The mentors that I have had in my life, some going back to when I was a teen, have made an invaluable impact in shaping my character. I am so grateful to them. And the men and women that we serve at Orange County Rescue Mission need mentors like this: friends who will care about them, and pass on to them what they have learned from their life experiences.

I am also grateful that my friend, Craig Furniss, has the same vision, and he encouraged others from Trinity Presbyterian Church to join him to invest (1,100 hours in one year!) in the lives of several men and women who are wanting to learn how to live differently, in order to overcome all that led to them becoming homeless.

These mentors, men and women, come from different walks of life. What they have in common is the willingness to make a new friend, and to be the one that gives in the friendship.

Ashley Ludwig, of OC Patch, caught the vision for how powerful mentoring can be in the lives of homeless men and women. She captures the story of one mentor, Dino Quesada, and what he has passed on to his friend, Ricky. Click the image below to read this inspiring story, “Man Learns to Love, Trust Through Rescue Mission’s Mentor Program”.