This time of year, I indulge in watching as many Christmas movies as possible. But one of my favorites is the Irving Berlin classic, White Christmas. Yes, that White Christmas. Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen, it doesn’t get much better than that.

A very unlikely group of soon-to-be friends travels to an idyllic Christmas setting in Vermont, but soon realize their “idyllic dream” is just that, a dream. It appears Christmas in Vermont may not be what they hoped. Instead of iconic snowy scenery with sleighs and snowmen, they find warm weather and absolutely no snow.It always makes me think, many of us are blessed to have our visions and dreams of Christmas become our reality. But what about those in our community whose visions of Christmas never come to fruition?

A Homeless Neighbors Christmas List

Our homeless friends and neighbors often spend Christmas in the cold. The snow the rest of us admire from a distance, in the warm comfort of our home, for our neighbors experiencing homelessness, it can be life-threatening.Their hope this time of year is to simply survive. A homeless neighbor’s Christmas list doesn’t have luxuries; instead, it may consist of things we see as basic human necessities.Our neighbors in need wish for somewhere safe to rest their head. They wish for gloves and warm clothes. Many simply want socks, so they don’t have to worry about things like frostbite.And as many of us know, while the leading characters of White Christmas began their journey disappointed, their adventure ended with their perfect vision of Christmas coming to life.This is where you come in.

Provide a Warm, Happy Christmas for Our Neighbors in Need

Often on the periphery, especially this time of year, our neighbors experiencing homelessness deserve their happy ending and a Christmas filled with happy, warm memories. They deserve to be the leading characters. And you can help make that happen.Springs Rescue Mission exists to help these neighbors find the safety, warmth and shelter they need and wish for this time of year, but we can’t do it on our own.Every year, we host a Christmas for All outreach and meal for our neighbors. At this outreach, we serve Christmas meals and pass out toys for families and kids.

Our year-round shelter now has space for up to 200 individuals on the coldest nights. Decorated for the holidays and with gathering places for our guests to play board games and congregate, the shelter has been specially designed to provide hope and dignity.Our hard-working chefs at our kitchen serve meals at ten separate times during the day. These meals provide nourishment to our guests and neighbors.This work is only made possible because of generous donors and friends like you.

Give the Gift of Hope This Christmas

You are the difference in our neighbors’ in need lives.And right now, an anonymous donor has graciously given us $50,000 for a Christmas Challenge. And we need your help to meet that challenge by December 25th.$50,000 will go a long way to provide basic necessities and a joyful, warm Christmas for our neighbors in need.Donate today and help give these neighbors the Christmas they dream of.