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Soaring Wings Ministries History:
Ed and Anita Rennells founded Soaring Wings Ministries as a nonprofit organization in 2011 with the State of Colorado. The organization received their 501C3 tax exempt status from the IRS on April 12, 2012. In the time period from April, 2012 until August 2013 Ed and Anita spent time planning, dreaming and praying about what the organization would look like and how it could best serve the homeless and the poor in Colorado. They drew upon their combined 50 years of experience as social workers and their experience working with children and families affected by abuse, neglect and poverty to develop the God directed vision for Soaring Wings Ministries. Knowing that homelessness and poverty is a trauma that can take years to overcome they recognized the need for a long term transitional facility for the homeless in Colorado. This facility would be on a ranch where people could heal from the trauma of homelessness and where they could receive long term positive mentoring on a daily basis. Ed and Anita chose the Bible Verses from Isaiah 40:30 & 31 to represent the vision and goals for Soaring Wings Ministries. “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
Ed and Anita Rennells moved from New Hampshire to Colorado in August 2013 to begin the work of Soaring Wings Ministries to the homeless. They familiarized themselves with Larimer county and the needs of the homeless in the area. They quickly became involved in serving meals at Catholic Charities and serving the homeless at a local church through Faith, Family and Hospitality while at the same time looking for a property that would be home to Soaring Wings Ministries.
The vision for Soaring Wings Ministries was to establish a temporary home for 8 to 10 homeless families. The home needed to be in a restful area away from the negative influences that can so easily pull down vulnerable, hurting people and yet it also needed to be close to schools, churches, jobs and resources. Wellington, a small town of about 7,000 people in Northern Colorado, met all the qualifications and looked to be a great location for Soaring Wings Ministries. The housing search in Wellington led Ed and Anita to a small, modular home on 40 acres that was in foreclosure. They both immediately recognized the potential of the property to be the permanent home of Soaring Wings Ministries. It was within a 45 minute drive to Fort Collins where homeless could receive services and further their education. The Soaring Wings Ministries board voted to make an offer on the house and 40 acres and on December 2, 2013 the offer was accepted. Soaring Wings Ministries had raised enough money to pay cash for this property, through individual donations and a one time grant from the Annie E Casey Foundation. Soaring Wings Ministries now had a home on a beautiful piece of property and it had no mortgage and zero debt.
Since its inception Soaring Wings Ministries has always been blessed with supportive friends, organizations and volunteers. It is through the generosity of these people and organizations that Soaring Wings Ministries was able to move from a fledgling ministry to one with a permanent, established location in Wellington, Colorado; however, even with such generous support, Ed and Anita Rennells recognized the need for a permanent paid staff member to join the team at Soaring Wings Ministries. To that end, Meredith Peters, joined the team in June of 2014 as Deputy Executive Director of Soaring Wings Ministries.
With a solid staff team in place Soaring Wings Ministries moved forward to reach its goal of establishing long term transitional housing for the homeless in Northern Colorado. By partnering with Group Publishing in Loveland, Colorado, Council Tree Covenant Church in Fort Collins, Colorado, Trinity Bible Church in Sutton, New Hampshire and United Way over 150 volunteers have worked to improve the grounds, house and outbuildings of Soaring Wings Ministries. On Tuesday, May 10, 2016 Soaring Wings Ministries broke ground for their first addition to the Soaring Wings Ministries ranch. This 672 square foot addition that will be a home for a homeless family. The addition will have two bedrooms, a small kitchenette, a bathroom and a washer and dryer along with an office for Soaring Wings Ministries. Soaring Wings Ministries received a grant from The Home Depot Foundation for $5000 which purchased the beginning building materials for the addition. Although the site work for the foundation and the foundation itself was contracted out to local companies, the majority of the work has been done by generous volunteers from all over the United States. People from New Hampshire, Colorado, Massachusetts and New Mexico have generously given of their time, talents and funds to help build the transitional housing to 2 individuals or a family of two.
While the building of the addition continues Soaring Wings Ministries reaches out to the homeless in Northern Colorado through multiple avenues of service. To date Soaring Wings Ministries has served over 1,000 homeless people in Northern Colorado through programs like Donuts with Friends, Blessing Bags and the Emergency Needs Program.
The Donuts with Friends Program began in the fall of 2014 as an outreach program to the homeless in Fort Collins. It has given staff, board members and volunteers of Soaring Wings Ministries the opportunity to go to where the homeless are and to spend time interacting with them over donuts and coffee. The Donuts with Friends Program has grown so that the homeless are also receiving sandwiches, hats, gloves, coats, blankets, sleeping bags and Bibles.
The Blessing Bags are bags that are filled with personal hygiene items, a pair of socks, non-perishable food, a pen, a pad of paper, a bottle of water and a Bible tract. These Blessings Bags are given to the homeless that are requesting assistance or to anyone that appears to be in need. The Blessings Bags give the homeless a few items to help them through their day and it also gives them hope in knowing that they are loved in the name of Jesus.
The Emergency Needs Program was developed to help families or individuals who are in need of emergency assistance. This assistance could be a tank of gas, roadside assistance for a flat tire, bags of groceries, diapers or formula. The program has helped many people who are stranded to reach their destination and has prevented an emergency from turning into a crisis for many families and individuals.
Soaring Wings Ministries has also participated in Homeless Count and Project Connect. Homeless Count is a point in time count of the homeless in Fort Collins, Colorado conducted by Homeward 2020 whose main goal is to end homelessness in Fort Collins. Project Connect, also conducted by Homeward 2020, is a day for the homeless or those at risk of being homeless to receive goods and services from many agencies in the Fort Collins area.
Since its inception Soaring Wings Ministries has recognized the value of partnering with other agencies, organizations and volunteers who work to reduce homelessness while at the same time never losing site of its main goal which is to create for the homeless long term transitional housing in a healing environment with daily positive mentoring.
Ed and Anita Rennells founded Soaring Wings Ministries as a nonprofit organization in 2011 with the State of Colorado. The organization received their 501C3 tax exempt status from the IRS on April 12, 2012. In the time period from April, 2012 until August 2013 Ed and Anita spent time planning, dreaming and praying about what the organization would look like and how it could best serve the homeless and the poor in Colorado. They drew upon their combined 50 years of experience as social workers and their experience working with children and families affected by abuse, neglect and poverty to develop the God directed vision for Soaring Wings Ministries. Knowing that homelessness and poverty is a trauma that can take years to overcome they recognized the need for a long term transitional facility for the homeless in Colorado. This facility would be on a ranch where people could heal from the trauma of homelessness and where they could receive long term positive mentoring on a daily basis. Ed and Anita chose the Bible Verses from Isaiah 40:30 & 31 to represent the vision and goals for Soaring Wings Ministries. “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
Ed and Anita Rennells moved from New Hampshire to Colorado in August 2013 to begin the work of Soaring Wings Ministries to the homeless. They familiarized themselves with Larimer county and the needs of the homeless in the area. They quickly became involved in serving meals at Catholic Charities and serving the homeless at a local church through Faith, Family and Hospitality while at the same time looking for a property that would be home to Soaring Wings Ministries.
The vision for Soaring Wings Ministries was to establish a temporary home for 8 to 10 homeless families. The home needed to be in a restful area away from the negative influences that can so easily pull down vulnerable, hurting people and yet it also needed to be close to schools, churches, jobs and resources. Wellington, a small town of about 7,000 people in Northern Colorado, met all the qualifications and looked to be a great location for Soaring Wings Ministries. The housing search in Wellington led Ed and Anita to a small, modular home on 40 acres that was in foreclosure. They both immediately recognized the potential of the property to be the permanent home of Soaring Wings Ministries. It was within a 45 minute drive to Fort Collins where homeless could receive services and further their education. The Soaring Wings Ministries board voted to make an offer on the house and 40 acres and on December 2, 2013 the offer was accepted. Soaring Wings Ministries had raised enough money to pay cash for this property, through individual donations and a one time grant from the Annie E Casey Foundation. Soaring Wings Ministries now had a home on a beautiful piece of property and it had no mortgage and zero debt.
Since its inception Soaring Wings Ministries has always been blessed with supportive friends, organizations and volunteers. It is through the generosity of these people and organizations that Soaring Wings Ministries was able to move from a fledgling ministry to one with a permanent, established location in Wellington, Colorado; however, even with such generous support, Ed and Anita Rennells recognized the need for a permanent paid staff member to join the team at Soaring Wings Ministries. To that end, Meredith Peters, joined the team in June of 2014 as Deputy Executive Director of Soaring Wings Ministries.
With a solid staff team in place Soaring Wings Ministries moved forward to reach its goal of establishing long term transitional housing for the homeless in Northern Colorado. By partnering with Group Publishing in Loveland, Colorado, Council Tree Covenant Church in Fort Collins, Colorado, Trinity Bible Church in Sutton, New Hampshire and United Way over 150 volunteers have worked to improve the grounds, house and outbuildings of Soaring Wings Ministries. On Tuesday, May 10, 2016 Soaring Wings Ministries broke ground for their first addition to the Soaring Wings Ministries ranch. This 672 square foot addition that will be a home for a homeless family. The addition will have two bedrooms, a small kitchenette, a bathroom and a washer and dryer along with an office for Soaring Wings Ministries. Soaring Wings Ministries received a grant from The Home Depot Foundation for $5000 which purchased the beginning building materials for the addition. Although the site work for the foundation and the foundation itself was contracted out to local companies, the majority of the work has been done by generous volunteers from all over the United States. People from New Hampshire, Colorado, Massachusetts and New Mexico have generously given of their time, talents and funds to help build the transitional housing to 2 individuals or a family of two.
While the building of the addition continues Soaring Wings Ministries reaches out to the homeless in Northern Colorado through multiple avenues of service. To date Soaring Wings Ministries has served over 1,000 homeless people in Northern Colorado through programs like Donuts with Friends, Blessing Bags and the Emergency Needs Program.
The Donuts with Friends Program began in the fall of 2014 as an outreach program to the homeless in Fort Collins. It has given staff, board members and volunteers of Soaring Wings Ministries the opportunity to go to where the homeless are and to spend time interacting with them over donuts and coffee. The Donuts with Friends Program has grown so that the homeless are also receiving sandwiches, hats, gloves, coats, blankets, sleeping bags and Bibles.
The Blessing Bags are bags that are filled with personal hygiene items, a pair of socks, non-perishable food, a pen, a pad of paper, a bottle of water and a Bible tract. These Blessings Bags are given to the homeless that are requesting assistance or to anyone that appears to be in need. The Blessings Bags give the homeless a few items to help them through their day and it also gives them hope in knowing that they are loved in the name of Jesus.
The Emergency Needs Program was developed to help families or individuals who are in need of emergency assistance. This assistance could be a tank of gas, roadside assistance for a flat tire, bags of groceries, diapers or formula. The program has helped many people who are stranded to reach their destination and has prevented an emergency from turning into a crisis for many families and individuals.
Soaring Wings Ministries has also participated in Homeless Count and Project Connect. Homeless Count is a point in time count of the homeless in Fort Collins, Colorado conducted by Homeward 2020 whose main goal is to end homelessness in Fort Collins. Project Connect, also conducted by Homeward 2020, is a day for the homeless or those at risk of being homeless to receive goods and services from many agencies in the Fort Collins area.
Since its inception Soaring Wings Ministries has recognized the value of partnering with other agencies, organizations and volunteers who work to reduce homelessness while at the same time never losing site of its main goal which is to create for the homeless long term transitional housing in a healing environment with daily positive mentoring.
Donate today to Soaring Wings Ministries, no gift is too big or too small! Thank you for your donation!!
