SUPPORTER SPOTLIGHT – Interview with Mike Bishop, Retired Pharmacist and Mission Board Member

Please tell us how you first got involved with Nashville Rescue Mission?

I became aware of the Mission and its work here in Nashville during the ‘70s. Having a heart for reaching out to the least, the lost, the last of society, I have regularly devoted time and resources to various types of mission work, from repairing homes in Appalachia to disaster relief to medical mission work in Africa, Haiti, and Honduras. Getting more involved with Nashville Rescue Mission was just a next step, as it were, to supporting work among the homeless and right here in Nashville.

“At Nashville Rescue Mission, those seeking help and assistance can find not only a hot meal and place to sleep for tonight but support for tomorrow, and the next day, and into the future given the available programs.”

What motivated your first financial gift to the Mission?

As God has blessed us with the ability to help others, my wife and I felt that the Mission, given its long track record and outstanding work in our community, was the channel through which we wanted to seek to bless others. There are many outstanding nonprofit organizations that provide various services to the homeless here in Nashville. Each one has its niche, which is great. The Mission, however, offers and provides a wide range of services, programs, and support for its guests and goes well beyond what is available elsewhere.

Is there anything you know about Nashville Rescue Mission that you wish others in the community would know and possible don’t?

At Nashville Rescue Mission, those seeking help and assistance can find not only a hot meal and place to sleep for tonight but support for tomorrow, and the next day, and into the future given the available programs. Most people will be unaware that the Mission is a destination for people throughout the south and Midwest who need assistance that is not available locally, but still, they can find it here in Nashville.

Is there anything else you’d like to share about the Mission?

The Mission offers everyone, and I mean everyone, the opportunity to join them in their provision of support for those in need. Whether through a one-time gift of any amount, through monthly planned giving, or through gifting the Mission with items that can benefit guests as they may move forward and seek to re-establish themselves in the community. I would invite … no, challenge, those with a longing to help those in need, attend one of the Mission’s programs or events and listen to current and former guests share their own stories of how their lives have been changed through Nashville Rescue Mission.