Fifteen Years: A Story of Transformation
Fifteen years ago, when we decided to start a nonprofit with the support of family and friends, we could never have imagined everything that 1MISSION would become. Today, as we reflect back on this incredible journey, we’re overcome with gratitude.
The story of 1MISSION’s first 15 years is ultimately a story of ordinary people—like you and me—making this shared mission a priority through time, attention, skills, resources, and most of all, through love.
It’s a story about…
giving up weekends and spring breaks—sweating in barrios instead of relaxing on the beach.
spending months training on a bike while running fundraising campaigns to provide safe, secure housing through Bikes Fight Poverty.
being crazy enough to bid $25,000 for a puppy named Pepe at The 1M Gala.
kids signing up to give $10 per month from their allowance.
our staff choosing to work here—and to keep working here, year after year.
families discovering that it’s more blessed to give than to receive.
In this story, it all comes down to decisions that families like yours have made to be generous, to make sacrifices, to extend your circles of care to include those you’ve never even met.
It’s an incredible story.
Fifteen years ago, we started 1MISSION based on a hunch that a participatory model of community development could accomplish more than one-way charity ever could. And at the heart of that new vision was an emphasis on affirming the God-given dignity of everyone involved. This includes families earning houses and participating in community development projects. It includes volunteers on build trips and during bike rides. It includes our staff, in the field and in the office alike. And it includes you, the partners who make all of it possible.
Today, as we celebrate everything that has been accomplished during these 15 years, we want to thank you for all the ways you have played a role in that story of transformation. And we want to invite you to be part of the story as it continues to unfold.
We’re inviting you to join the Supply Yard, our community of monthly givers. Or, if you’re already a member, would you consider rounding up your monthly contribution? Monthly givers keep the hammers swinging, the wheelbarrows rolling, the community gardens growing.
On behalf of the 1MISSION team and every single family we have served together over the years, thank you!
With gratitude,
Jason and Tina Law
Founders
