Sunny Acres, Inc.
10660 Los Osos Valley Road
San Luis Obispo, CA 93405
www.sunnyacres.ca.com
805.543.4918
Dear Community Member:
After
working at Cal Poly for 17 years, last year I came to live and work at
Sunny Acres, the only nonprofit clean and sober living program of its
kind on the Central Coast (or perhaps the country). We provide a home
for the least fortunate of our community -- most are Central Coast
citizens who come to us from off the street or out of the creek. Some
suffer from mental illness as well as alcohol or drug addictions.
The one thing they have in common? All are homeless.
Our
clients are someone’s mother or father, sister or brother…some of our
clients have children and grandchildren, nieces and nephews, aunts and
uncles…some are legal secretaries, concert pianists, architects, high
school or college graduates, construction supervisors and previous
homeowners…one of our clients owned a jewelry store here in SLO for
over twenty years. We also have several veterans living with us
here - some just home from Afghanistan. Many are Christians…they hold
Bible studies in the dining hall in the evenings and go to church on
Sundays. Somewhere, somehow, they got hurt and fell through the
cracks…now they need our help.
Our clients come to us
with very little – we give them shelter, feed them and provide them
with clothing. For many, Sunny Acres is their only family…we are a
community. And if and when they’re ready, we teach them a skill. They
range in age from 18 to 76 years old. We have housed as many as
72 clients at a time – currently we have 35.
Sunny Acres
has been run for the past eight years with no governmental funding. We
are self-sustaining. Our success rate is high…we have helped hundreds
of people over the years become and stay clean and sober – we work hard
to help our clients slowly get their dignity back, along with their
hope...some we are able to assist in returning to mainstream
society. Some never will.
The holiday season is
quickly approaching, and I’m reaching out to the community. Some
of our clients are still living in tents (including some of our
women)…we usually have plenty of food, but we would be most grateful
for gift cards to Big Five, K-Mart, WalMart, Target or any other type
store…no amount is too small. Clients who work outdoors in our new
community garden need boots, jeans, gloves, and warm jackets to make it
through the rainy season. (We do get used clothing donated, but many
times, they are not big enough.) It’s cold, wet and windy here in the
Los Osos Valley in the wintertime.
Our cooks would love to
have new commercial-type aprons and kitchen towels (or even paper
towels) for the Dairy Barn, where they serve up three hot, nutritious
meals a day, seven days a week to our clients and volunteers.
During
this season of giving, please consider making a tax-deductible
contribution to Sunny Acres to help us help our clients...and thank you
for your consideration…if I can answer any questions at all, please
don’t hesitate to give me a call.
And please consider
stopping by for a visit – come check out our fire wood for sale, wine
barrels, pumpkins, and pretty soon, our Christmas trees and
wreaths! Well be glad to show you around…one of us is always
around!
Sincerely,
Becky Jorgeson
Public Relations
Sunny Acres, Inc.
805/234-5508
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