Homeless shelter thankful for support

The staff and board of directors wish to take this opportunity to offer a heartfelt “Thank you!” to the citizens of Greater Bangor and beyond for making the difference that keeps our shelter in business.

Each year, in early November, we send out a letter of appeal to those who have supported us in the past. We do not purchase mailing or donor lists, and we do not employ any agency to raise funds for us. It’s just simple, old-fashioned asking for help.

Every year our community responds. Last year we received more than $44,000 from this single appeal. This year, as I write, we are well on our way with almost $39,000 received to date. In terms of the shelter’s annual costs, this event represents more than 13 percent of our budget.

To illustrate, this means that those who respond to our appeal, acting as a local, private team, contribute enough money to provide shelter, a day program, a soup kitchen and emergency food pantry for all those in need for the equivalent of the time span from Jan. 1 through the middle of February.

We cannot emphasize enough the importance of local, private support. While the majority of those we try to help arguably meet the threshold of “governmental responsibility,” our current total of all state and federal funding is less than 38 percent of annual costs.

Those who donate include individuals, families, children who choose to “give up” their birthday or Christmas presents; churches, businesses, the United Way, and other service organizations. Envelopes come to the shelter with as little as $5 and as much as $2,500.

Some folks provide us with gift cards from local grocery stores so we can make necessary purchases of items like margarine and powdered drink mixes. Some families are making plans to include the shelter in their wills or family legacies.

It is our hope that those who support us receive a measure of satisfaction from this little article. We know that they really are not seeking any recognition – these are people who are choosing to help others, and that is their only motivation.

In closing, we have hung a small banner that was manufactured for us last year and donated for our use. It is displayed on the Main Street side of the building, and if the light bulbs are functioning it is visible at night. That banner is hung in recognition and appreciation of all those who so generously support this shelter each year.

Dennis Marble is executive director of the Bangor Area Homeless Shelter.