Happy August!
God is doing wonderful and glorious things through the men at Arukah! Currently many of the men in the house are working, plugged into a church, serving the community, and working the Arukah program. Each man is on his way to becoming self-sufficient and we are so proud of them.
So much has happened in 2019! Here’s an update on the last few months!
Crab and Pasta Dinner
On February 24th, Arukah had its 2nd Annual Crab Dinner fundraiser. The night was a great success! We had a packed house of over 200+ people in attendance! The food was amazing, the speakers were inspirational, the auction items were fantastic, and we raised over $36,000 net! Pinnacle Brokers Insurance Solutions sponsored the dinner as well as many of you. If you supported this night in any way we at Arukah cannot thank you enough for your generosity.
Save the date for next year Sunday March 1, 2020.
Cornhole Tournament
On May 19th Arukah held its first Cornhole Tournament! What an amazing day! We had 34 teams participate in the tournament, Bonehead’s Texas BBQ donated BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, Elite Builder Services and Chester Hall Team – Keller Williams Realty sponsored the event and Pacific Coast Cornhole ran a wonderful tournament for us. Everyone had so much fun! We will definitely be doing this again next year.
Graduates
Arukah has had 3 graduates this year! All of the men are self-sufficient with full-time employment, housing, sober, and are connected to the community. We are so proud of them and looking forward to continuing to hear what God is doing in their lives.
Opening of Second Arukah House
We are pleased to announce that we are in the process of opening our second Arukah home in Patterson! A family that attended the Arukah Crab Benefit Dinner reached out to partner with us by offering their rental home in Patterson. Some might ask, “Why Patterson?” Patterson strategically was a great move for us as it allows us to do two things:
- We are now in another County which allows us to receive men coming out of prison into Alameda and Stanislaus County
- It also allows us to transfer some of our local homeless to a new area to receive a fresh start instead of being pulled back into their old environments.
We are still setting up the home and could use your help with provisions. I have set up an online registry at “Thing to Bring” Click Here for Donation List with the items we still need (ignore date/time/Place of event). Once you select an item or two we can set up a place to meet for drop off. We are blown away by what God has already provided!
If you have any connections in the Patterson area please help connect us!
New Staff Member!
Please Welcome Stuart Steves to the Arukah Team! Stuart has agreed to be the House Facilitator at the Patterson location. Stuart was one of Arukah’s first graduates and had always wanted to come back and serve in a leadership role. One of our goals is to train the men who go through the Arukah program to equip them to become house facilitators in future homes. We are so excited for Stuart and the men he will be serving!
Future Vision
We are at full capacity at the Arukah Livermore House and I have so many applications from men in prison that want to come to Arukah in the future. Our vision is to open up another house in the Bay Area. We want to reach as many men as God allows. In order to do this, we need to be financially solvent for next year.
Our current operating budget is $190,000. It would cost an additional $80,000 to open a second home in the bay area which totals $270,000. We believe that this is an attainable goal and with you and the help of your family and friends we know we can make this happen! Please consider donating to Arukah. Click Here or send a check to 1141 Catalina Drive #181 Livermore, CA 94550.
Ways to Partner
- Prayer: God is the foundation of Arukah. Prayer is essential to the men we work with, our volunteers, and the staff at Arukah.
- Financial Partnership: Arukah is seeing great success with the men coming through our homes. We want to continue caring and helping men move forward in life but we need your help! We are so thankful for your generosity! When you partner with Arukah financially it provides the needed funding for the day to day needs and future development of Arukah. “Click Here To Give”
- Mentorship: We are looking for qualified people to teach life skills and mentor men.
- Costco Pickup: Costco has partnered with Arukah and donates some of their returns. We now have 5 days of pickups and we could use your help in picking up items. These Items help provide for the Arukah Homes as well as serving the community. Please contact me at josh@arukahweb.org to serve.
- Job Opportunities: Our goal is to partner with local business owners to help provide employment with livable wages.
- Future House: Our hope is to open Arukah Homes all over the Bay Area. The need is great! Maybe you are aware of, or have a home that would be perfect for an Arukah House.
- Amazon Smiles: Do you shop with Amazon? If you do you can support Arukah as you shop! Amazon donates .05% to Arukah of every purchase you make on Amazon. Please Click Here to sign up!
- Facebook: For all the latest updates on Arukah check us out on our Facebook page.“Arukah’s FB Page!” Please like, follow, comment, and rate us!
Arukah is seeing great life change in each man we help and you are a part of that life change. Currently we have a 100% success rate with helping men transition from prison. Thank you for your generosity and partnership with Arukah.
For more information about Arukah or how you can continue to partner with us please visit our website: www.arukahweb.org
Sincerely,
Josh Jonas
Arukah President