Victory Mission connects with others to serve

It began in 1976, when the Rev. Everett Cook and his wife Esther went to the town square and served sandwiches, coffee and the Gospel out of the back of their station wagon to the homeless.

The mission has a more permanent location now – several locations, in fact – but the humble attitude remains.

The Rev. James Harriger, the mission’s executive director, said there’s no way to measure the impact of the mission on the area.

“I’ve tried to and I get lost,” he said. “We’ve connected with all of these other groups. It’s connecting with them to do the service that they’re called to do.”

The numbers, though, speak for themselves. An estimated value of programs and services offered by Victory Mission in 2005 exceeds $3.4 million. The mission has six facilities in Springfield.

There’s the Victory Mission headquarters, 1715 N. Boonville, which also house Victory Trade School and the Cook’s Kettle Restaurant and Ministry Center. Victory Square on North Broadway is a transitional service shelter for men. Victory House offers similar services for women and their children.

The Food Depot on North Nettleton and the warehouse on West Chestnut Expressway are where the mission organizes its donations to area food pantries and to other nonprofits.

And there’s the Victory Mission Thrift Store, 304 W. Commercial St., which sells low-cost items to the public.

The mission’s goal, to use an old cliché, is to provide a hand up, not a handout. One example is the Victory Trade School, where 16 men are in restaurant skills training with Ozarks Technical Community College material.

“We’re bringing people into the program who never thought of themselves as learners,” Harriger said.

Half of each participant’s cost for the program is paid through scholarships, while the rest is paid through work at the Cook’s Kettle. The hours the men earn also can be transferred to OTC. To date, 25 men have completed training at Victory Trade School, paving the way to better jobs and brighter futures.

The mission’s growth continues; Harriger said Victory Lodge, a dormitory-style hotel at 1610 N. Broadway Ave. where men can stay overnight for a small fee, should open later this year.

But the trade school and the homeless shelters are just a portion of the impact.

In 2005, the mission’s various programs served or assisted more than 170,000 people through their own work and assistance to other organizations including Ronald McDonald House, United Way of the Ozarks, Boys and Girls Clubs and area Police and Sheriff’s departments.

For example, as part of its attempt to “provide families, men, women and youth with emergency, residential and educational services that lead to long-term rehabilitation, restoration and re-entry into society as functional, productive persons,” the mission gave out $1.2 million worth of free books to area churches and nonprofits last year, along with more than $760,000 in food and meals to area food pantries.

Not all of Victory Mission’s efforts are well-known, but that’s by design – the folks at Victory Mission don’t brag much.

“It’s amazing what you can do when you don’t care who gets the credit,” Harriger said.

Victory Mission

Address: 1715 N. Boonville Ave., Springfield, MO 65803

Phone: (417) 831-6387

Web site: www.victorymission.com

2005 value of programs and services: $3,459,526