- Organization Name:
- Joy Junction
- Describe your creative piece – what is it and what has it been used for, and why is it innovative?
- The Good News Gazette is an eight page full color newsletter that was sent to our donor base and general public to spread awareness of the homeless situation in New Mexico. In the piece, we detail the history and daily struggle of the Joy Junction ministry to help bring people back from the brink and provide Albuquerque's homeless with a "Hand Up, Not a Hand Out." Throughout the newsletter we ask our donors and all those who care to please help us in our desperate need of supplies, beds and more living space. We also touch on the many ways Joy Junction is making an impact in people's lives everyday by providing food, shelter, rehabilitation and jobs. This piece is innovative in the fact that it is Joy Junction's first ever newsletter. The Good News Gazette not only informs people of the problems that the homeless face but also provides information on how they can help.
- What issue or problem were you working to address with this piece?
- With the Good News Gazette, we tackled many of the problems facing Joy Junction. First and foremost, our need to expand and renovate. At the moment we shelter 300 women, children and families nightly. Our facilities are taxed to the limit and we are routinely forced to turn away many who are still in need. Second, Joy Junction desperately needs to renovate/rebuild our Chapel. At the moment, it "stands" fenced off from the general public due to years of deterioration and wear. Massive holes and crumbling walls makes our chapel virtually useless. Thirdly, we addressed our wish to start a mobile support lunch wagon. Our vision was to stock the wagon with possible lifesaving necessities, such as a warm meal, drink and prayer, for those who were unable to make the trek to the Joy Junction shelter.
- How has your submission successfully impacted your organization’s ability to solve this issue/problem?
- The Good News Gazette has made a huge impact for Joy Junction. Since it's publishing, we have had a major increase in donations and offers to help us expand and reconstruct our facilities and we are currently saving toward our goal for construction. In this weakened economy, Joy Junction has seen an increase in contributions from our donors and general public alike. The biggest accomplishment of the Good News Gazette has to be the donation of a lunch wagon from a local business in Albuquerque. Purchased for Joy Junction to use, the CEO and founder, Jeremy Reynalds and graphic designer, Richard Gonzales flew over 2000 miles to West Palm Beach, Florida, to pick up the truck. After driving the 29 hours back to Albuquerque, the lunch wagon, dubbed "The Lifeline of Hope," hit the streets and now provides food, drinks, blankets and hope to those on the unforgiving streets of Albuquerque.
- Creative Submission - Files
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