Dear Friends,

As we approach the celebration of the birth of our Savior, we are remembering what a special year 2019 has been for The Root Cellar.

We celebrated our 35th Anniversary as a direct service Christian ministry. We are grateful to the pioneering spirits at The Church of the Servant on Munjoy Hill, part of the Mennonite Volunteer Service, who started an after school program for teens back in 1984. Other milestones included the move to our 94 Washington Avenue building in Portland, in 2001, and the opening of our Lewiston location in 2009.

Thousands of neighbors in need and hundreds of volunteers have passed through our doors over the past 35 years, and we are blessed to have worked with all of them in Jesus’ name.

We also mourned the passing of former staff member Pat Iriana. Pat, and her husband Joe, were true pillars of Christian love and the hands and feet of Jesus working through The Root Cellar. Pat and Joe started the dental clinic in Portland, and were involved in the lives of many neighbors over the years. In their memory, we established The Pat & Joe Iriana Love Your Neighbor Award, which will be presented to deserving staff and/or volunteers nominated by our community in the future.

This past summer, we were honored to join the City of Portland in welcoming over 400 asylum seekers from Central Africa after their incredible journey on foot from South America. We were able to respond to many emergency needs of our newest neighbors, thanks to the incredible outpouring of love from so many. In Lewiston, 19 local teens particiated in summer jobs centered around bringing shalom through several neighborhood beautification projects. The Lew Crew Lawn Care and Woodworking cared for neighborhood lawns and built and installed 50 flowerboxes along Birch Street. Our local park now has a beautiful stair mural designed by local teens and painted by more than 250 community members!

The common theme in all these activities? We did this Together - staff, volunteers, donors, partners, and neighbors. It makes up what we call The Root Cellar family. Together, we accomplished more than any of us could have on our own. Together, we are transforming lives and neighborhoods as part of God’s Kingdom.

Together, we walk confidently into our next 35 years.

We are so thankful to have you as part of this extended family that God is using in so many ways. Please continue to join us in this work by making a donation before the year’s end.

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Wishing You and Yours a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!