Garden City Rescue in downtown Augusta raises more than $520,000 to save, expand shelter

A safe haven for many Augustans has officially been saved.

Garden City Rescue Mission and Life Development Center confirmed in a Facebook post Thursday that they had raised more than $520,000, which is enough to save their downtown Augusta shelter.

"God is not only answering a prayer, He is building a dream," the mission wrote. "We are not only going to be able to purchase the property, with the money still coming in, (we) will be able to secure and expand the GCRM ministry to reach the homeless in our city in an even bigger way. We want to thank everyone who has given and we are looking forward to hearing from others who want to be a part of Rescuing The Rescue Mission."

Garden City houses homeless men and provides many resources to resolve substance abuse, unemployment and other issues. Its shelter has been under a rent-free lease for many years, but Garden City Executive Director Patrick Feistal said that changed last spring and they were given until Friday to raise $495,000 to purchase the property or find a new place to call home. By that time, they had already raised more than $300,000 and, on Tuesday, the City of Augusta approved contributing $50,000 to their cause.

Feistal said last week that if they raised more than they needed to save the property it would help them with a variety of projects like improving the kitchen and possibly buying the surrounding properties to grow their ministry.

For more information on Garden City's resources and to donate to the rescue, go to gcrmaugusta.com.

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This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Garden City Rescue in Augusta saves homeless shelter with $520,000