Restoration Urban Ministries (RUM) will bring neighbors together with a “20th Anniversary Block Party for Restoration” on June 29 from 2 to 7 p.m.
“This is a thank you to the community for supporting us, and a celebration that God has brought us through another year,” said Assistant Director Kim Irwin.
Mahomet resident Kim Irwin started volunteering her time at RUM 10 years ago.
Since 1993, RUM has been a safe haven to over 4,000 individuals in need of shelter, training and employment. Along with temporary assistance, Restoration Urban Ministries also provides food and clothing to those who need it in Central Illinois.
RUM hopes to educate the community about their services through RUM graduates and volunteers who will be available during the event. Tours of the facility will be given from 2 to 4 p.m.
“It’s a place where our recipients and donors can meet up and in a formal way celebrate,” Irwin said.
The block party will include a dunk tank, bounce house, kid’s games, and free hotdogs, chips and water starting at 2 p.m.
The playground built by the Lutheran Church of Mahomet will be open for kids to play. The Lutheran Church of Mahomet also built the kitchen which residents use on a daily basis at RUM.
Irwin said Mahomet communities members have helped to support RUM on many levels through donations, volunteer work. Many small groups come to volunteer time throughout the year.
“Around Christmas is a big donor season,” she said. “We actually see a lot of small groups from churches come during the summer. There are a lot more opportunities to volunteer during the summer than there are in the winter.”
In the past, Mahomet IGA has also helped stock the food pantry with bread and veggies on Mondays.
Irwin said Mahomet residents not only help support RUM, some residents also find themselves in need of housing, food or clothes.
“A lot of people don’t think Mahomet has those types of needs, but they do,” she said. “We also serve people from the Mahomet community. We have a resident right now who calls Mahomet home.”
Food vendors Papa Johns, Hawaiian Ice and Taco Motorizado will also donate 10 percent of their sales to Restoration Urban Ministries.
Live music and individual testimonies will be followed by Keynote Speaker Samson Green of Pacific Gardens Missions in Chicago.
A group of staff members from RUM went to Pacific Garden Missions to see how the similar program is run on a larger scale. RUM felt his message on how God has worked in changing lives was so dynamic, they invited him to speak at the block party.
On Tuesday, RUM invites the community to walk with them at 6:30 from West Side Park in Champaign to the city council meeting to bring awareness to RUM. The city council will hear testimonies from RUM residents.
