For Goodness’ Sake: Mission Accomplished
At RecognizeGood, it has and always will be our mission to share the GOOD in our community. In a time where our news feeds are refreshed more frequently than ever, we wanted to dig deeper and share the stories of our friends that are still out there on the front lines – the nonprofit staff and volunteers who don’t get weekends or holidays off, who cannot work from home and who still fearlessly take care of others.
Mission Accomplished was founded just five years ago. With a rising number of Austinites experiencing homelessness, founder and CEO Ebonie Trice wanted to do more to help those in need – her organization’s goal is to get people off the streets and set them up for success. Mission Accomplished does so many things – laundry for the homeless, turkeys to families in need on Thanksgiving, and in the coming weeks organizing a Mother’s Day event to distribute purses filled with essentials to those who need them most.
With so many projects on her to-do list, so many household items and other essentials coming and going through her headquarters (a.k.a. her house), and her drive to help those who do not have a place in which to shelter, we had to check-in and see how Ebonie was continuing to make magic happen during COVID-19.
Homelessness does not stop during a pandemic, and neither has Mission Accomplished. They are still distributing supplies to the homeless directly and have began working with other organizations to magnify their efforts. This has become more of a challenge, as essential cleaning supplies are harder to find and more stores have closed or changed their hours of operation.
The outbreak has sparked a constant collaboration of organizations. Many have reached out to see what Ebonie’s team needs and are looking to lend a helping hand.
“Collaboration is great, because we should all be working smarter – not harder,” Ebonie states.
How can someone help Mission Accomplished? Drivers are always available for a public meetup or a porch pickup for your donations. Currently, the focus is on collecting purses, along with toiletries, beauty aids, and more for their “Purposeful Purses” Mother’s Day project. Donations are being accepted now through May 1st.
Collecting donations has been another adaptation for Ebonie. “The only thing I miss is not being able to help more people. I have to be mindful of where I go because I don’t want to contract the virus and pass it on to my daughter,” she says. “When I receive donations I put them in trash bags and set them outside for 3 days to disinfect.”
The attention that has been given to those experiencing homelessness has been beneficial. Shelters and camps are being cleaned more often and people are becoming more aware that everyone needs to be living in a clean and safe environment. It has also shown how quickly one could become homeless and why it is so important to check-in and help others.
“This pandemic has shown us that we MUST stay in contact with those who are experiencing homelessness 365 days a year because this is their reality every day,” Ebonie says.
To learn more about the many outstanding missions of Mission Accomplished, or to donate, contact Ebonie at info@mission-accomplished.org and follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
For more GOOD reads, check out our other For Goodness’ Sake interviews on our blog!
