Ashton Barkey: New York City Relief: JANUARY 2020

Hello loved-one!<3 Thanks for making the trek to this fundraising page of mine. I really appreciate the efforts. I am SUPER excited to be traveling with a group of Gordon College students to volunteer with the organization New York City Relief for a week in January. (this will be my 3rd time going!!)

New York City Relief is a SUPER SPECIAL organization and I hold it very close to my heart. NYCR has been faithfully serving people experiencing homelessness in New York City for 30 years. Their main outreach is called "The Relief Bus", which is similar to a food truck. They have 8 outreaches/week in 7 locations, consistently showing up to the same locations every week. Soup, bread, hot cocoa, and lemonade is served out of the side of the bus. Hygiene kits & socks are distributed out of the back of the bus, as well as people to pray with if the individual desires. && also tables and chairs are set up on the sidewalk, which are set up to give people a place to relax and fellowship over food. GUYS it is SUCH A COOL OUTREACH... just trust me on this. There is so much pain and brokenness in this world, but I am confident that the kingdom of God is at work in New York City Relief. 

By donating to this fundraiser, you are supporting my team members and I to travel together to participate in New York City Relief's work. My team has been meeting weekly to bond and prepare for our time serving NYCR. 

Some of our team's hopes for our time include:

• to learn & be intentional about reflecting and debriefing, looking to the Lord for transformation
• to serve the long-term staff members of NYCR, to hopefully love them well and that we might encourage each other
• to serve as a cohesive unit & to love others by loving each other
• to be challenged
• to have some awesome times with our friends on the street, and to maybe come to deeper and different understandings of homelessness
• always to learn more about our God

Your donation contributes to transportation, accommodation, food, and a donation to New York City Relief.

I really recommend checking out their website. it's super easy to read and to see what NYCR is all about: https://newyorkcityrelief.org/folder/about 

And here is the link to where NYCR talks about their core values of Compassion, Oneness, Revolution, and Excellence:   https://newyorkcityrelief.org/core-values