Durham Rescue Mission

In the Durham Rescue Mission, women and children have a place to go when they have no home of their own. WorldLegacy has had five projects at the Durham Rescue Mission. The first project remodeled parts of the home and created a family park. July – September 2002. NC49. The other three projects created a child care center (NC50), a transformed front foyer (NC51), and a children’s computer learning center (NC53). WorldLegacy’s NC103 Leadership Team created an Extreme Makeover of an entire wing of the mission that was informally called, The Hood. In two days, on Memorial day weekend, the team completely renovated 17 rooms of the entire wing! All of the carpeting and linoleum was replaced, and the rooms were repainted and redecorated. An original mural was painted on all the walls and ceiling of the children’s library! In addition to the extensive renovations, the team created a play day and pamper day to bring love and honoring to the women and children. The children were treated to a play day that included games, animal rides and food. The women were treated to a pamper day that included massages, hair styling, pedicures, and manicures. Five thousand dollars was raised and was donated to the mission. This project created a sense of dignity and elevation for the women and children who reside in the hall. The budget was $50,000.

Durham Rescue Mission Extreme Makeover WorldLegacy
Rescue Mission undergoes an ‘extreme renovation’

Author: KEITH UPCHURCH
Article Text:
DURHAM — Love for others and faith in God are two major motivators for a group of volunteers pouring hours of their time into renovating rooms at the Durham Rescue Mission.
The faith-based mission, which provides lodging for people facing hard times, will look far better beginning Monday after 17 of the rooms have been transformed.
Andrew MacRae of Washington, D.C., a project leader with the WorldLegacy, a personal excellence and leadership training program based in the Triangle area, has been helping coordinate the effort at the Rescue Mission’s 504 E. Knox St. site off Interstate 85.
The rooms are getting new paint, carpeting and linoleum, fixtures and linen, and a mural is being created for the literacy center, MacRae said. Many of the materials are being donated by area businesses, but some have to be bought. He said volunteers are still trying to raise another $5,000 for materials.
“We really wanted to do something that would impact these children,” he said. “We’re calling it the Extreme Renovation of the Durham Rescue Mission.”
Residents will also enjoy being pampered this weekend as area masseuses and cosmetologists donate their services to residents. There will also be games for children.
“We’re trying to bring a little joy to these people’s lives,” he said.
“The purpose of this project is to sort of bring the community together to transform the lives of these women and children who live here,” MacRae said. “People have really been opening their hearts to volunteer.”
A ribbon-cutting to unveil the renovations will be at 3 p.m. Monday. Joel Rosch, senior research scholar at the Center for Child and Family Policy at Duke University, will speak.

Reprinted with permission The Durham Herald Company

Durham Rescue Mission WorldLegacy Leadership Making quick work of a miracle

WorldLegacy volunteers redecorate rehab shelter in Durham Jim Wise, Staff Writer DURHAM – In a state of somewhat organized chaos, about 25 volunteers were making a miracle happen Saturday. They were repainting, recarpeting and redecorating 17 rooms in the Durham Rescue Mission’s Good Samaritan Inn, a rehabilitated motel. Once notorious for narcotics dealing and prostitution, it opened in 2005 as a home for women, children and families in need. While Good Samaritan residents calmly ate lunch downstairs, volunteers on the second floor cut old carpet and hauled it out to make way for the new material just delivered. Meanwhile, others were out buying tools and materials, soliciting donations and recruiting more volunteers to pitch in. Work started Thursday night, and the volunteers hope to be finished in time for a ribbon-cutting Monday afternoon. “That’s a huge project,” inn director Lois Cooper said. “It’s a blessing.” The effort was part of a leadership training course organized by the WorldLegacy in Morrisville. This weekend’s class assignment: “Create an extraordinary project that leaves a tangible legacy” with less than six weeks of planning and no more than three days of actual physical work, and without using their own money. “The point is to create something amazing from nothing,” said Netta Cohen of Raleigh, who took a similar course eight years ago and still volunteers with the center. “It really is looking at a practically impossible situation and making it happen, just miraculously quickly.” Not only are volunteers tearing down and building up, they’re pampering. Saturday afternoon, residents were treated to manicures, hair styling and massages. Monday is designated to be “Fun Day.” “We’re trying to bring circus animals and have a carnival,” volunteer Andrew MacRae said. Artist Deborah Dorland plans to draw caricatures for the children. Dorland, a West Virginian who formerly lived in Chapel Hill, is spending three weeks painting a mural around the Inn’s library. It will have scenes from the Inn’s garden with storybook characters and children who live at the Inn. “This is like a magical place,” she said, pointing out where Dr. Seuss’s Horton would go, and a little girl who looks like Dora the Explorer. Roberta Ray, like the other residents, said she was excited. “I thing it’s very nice that someone wants to do this for us,” said Ray, who has lived at the Inn for a month and plans to stay through its yearlong “Victory Program” of Bible study, counseling and vocational training. The benefit is mutual, said volunteer Nick Seligman, an Appalachian State University sophomore. “I had no idea I would be doing this four months ago,” Seligman said. “It’s been a complete eye-opening experience.” His father suggested he try Legacy training when Seligman felt he wasn’t living up to his potential. “Having this project has been the perfect opportunity to gain the skills that I needed,” he said. “I want to give back to people, and this is a perfect opportunity.” BACKGROUND WorldLegacy is “an adult experiential education company” founded in 1998 by two UNC-Chapel Hill doctoral graduates with entrepreneurial inclinations: Rob Katz, a computer engineer, and Lori Todd, an environmental scientist. Their company offers coaching and workshops lasting from three days to three months in “leadership training and personal effectiveness” for individual and corporate clients, according to its Web site. Reprinted with Permission of The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina.