Corpus Christi Caller-Times Sylvia R. Longoria

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Sylvia R. Longoria

Sunday, September 2, 2001

Local 'ambassadors' rescue mission

Tony Reyes, director of Mission 911, had begun to wonder how his faith-based nonprofit that helps the homeless was going to survive.
   "I was at a point where I was throwing my hands up in the air and asking, 'Lord, if you want me to pursue this mission, how am I going to do it?' " Reyes said.
   "And then I got a prayer answered."
   It came in the form of the Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors, a 65-member group of volunteers who decided that for their first major volunteer project they would adopt Mission 911.
   Friday, the chamber ambassadors descended upon the site of the mission, at 911 Park Ave., to begin what will be a yearlong, four-phase project to help renovate what was once a day school.
   Helping community
   The project will cost at least $25,000, said Larry Dreier, a chamber ambassador helping oversee the volunteer effort
   "We wanted our first major project to be one that would benefit a neighborhood or community," said Bill Tinney, chairman of the chamber ambassadors.
   "We looked at churches, community centers and other organizations, but when we've read about Mission 911 in the newspaper, it has stood out. We knew that this was the project we wanted to start off with."
   Four phases
   The four phases of renovation include:

Creation of a media resource room, which will be used by Mission 911 residents to conduct job searches, access the Internet, learn computer programs and other office skills. Sitel Corp. has donated four computers to the media resource room.

Collaborating with Beautify Corpus Christi to develop gardens and to landscape the facility grounds.

Create a dormitory for use during emergency situations, such as hurricane evacuations or sheltering the homeless during cold snaps.

Erecting a high fence to secure the facility.
   Chamber ambassadors plan to follow up their Mission 911 renovation by undertaking at least one major volunteer effort annually.
   Working side by side
   Scott Johnson, an out-of-work construction worker from San Antonio who came to Mission 911 in July, is working alongside chamber ambassadors to spruce up the building.
   "It's great to see the community come together like this," said the 41-year-old. "They (volunteers) get to see a side of us they aren't aware of, that we are trying to get back on our feet and get on with our lives. And we get to see another side too, that there are really good people out there who do care."
   Collaboration
   The collaboration between volunteers and mission residents, Reyes said, is what he envisioned when he first took on Mission 911 more than a year ago.
   "This is a city named after the body of Christ," he said. "So we should show it. And this is a step in that direction."
   Dreier said he had heard of Mission 911 but had never set foot there until his volunteer group toured the facility to determine the nonprofit's needs.
   Impressed with mission
   "I was really impressed with its mission and with Tony, who was willing to pour his heart into this effort," Dreier said. "But he's trying to do too much by himself. He needed somebody in the community to step up and pitch in."
   Brick-and-mortar
   Dreier said that when the yearlong project ends, he hoped chamber volunteers would have had a hand in more than just brick-and-mortar work.
   "Tony's vision is to help people get off the streets and give them the tools to get back into the workforce," Dreier said.
   "And ever since I became a chamber ambassador seven years ago, I've wanted to help improve Corpus Christi in some way.
   'Vision come true'
   "I'm going to enjoy seeing Tony's vision come true."

Sylvia R. Longoria can be reached at 886-3718 or by e-mail at longorias@caller.com

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