Hello Beloved Friend!

     Welcome! We know that cooler days, warmer clothes, and the pleasure of joining together with friends and family are here. For each one of us the gift is different, but for everyone, this season affords us the illimitable opportunity for gratitude.

     As we anticipate the freshness and activity of this festive time, a sizeable percentage of our local population will not. Thousands of men, women and children who co-exist just minutes away from us are getting ready for a totally different reality: an ongoing, stomach-lurching fear that they will not have a place to lay their body down this evening, or put some food--any food--into their child’s mouth before nightfall.

     The numbers are the impersonal part of the story. Look at the statistics:

• Almost 70,000 people live without permanent shelter in LA County.
• Single parent families with small children are the largest growing sector on the street.
• In the San Fernando Valley, a place once regarded a bastion of middle-class stability and security, nearly 7,000 residents wonder where they will sleep tonight.

     We know that this is not okay with you. We also know that it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by these dismal circumstances because it never seems to get better. You might be feeling pressed yourself at present. Imagine how those on the street feel? How can you be part of something that requires little but really makes a difference?

Many Paths World Service has an answer.

    A 501(c) 3 nonprofit, public-benefit charity devoted to visionary solutions, Many Paths World Service has launched “OPEN HEARTS, FULL PLATES,” a campaign that is determined to create the only permanent location for meals served to those living without shelter in the San Fernando Valley. Prosperity House will be a unique, high-quality soup kitchen, designed to provide over 200 nutritious meals each day in an enriching, nurturing environment that encourages visitors to see themselves as complete, spirit-filled beings.

     The instant that news of the vision for Prosperity House got out, people started responding.  Many Paths World Service began raising awareness and money just by word of mouth and through Facebook, and we are grateful to our contributors. But now we must launch our vision in earnest, and bring it to completion.

     Here’s how OPENING YOUR HEART goes to work for others:

• $3,500 will provide a commercial stove for nutritious soups prepared daily
• $2,000 will supply comfortable dining room tables and cozy, padded chairs
• $1,000 will cover the tables with clean linens, quality dishware and silverware
• $500 will provide full plates for 500 people
• $250 will bathe the walls in radiant, tranquil colors
• $100 will furnish books, chairs and lamps for an inspirational reading room
• $___ choose the amount that feels right for you

     Each donation is so important!  And, when you participate in “Open Hearts, Full Plates,” you can choose the gift that you like best.  Honor someone’s birthday, wedding or anniversary. Celebrate the memory of a loved one, or earmark your gift for a family’s 2010 Thanksgiving dinner. If you contribute in the name of someone special, we’ll send that person a lovely letter of acknowledgement.

     Won’t you open your heart now? Each dollar of every tax-deductible donation brings Prosperity House closer to serving its first meal.  We want you to join the Many Paths Community where everyone finds compassionate encouragement, so  together, we deepen our experience, serve others in need and craft our common future.

     Come with us, and begin the joyful work!

Mark Jacobs and Sue Mattson

Many Paths World Service

PS.  Perhaps you know 1 friend or more who’s also passionate about feeding those who go hungry on our streets.  Please forward our campaign.  If you’d like a stack of contribution cards for your friends, just let us know and we’ll be happy to mail you as many as you need to spread the word.

Read Daily News article about Many Paths