Janesville shelter organization holding its first fundraiser
Photo 
Paul Benish
IF YOU GO
What: Fundraiser for GIFTS, the traveling men’s homeless shelter.
When: 5 to 10:30 p.m., Saturday; music by Rainbow Bridge 7:30 to 10:30 p.m.; full menu available in the dining room from 5:30 to 8 p.m.
Where: Janesville Elks Lodge, 2100 N. Washington Street, Janesville
Cost: Free. Goodwill offering will be taken.
JANESVILLE — Friendly faces, a good meal and a warm place to spend the night.
For the past three years, the God Is Faith Temporary Shelter has been providing all three in the form of a traveling men’s homeless shelter that moves church to church during the coldest months of the year.
From 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. this Saturday at the Janesville Elks Lodge, GIFTS is hosting its first fundraiser.
Other organizations, including Choice Cleaners, Rollin Pin Bakery and the Back Bar have held fundraisers for GIFTS, but this is the first one the group has hosted itself, said Paul Benish, vice president of the GIFTS board.
The evening will include music from Rainbow Bridge, raffles, door prizes and a silent auction. The Janesville Elks Lodge dining room will be open and offer a full menu.
“We’re a 100 percent volunteer organization,” Benish said. “All of the money will go to help the guys.”
The money will be used for office supplies and items for the traveling shelter itself.
This year, GIFTS has established an “A Team,” that stands for “action, advancement and assistance.”
“These are volunteers whose mission is to help guys find a way up,” Benish said. “It can be things like paying for a guy to get a driver’s license or helping them get to HealthNet.”
Benish told the story of a man who went to apply for a job. When Benish asked how it went, the man replied, “The first three lines were ‘name, address and phone,’ and I only had one of those.”
GIFTS provides selected job seekers with pre-paid cell phones with a limited number of minutes.
“It’s the things you and I take for granted,” Benish said.
GIFTS measures its success by the number of men who return to a life of stability and work.
“We’ve had dozens of success stories,” Benish said. “We had a guy that came in a couple of weeks ago who was really dejected. He had lost his job and his apartment.”
He stayed at the shelter for about four weeks. That little bit of stability helped him find new work and a new apartment, Benish said.
Feb 28, 2010 at 8:37 a.m.
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amen suckingchest wound
Feb 27, 2010 at 3:17 p.m.
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This organization is wonderful and they provide a much needed service in our town. God Bless all of you!
Feb 27, 2010 at 8:36 a.m.
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Paul, you are my hero!
Feb 27, 2010 at 8:14 a.m.
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We hope to see you all on Saturday night. We each have a choice. We can either say "It's their own fault, they shouldn't have gotten themselves into this situation, if they'd just get a job, I'm going to just ignore them and hope they'll go away."
Or, we can have compassion. We can thank God for what he has provided for us. I believe that we, as human beings, must help each other out. If we fail, then we are no different than all the other animals. That's what sets us apart.
Remember the tale of the Good Samaritan? It's about a guy who took the time and had the compassion to stop and help out his sworn enemy. The moral of that story is "Love your neighbor as yourself". If it was any one of us that hit a rough patch, I sure hope that someone, anyone, would be there to lend a hand.
You don't have to change your lifestyle to make a difference. Even the smallest bit of caring makes a huge difference.
May God Bless Your Day!
Feb 26, 2010 at 9:26 p.m.
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The Lord helps those who help themselves.
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