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!
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!
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.
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!
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.
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!