Rescue Mission holds first Facebook live Like Love Share-A-Thon

Saturday evening the Rescue Mission of El Paso held it’s first Like Love and Share-A-Thon.

The shelter along with ABC-7s Iris Lopez held a two-hour long marathon on Facebook to raise funds that will help those in need in our community.

The Rescue Mission of El Paso has been helping people in need for 65 years.

Saturday the mission raised money and held a cook-off to garner some attention on the needs of the shelter.

The cameras were streaming on Facebook live from the dinning hall of the new Rescue Mission of El Paso. The mission was to raise $10,000.

“I think it gives value to the community where we can really embrace everybody that’s a part of El Paso,” Megan Pratt said.

Pratt is the marketing director for the rescue mission.

To grab some attention the mission held a Facebook live cook-off between former mayor John Cook and rescue mission chef Brooke Crider.

Pratt tells ABC-7 last year the mission provided nearly 100,000 meals — 63,000 beds and 175 people we’re placed in jobs.

“When they do come in most of the time they need paper work for jobs and they need resources so we’re going to give them those tools and access things like that and become self-sustaining members of society,” Pratt said.

The mission has helped people like Alfredo Machuca.

“I was going through some personal problems, losing my mother to cancer, my brother to murder and my sister to lupus. In the process I turned to the wrong places and wrong people for the solution,” Machuca said.

The mission took Machuca in and allowed him to volunteer in the kitchen just to clean … now he cooks for those less fortunate.

“I’ve learned a lot,” Machuca said.

Machuca has not only learned skills but compassion as well.

“I have a strong feeling deep in my heart that god wants me here. There’s people out there that need us and I need them like they need us,” Machuca said.

The rescue mission didn’t get to meet their goal but they raised about $3,000 and during the event Casa Ford also matched every dollar donated.

The Rescue Mission of El Paso has made it easy to donate. You can go to their Facebook page and click on the donate button and even $5 can provide 3 meals for someone in the community.