What’s a ministry without special events? We thought the same thing, which is why we make sure to plan as many special events as we possibly can into any given year.
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Like the name says, special events are ‘special’. At the L.I.V.I.N.G. Ministry, we use special events are outreaches to a larger number of the homeless than our regular programs. These events are also opportunities for volunteers to get involved and become invested in the ministry.
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In 2003, we had our first special event, ALIVE 2003. This was a huge celebration for the homeless in West Park on the Northside. When we were planning this event, we thought, ‘what would be the coolest thing we could do for the homeless?’ The answer that came back was to throw a huge party that celebrated the life that we have in Christ. ALIVE is our biggest special event of the year. We hold this event every November, and we usually get anywhere from 250-350 homeless men, women, and children to come out and be blessed. During these events we give out clothing, food, raffle prizes, and have worship, live music, and much more!
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Besides ALIVE, we have other special events that we try to do once a quarter. Each of the past 4 years, we have taken about 20 guys to a Pirates baseball game with a tailgate beforehand. This was such an awesome event because most of the guys had never been to a Pirates game in the new stadium and it was a very easy event to put on. We had students from the University of Pittsburgh sponsor the ticket price for each guy to attend the game.
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For the past 5 years, we held a fundraiser carwash, where we took guys from the shelters and had them help us wash cars to raise money for the ministry. This event was great because we able to have the guys of the ministry spread the word about the ministry.
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These are just a few of the special events that we have held, but we are looking to do many more. In 2009, we partnered with Urban Impact Foundation and sponsored Global Impact. This event featured over 600 youth coming to Pittsburgh to commit their lives to ministry service to God. During that weekend, we had over 100 kids come and help us renovate our house on Maple Avenue. We also held our first ever Murder Mystery dinner which helped us raise money and awareness of the ministry. In 2009, also had our free carwash on August 29th, a Pirates baseball game, 3 successful job fairs for the homeless, and of course, ALIVE 2009.
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In 2010, we are looking forward to many more special events. We already have planned a two missions teams coming to serve with us, as well as a carwash, baseball game, Kennywood trip, job fairs, and ALIVE 2010. Check back often to see what else we are planning to do!
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Got a suggestion for another special event? Drop us a line and let us know your ideas!