Total Enrollment: 217 (14 are families)
Nights of Shelter: 10,189
Meals Served: 29,275
Commitments to Christ: 5
Independently Housed: 19
Click here to visit our programs page.
Thank you for supporting the Mission. Together we are changing lives in the name of Jesus Christ.
Click here to donate today. Choose your gift designation at the time of your donation.
I was excited and extremely grateful when I received information regarding a donation to the Rescue Mission from a couple that had included the Mission in their estate plan. Legacy gifts help make possible the continuation of the Rescue Mission’s vision of HOPE into the future. Our current goal is to expand the Hope for Men and Women program by making the Village of Hope - Phase II a reality. Legacy gifts are an important part of achieving this goal as we strive to lovingly provide hope and encouragement in life transformation through Christ.
As my wife and I have worked on our own estate plan, we have considered our own children and grandchildren and how we can bless them. We have also considered our church and the ministries that are dear to our hearts, including the Rescue Mission. A legacy gift gives us a way to help ministries we have supported further realize the possibilities that God has given them to help others in need.
Many of you reading this have been strong supporters of the Merced Rescue Mission and the work God has given us to do as we reach the least, the lost, and the last in our society. The Mission has had the privilege of loving people who have found themselves powerless and without hope. We’ve witnessed many people whose lives have been transformed and who have become productive members of our community. But not only that — they are joyful change agents who are engaged in helping others who are in the process of coming to know Jesus and turning their lives around.
And who is the Mission? YOU are the Mission! Through your prayers and your giving, you are the ones helping to transform lives through the power of Jesus Christ!
The Mission looks forward to many of you considering a legacy gift by including the Mission in your estate plan. Thank you so much to everyone for your ongoing generosity and love for God’s work!
Dr. Bruce Metcalf, Executive Director
During the recent flooding in Merced County, the Mission worked with the County to provide housing. We filled the classroom at the Navigation Center with cots, put people on sofas at our Bridging Houses, and filled all our available beds. We are presently operating beyond our capacity to meet this crisis. Our hearts ache for all those whose homes were flooded throughout the area. We want to be part of the process of healing and provide what is needed to help those who are suffering.
The Merced Rescue Mission with help from men in our Hope for Men program took clothing, hygiene items, and sanitizer to Planada to help flood victims.
328,500/year 2022
196,450/year 2021
160,000/year 2020
109,500/year 2022
79,200/year 2021
68,027/year 2020
300 men and women currently in our programs. Please pray for more changed lives!
A message from CEO, Dr. Bruce Metcalf
God has done amazing work among us, and we are excited to share some numbers with you that proclaim the great things that He has done!
In 2016, just 7 years ago, the Mission was in a 100-year-old three-story building on Canal Street. When the building was condemned, the Mission found itself homeless. Can you imagine a homeless Rescue Mission? Where would we go? What would we do? Thankfully, Christian Life Center took us in, and Pastor Caesar, who was Youth Pastor at the time, gave up his youth room so 20 men could sleep on mattresses on the floor.
The Mission, not knowing what else to do, started renting houses for our programs. The ministry expanded and more houses were rented. In 2021 a 75-bed Navigation Center for people coming from the street was opened. Phase I of the new Village of Hope campus was built and opened in 2022 to take in families with young children, veterans, and people coming from the hospital to recuperate. During the last 7 years, our facilities have tremendously expanded and our programs have grown from 30 people to over 300. Wow! Consider what God is doing among us. The numbers give you a glimpse of what is happening! Thanks for your caring, your prayers, and your giving!
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE — The Mission is receiving gifts and contributions to complete our Village of Hope Campus -- Phase II. The impact when completed will be to provide more space and more opportunities to transform lives. Currently, the Mission has an ongoing waiting list for entering our Hope for Men and Women program. Unfortunately, people who are ready and waiting to enter the program, but are put on a waiting list, often fall back into old habits and relapse while they wait. Expanding our facilities will help the Mission reduce this waiting list. In addition, it will be possible for women with children to participate in the Hope for Women program, A place for homeless pregnant women will also be created. Completing our Village of Hope Campus -- Phase II will meet all these needs.
Your help is needed. Every gift, no matter what the size, is important and will help save lives!
Thank you to Love, Inc. and the UC Merced Helping Hands Club for making our clients at Hope Respite Care feel special this Christmas. Each client was able to receive a Christmas gift bag because of the kindness and generosity of these groups. The UC Merced Helping Hands Club sold hot chocolate on campus to raise the funds to help make this possible. Thank you again!
High School senior, Sidney Roest, crocheted over three dozen scarves to keep people warm.
A wonderful lady from Merced knitted hats for those in need!
Hilmar quilting group made quilts and pillowcases for children in our Hope for Families program.
Chuck Herman served for many years in the military, including time in Vietnam. He then worked for many years in real estate here in Merced. In 1987, having enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner, Chuck and his wife, Titika, were watching television when a program came on telling of all the needy people who did not have the means to have a Thanksgiving dinner. Chuck and Titika decided that they could do something to help people in need. They began preparing, and at Thanksgiving the next year, they began serving a sumptuous Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings to people in need in Merced. People asked them if they were with a church or another organization, but it was just the two of them together with some friends who came on board to help. The Thanksgiving dinner for people in need took on its own life, and it seemed there needed to be a name. Two or three years in, Chuck named it the “Thanksgiving Day Dinner for the Needy by Those Who Care.”
The first year of this event, they served about 75 people, and each year they continued to grow. By the 7th and 8th year, they were serving 1,300 people. In about 1996, for health reasons, Chuck and his wife turned this event over to Scott and Mary Camper. The Camper’s continued serving Thanksgiving Dinner to people in need for about 8 more years before turning this event over to the Rescue Mission. The Mission has been glad to be carrying on this great tradition. At the 2022 Thanksgiving Dinner, Chuck was present and was on the serving line dishing up turkey for those who came to enjoy the banquet.
Chuck’s wife, Titika, passed away in July of 2022. In memory of his wife, Chuck contributed a flagpole and flag to the new Village of Hope campus. The veterans living there see the flag as they come out the front door to the Hope for Veterans building. Everyone on the campus is inspired with this new addition. At a special ceremony dedicating the new flagpole and flag, Chuck raised the flag. The flagpole also served as a focal point as we remembered the life of one of the veterans who had been living on campus since March and who recently passed away. As a Mission, we would like to thank Chuck for his service to our country and for his commitment and service to our community.
