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Letter from Earnest – March 2018

 

 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ;

I pray that this letter finds you well, living today to its fullest, and not worrying about yesterday and not fearful of tomorrow. In keeping with my New Year’s resolution, I am trying to live in the present tense.

I wanted to bring you up to date on our budget. The 2017 Budget was $1,756,216. We were short by $24,489.00 but had a little bit of money in savings. Thank God that all of our obligations were met. A friend of mine pointed out a few years ago how blessed we were in the U.S. to have a system of taxation that allowed for tax deductible contributions.

Since that time, I have been paying attention to taxation and the changes coming down the pike. In the last revision of taxation at a federal/state level we are seeing changes that could definitely affect the income of non-profit organizations. The incentive to give will have to be motivated more by a mission that is dear to your heart, because many politicians would prefer that non-profits should be taxed. The reason your contributions matter is summed up in these statistics:

Fatherless youth account for…

63% of youth suicides (US D.H.H.S.)

71% of high school dropouts (National Principals  Association  Report on the State of High Schools)

75% of youth in drug rehabilitation centers (Rainbows for all God’s Children)

85% of youth in prison (Fulton County Georgia jail populations, Texas Department of Corrections)

90% of homeless and runaway children (US D.H.H.S.)

71% of teen pregnancies (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)

Youth mentored through Youth Horizons were…

8.5% less defiant towards their guardian

8.2% more likely to handle their anger in a constructive way

19% less likely to have behavioral issues

12.5% less likely to have low self-esteem

15.8% less likely to struggle with sadness and depression

24.7% more likely to turn their homework in on time

53.3% were interested in learning about the bible and church from their mentor.

In closing, the need grows and is not diminishing. I pray that you will stand with us no matter what. I ask you to pray for us, and when you can, please give.

Earnest