The Bowery Mission

DoYouHaveOneDollar.org asks the question, “Can 1 million New Yorkers give one dollar  each to help the homeless, poor and hungry of New York City by December 31st, 2011?” All the money raised is going to The Bowery Mission, an organization that has been fighting poverty in New York City since 1879. DoYouHaveOneDollar.org is a 40-day, philanthropic social challenge that hopes to take social change out of the hands of the wealthy few and impact the city’s greater population.

The Bowery Mission provides food, shelter, free medical care and classes to help struggling men and women obtain jobs and get back on their feet. They serve more than 800 meals a day, have a six month formal program helping men and women work through their issues and needs, along with providing classes to help meet the educational needs of each individual. In addition, there’s a 6 month re-entry program that helps graduates find jobs, housing and teaches them how to save money. In 2011 alone there have been over 160 graduates.

But as James Winans, the Bowery Mission’s Director of Development says, “the heart and center piece of The Bowery Mission is the chapel.” Over 100 years old, the famous chapel has seen the likes of Presidents William Howard Taft and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, hymn writer Fanny Crosby, Governor Al Smith, JC Penney, reformer Eleanor Roosevelt, beat writer Jack Kerouac, former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani, news anchor Katie Couric, and this past Thanksgiving, chefs Larry Forgione and Mario Batali took time to visit and volunteer.

In order for DoYouHaveOneDollar.org to reach its goal of $1 million for the Bowery Mission, one dollar needs to be given by one million people by December 31st, 11:59pm. Donations can be made online at DoYouHaveOneDollar.org, by check (address on website), or at 7 locations throughout the city where the official DoYouHaveOneDollar.org emblem is displayed.