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AdventureServe director raises funds for homelessness

From staff reports

Beginning Dec. 3, on Giving Tuesday, Andy Bathje, executive director of AdventureServe Ministries, will live in a shack for five days to raise awareness for substandard housing and homelessness.
As we kick off this holiday season, Bathje said he is choosing to live with less in hopes that others might have more. In conjunction with the Good Giving Challenge, AdventureServe Ministries has a goal to raise $15,000 toward providing safe, warm and dry housing for all Kentuckians. AdventureServe Ministries facilitates missions, wilderness experiences and retreats that grow faith in action.
The Good Giving Challenge is sponsored by the Blue Grass Community Foundation which raised 1.5 million dollars for 110 nonprofits last year alone. Throughout the week, friends of AdventureServe will be able to give online through the Good Giving Challenge.
Bathje said the ASM Shack is a sobering reminder that there are people who go without the comforts of daily living that most of us take for granted.
AdventureServe Ministries’ mission, Bathje said, is to engage participants to serve others who are struggling with a housing crisis. Statistics reveal one out of six Kentuckians are living below poverty level with 3,688 people counted as homeless last year. To help in the effort, AdventureServe Ministries has guided 1,500 mission participants to accomplish home repair projects for those living in substandard housing and to provide aid to homeless individuals over the past three years.
Through the “Share the Shack” initiative, other leaders are encouraged to lend their voice and presence to the issues the ASM Shack represents. Each day, Bathje will have conversations that will be broadcast through social media. In addition, AdventureServe Ministries is inviting partners to join Bathje for a night to endure the challenges that many face. A Beans and Rice Fundraising Dinner for the ASM Shack will take place on the last day for Wilmore’s Old Fashioned Christmas, Dec. 7th. AdventureServe Ministries invites everyone to “Share the Shack,” “Sponsor the Shack” or donate during the Good Giving Challenge at www.bggives.org Dec. 3 through Dec. 9.