On a sunny Tuesday morning, about fifty members of the community, generous donors, and homeless guests attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the new kitchen and welcome center on March 12.Springs Rescue Mission is committed to improving the lives of homeless and impoverished guests in the Colorado Springs community through food, shelter and vital services. Springs Rescue Mission serves between 400-600 hot meals every day, and up to 16,000 hot meals to hungry people in Colorado Springs every month.Due to the sheer number of hungry people who come to us for a meal, guests must line up outside the 65-seat dining hall waiting for food. To create a better experience for guests, the Mission will build a new 200-seat dining facility that is better equipped to serve all our hungry neighbors.The new dining facility, scheduled to open in late 2019, will also have classrooms and workshops for culinary arts programs that will help men and women in work programs develop job skills.Springs Rescue Mission will also improve guest’s experience on campus by building a new welcome center to greet guests with care and offer lockers for safe storage of their possessions.“Volunteers and staff will help guide guests to services that are helpful for their unique situations,” Travis Williams, Chief Development Officer at Springs Rescue Mission said. “They'll be able to store their belongings in a secure storage facility, walking freely about campus without the burden of keeping their belongings safe.”The completed campus with the single-point-of-entry will allow guests to fully engage in improving their situation. With the welcome center, staff can more easily direct guests to vital services. Springs Rescue Mission has 26 partner agencies on campus and by making the environment more secure and stable, more people will have access to the help they need.“Springs Rescue Mission strives to provide a safe, warm and welcoming environment for the city’s most vulnerable,” Williams said.  “The completion of our campus will provide better point-of-need care along with long-term restoration for homeless neighbors.”The expansion project is paid for through donations from individuals, foundations and government grants. SRM is working to raise a final $2.5M to complete the project.SRM has increased its care over the last 12 months to feed and shelter homeless neighbors in Colorado Springs. We went from serving an average of 525 meals per day to an average of 551 meals per day.Part of our campus expansion and development was to add 150 low-barrier shelter beds. During one night in February 2019, we had a record-breaking 444 beds full on one night.Also, guests’ connections with one of our 26 partner agencies on campus rose from an average of 480 interactions per month to 659 per month this year. Our partner agencies include medical and dental services, veterans’ services, recovery services and employment assistance services.Donations from people like you are needed to ensure homeless neighbors have access to resources that help improve their health, housing, and work circumstances. Your donations can be accepted at springsrescuemission.org.