New gate installed at ABQ Central

We installed our new gate at ABQ Central on February 13th, after a small group worked hard all week to get the gate built. As of Feb 19th, we have received $640 toward finishing the fence (and/or replacing the box truck) and are expecting to receive more in the coming week. If you helped us build or install the gate, thank you so much for your time! If you have given or sent money to support the rest of the fence, thank you so much for your generosity! We are making a plan to get the materials purchased with the funds that have come in and begin building the fence panels to finish the fence from the edge of Kingdom Builders playground (wood fencing) to the neighbor’s block wall. The gate is already so much easier for the Kingdom Builders staff to open and close. We hope the rest of the fence will provide both security and a cleaner look to the property. Thank you all again for your generosity!

Thanks to our donors for your financial support

We have made some great additions to our facility and programs this Spring and Summer, thanks to our donors! Many viewed our wish list and saw the needs we have posted. Others simply sent some money, knowing it would be needed!

  1. Before the pandemic, many small donors pitched in to help support our music, arts, and gardening programs that we are starting through Kingdom Builders Preschool and Day Care. There was also time, money, and in-kind gifts given to help improve our playgrounds. From these donations, we have made great improvements to our programs at Kingdom Builders. The playground looks wonderful. It’s teeming with life, with a wonderful garden and trees. We added a wonderful shade across the middle of the playground, murals, and some additional play equipment. We bought three brand new 3/4-scale guitars, bought 12 sets of drumsticks and three small drum pads, gathered 4 used mini-keyboards, purchased 4 new keyboard stands, and are in the process of putting together two additional drum sets (one purchased used and another pieced together using some parts we already had and purchasing additional items to repair it) for teaching our music lessons. Our music lessons are underway and we are set up for continuing this program into the future!

  2. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, we had a ministry partner give a large donation that was designated to help our food bank and we had some other small donors add to this amount. COVID-19 presented an increased need, with fewer volunteers and organizations helping those in need, but we continued to feed our community through our food bank and our homeless ministries. We bought several hundred dollars worth of non-perishable items to augment what we already receive as regular donations of perishable foods (milk, eggs, fruits and vegetables, meat, etc.). We also bought a very nice used two-door commercial refrigerator at a fraction of the usual cost, which replaced two of our smaller residential refrigerator/freezers. This should provide more actual food-space, take up less physical space in our facility, save on our energy bills, and make the health department happy as we continue to feed our community.

  3. We have received a couple of donations from missionary teams who have had to cancel their plans to come in person this year. We are working with these groups to apply these funds to the needs that we have placed on our wish list. We want to make sure that there is a visible contribution to the future of Mission ABQ just like there would have been had these groups come in person!

  4. We received a small grant from the Albuquerque Community Foundation and United Way, which was intended to help us cope with any hardships associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. We used this to assemble masks (when there were none to purchase) and ultimately purchase additional masks for our workers and students to continue forward with our programs in as normal a fashion as possible. We also used a portion of this to make up lost income from the temporary closure of Grace Thrift Store, and to make up for some funds that were spent on Spring Break Day Camp, which we were forced to cancel due to the pandemic. While these things did not add to programs in the traditional sense, they certainly padded the financial blow that many have experienced associated with the pandemic.

  5. And, of course, those who give faithfully to Mission ABQ on an ongoing basis continue to help meet our daily needs by contributing to our operating budget. Most of what we do could not be done without these regular donors!

Thanks to all who have given to help us accomplish our mission!

Mission ABQ Music School is up and running!

We’re almost a month into our new Mission ABQ arts and music program. Kingdom Builders attendance is just now returning to normal levels after the COVID-19 shut down, so it has been a challenge getting all the kids and families plugged into the program. However, we started with 13 students in the music program, 6 drummers, 4 keyboard students, and 3 guitar students. The students are doing an outstanding job and our families and staff are really excited to see our programs grow. We anticipate this program adding an amazing opportunity for the families of our community that they might not otherwise have been able to afford as well as creating an excitement about our programs in the community that might bring in some new students!

We really want to than all that donated to our Arts, Music, and Gardening program this Spring. You have made a difference in the lives of these kids!