Lazarus House Ministries
Press Release
November 9, 2002

"Sharing Our Bounty"
Annual Dinner and Auction to benefit Lazarus House
Friday, November 22, 2002, 6:30 p.m.
Wyndham Andover Hotel

This year’s award presentation and fundraiser will honor those whose unselfish acts and generosity help ease the pain and suffering of the poor, as well as raise much-needed funds for Lazarus House.

As the names of individuals, business and organizations who give so much to the Ministry grows, the process to name but six award recipients becomes more difficult. This year was no exception as there are many so deserving.

Emmy Award winning reporter, Amalia Barreda (right) of WCVB-TV Channel 5 and longtime friend of Lazarus House, will act as Master of Ceremonies for the gala.

Event Chair, Dennis McCarthy, President & CEO of Mar-lin Discount & More and Honorary Event Chair, Neal F. Finnegan, Chairman of Citizens Bank of Massachusetts, Inc. and the dinner committee have worked diligently to help make this year’s event a success. With many unique and attractive auction items open to bid, the evening promises to be fun and exciting.

For ticket info please contact: Alison Bozzi, KMC Productions at 617-698-6616 or Lana Schofield, Lazarus House at 978-689-8575.

A Sampling of Auction Items

• Five course dinner & wine for 10 at Searles Castle in Windham, NH
• The Chef’s Table, dinner and wine for 10 at the Wyndham Andover
• Two nights at the Park Plaza Hotel in Boston, with dinner for two at Todd English’s The Bonfire Restaurant
• Tickets for a taping of Jay Leno’s The Tonight Show, includes hotel
• Golf for 12 at the Andover Country Club, includes carts and dinner

Christ the Servant Awards

Each year at the Sharing Our Bounty Autumn Dinner and Auction, the Board of Directors, Executive staff of Lazarus House take the opportunity to acknowledge the volunteers and supporters who give so much to the Ministry. It is an honor to work with these individuals who give of themselves and expect nothing in return. They extend helping hands and hearts to make a difference in other human being’s lives. Although that is all the reward they need, we choose to express our heartfelt thanks to each of them by presenting them with our Christ the Servant Award.

South Church in Andover - United Church of Christ
The congregation of South Church, United Church of Christ has been actively involved with Lazarus House since our inception in 1983. They have participated in every branch of our Ministry, serving meals, making repairs, landscaping, participating in special projects and, most recently, they beautifully painted our Good Shepherd Center. They have been available to help us whenever the need was there, which has been on many occasions. Three years ago, the congregants requested that we have our soup truck available after their Sunday services so they could stand in line to have a soup and sandwich, just as our guests do in the cold winter months.

Sarah Nolan
Known affectionately as our "Milk Lady", Sarah Nolan arranges to have gallons of mild delivered to Lazarus House each week. Through Sarah’s determination, we are now able to provide milk and its nourishment, especially important for children, to our guests at every meal. Sarah and her husband Tim reside in Andover and have been active with Lazarus House for many years.

Sarah Savarese
For the past six years, Nancy arrives each Monday afternoon to prepare and serve dinner to our guests in the shelter. Often our guests comment on the way in which Nancy treats them with such dignity and care. A Haverhill resident, she frequently enlists the help of her husband Jim and her three sons to come and help serve.

New Balance
New Balance has been a longtime benefactor of Lazarus House by lighting the way during our economic difficulties and supporting our events through their diverse product line. They offer dignity and respect to our guests by providing the highest quality of clothing and shoes they manufacture, allowing us to clothe those less fortunate. New Balance employees travel from their corporate headquarters in Boston and their location in Lawrence, gathering to wrap Christmas gifts for those who are, too often, forgotten or left alone during the holiday season.

Andover Country Club
Yvon Cormier and his management team and staff are true believers in, “It is better to give than to receive.” They graciously donate the club for our spring galas. They share their gifts of culinary expertise and provide much warmth and joy at our shelter. This wonderful group of people has provided a bounty of love for our guests, staff and volunteers whenever the need arises. For several years, they have joined together with us to help prepare the Thanksgiving Eve meal, staff Christmas party and Pashal Dinner on Holy Thursday. It is not unusual to see their truck in our driveway delivering gourmet meals, which our guests so joyously feast upon.

Lazarus House History

Lazarus House, a gospel-based ministry, first opened its doors 19 years ago as a five bed emergency shelter for the homeless. As needs continued to grow, our services expanded in order to better serve the needs of our brothers and sisters and those of the community.

Lazarus House now provides a continuum of services to people who are in dire need of life’s most basic necessities, and our mission is to see the face of Jesus in all people we have the privilege to serve.

We help to prevent homelessness by providing food orders from our food pantry for those who cannot afford to pay both the rent and buy food. If that fails, we provide shelter. Each of our guests are assigned an advocate who will assist them with a tailored plan for reconstructing their lives in a way that will allow them to be active and productive members of the community.

We provide free medical and dental services. A pre-school room affords our guests the ability to keep appointments and interviews for jobs, housing and social services without having their children accompany them. It also enables them to focus on their needs, and gives their children the opportunity to be just that - children. Our job-training program offers an extensive learning environment where upon English classes, life skills and job training skills are taught. After completion of their classroom studies, our students begin a seven-month paid work internship at our cleaning company.

Additionally, we provide a home for eight individuals and two families who are living with the AIDS virus. The people who participate in our program would be homeless if Lazarus House did not exist. Our residents do not come to us to die, but to live - so each one participates by either working, volunteering or attending classes whenever their health permits.

Along with the faithful generosity of many, our ministry helps sustain itself through our three thrift stores. These hubs of activity provide an incredible opportunity to strengthen the neighborhoods where they exist, provide for the needs of our shoppers and allow us to provide for those who have no other means of availing themselves of clothing, household items and just as important, camaraderie. Finally, we are indeed blessed to journey with our guests toward dignity and a rewarding life.