Christmas Feast and Giveaway

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SANTA BARBARA, CA –   The Santa Barbara Rescue Mission is holding its annual festive restaurant-style Christmas Feast inside its warm and dry dining hall at 535 East Yanonali Street on Thursday, December 21, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. The Rescue Mission staff, residents in recovery, and a team of volunteers from the community will serve meals to hundreds of men and women in need.

The Santa Barbara Rescue Mission Women’s Auxiliary is organizing a Christmas Giveaway for all guests who will attend. Every Christmas, the Women’s Auxiliary hosts a special giveaway so that every guest receives at least one brand-new item. Because so many people arrive at the Rescue Mission with nothing but the worn clothes on their backs, receiving something brand new is an incredible blessing. Joy Van Wickle, the Christmas Giveaway Coordinator for the Women’s Auxiliary, is heading up this year’s event. In anticipation of rain, the giveaway will take place in the chapel.
    

Rolf Geyling, president of the Santa Barbara Rescue Mission, shared, “This Christmas, there are a lot of families torn apart. There are parents wondering if their children are still alive. There are moms and dads sleeping on the streets and children who know how to use Narcan but do not have enough to eat. And while our ministry can’t save everyone, we can certainly save some. And not just save them but help them live changed lives in lasting ways.”

About Santa Barbara Rescue Mission

This 501(c)(3) organization has served the county and city of Santa Barbara for 58 years, providing emergency services and long-term recovery for the homeless and addicted. With 88 beds for men and 35 for women, it is the only emergency shelter open 365 nights of the year from Santa Maria to Ventura. In a typical year, the Mission provides over 140,000 meals and 50,000 safe nights of shelter for individuals with nowhere else to turn. The Mission’s 12-month residential recovery program aims to bring individuals from decades of addiction, institutionalization, and homelessness back to sobriety, health, and wholeness. Certification through the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs ensures that participants receive the highest standard of treatment in a non-medical facility. The Mission receives no government funding.