Spring is bursting forth here in Indianapolis and the anticipation of warm weather and sunshine allows me to celebrate that we are well into 2010. We want reflect and share just a bit of info from 2009: We worked with over 400 homeless youth; 120 of those youth were first time interactions, new homeless teens found on the streets of Greater Indianapolis (that we had never done intakes with before); We are on track for the 2009-2010 school year to have 20 homeless students graduate from high school and a few more will be receiving GED's by May; We served more homeless high schools students in the first 9 weeks of the 2009 school year than we worked with in high schools in all of 2008. As of 3/1/10 we have 48 current active GOAL program students in 21 local high schools, and have had 92 student referrals from August 2009 to the end of February 2010. As mentioned, Outreach experienced tremendous growth in the number of youth ministered to in 2009. God blessed us organizationally with the opportunity to hire: two street outreach workers, one new GOAL case manager and a volunteer coordinator. All of these positions are both tactical and strategic in our efforts to minister to homeless teens. The oversight of the board was also increased as we expanded our board to eleven members, almost twice the number we had at the beginning of 2009. Our revenue came from various sources: Churches 10% - $58,966 Company 3% - $17,843 Foundations 9% - $54,602 Grants 37% - $213,930 Individual 40% - $225,351 Other/Interest Income 1% - $8,211 Due to the generous support of so many, Outreach, Inc. grew its staff but more importantly impacted the lives of hundreds of homeless teens in the community. As a ministry we strived to increase our awareness in the community through radio spots and via the social network Facebook & online support networks like OneCause. The Outreach, Inc. FaceBook cause page has over 788 members and each time someone joins the cause you are providing a voice for homeless teens in Indianapolis. Our cause page has encouraged local teens to become advocates for their homeless peers (and in one case that advocacy led a homeless teen to call Outreach). It is amazing how God is moving in the ministry! In addition web shoppers are choosing to support our organization making Outreach, Inc. their "cause" of choice, allowing us to receive a percentage of purchase costs. Your support is vital to enabling Outreach, Inc. to function. Your support sustains the Street Outreach Worker's, Case Manager's and development/administration team. We have increased our annual budget to $605,000 in 2010, increasing by over $200,000 in just the last three years. The needs have not decreased. In fact, more youth in our community need our assistance - those on the street, those in the local school systems, and beyond (we are even receiving calls for advice and guidance to outlying cities). In 2010, our board and staff will be joining together in an effort to Strengthen Our Roots. We will be getting back to basics, shoring up the core programs, and working to sustain the blessed growth that Outreach has seen over the last few years. WE NEED YOU TO PARTNER WITH US in this effort. So please become a OneCause member - click, shop, and contribute to Outreach, Inc.!