Community First Village

It's not too late to RSVP to our second and final weekend of the Community First! Village of Lights & Holiday Market! We had so much fun celebrating the holiday season with you last weekend, and we are excited for another weekend of Christmas cheer. Here's a glimpse of what to expect! Be sure to RSVP to join us this Friday or Saturday, December 8th-9th, at mlf.org/village-of-lights!

Volunteer with us at Village of Lights this weekend by visiting the link below!
serve.mlf.org/jobs/village-of-lights-event-volunteer

Our annual Community First! Village of Lights & Holiday Market starts in less than 2 weeks, and we want you to be a part of the celebration! We have opportunities for you to serve with us during our light show, at our Holiday Market and throughout Community First! Village as we welcome the community to spend the holidays with us. Learn more and sign up to volunteer with us at serve.mlf.org/jobs/village-of-lights-event-volunteer!

We are just one day away from the opening night of Village of Lights! Spread Christmas cheer with us at Community First! Village December 1st-2nd & 8th-9th. Make sure to check out our segment on KXAN News to see what to expect!

Community First! Village of Lights returns to Austin Austin’s largest permanent housing development for folks coming out of homelessness has brought back its annual Christmas celebration, the Community First! Village of Lights.

Thank you Austin Monthly for including us in your Central Texas Holiday Gift Guide!

Our 2023 Central Texas Holiday Gift Guide Searching for the perfect present for your family, friends, partner, and pup? Support Austin companies with these local gift ideas.

Thank you for partnering with us this Giving Tuesday! You are helping us welcome more of our homeless friends home for the holidays, and we couldn't do this work without you. You are the Goodness that is Mobile Loaves & Fishes!

Our Genesis Gardens is a unique space that not only provides free, fresh produce for our neighbors but also allows them to earn a dignified income working in the gardens! This past year, $114,000 was earned in dignified income, while over $70,000 worth of produce and $13,000 of farm-fresh eggs was handed out to our neighbors living in the Village. We are so thankful for the neighbors, volunteers and staff who work hard to make sure fresh produce is available to our Village neighbors. Your gift today can help us continue the growth of our Genesis Gardens to ensure our neighbors are served fresh, organic foods each week. Visit https://give.mlf.org/campaign/giving-tuesday-2023/c532051 to donate today!

We had the joy of officially opening our Living Room this past March! This new space has allowed our neighbors to gather for fun activities, engage with their community and receive various services and resources provided by our partners. You are the reason our neighbors are able to enjoy a TV room, game room, computers and two program rooms for gatherings like music classes and Bible studies. Partner with us this Giving Tuesday as we continue to create special places like the Living Room for our neighbors to enjoy community with one another. Donate now by visiting https://give.mlf.org/campaign/giving-tuesday-2023/c532051!

This past year, we welcomed more than 90 new neighbors home to Community First! Village, totaling more than 355 formerly homeless men and women who now call the Village home! This would not have been possible without your support. As we continue to grow, you can help more of our neighbors find a place of permanence where they can spend the holidays in a warm home, surrounded by community! Visit https://give.mlf.org/campaign/giving-tuesday-2023/c532051 to donate today!

This past year we had the honor of breaking ground on our expansion properties while also celebrating our 25th anniversary! We are so grateful for your continued support, and we hope that you will continue to partner alongside us as we welcome home 1400 more neighbors on our additional 127 acres in the coming years. Give now at https://give.mlf.org/campaign/giving-tuesday-2023/c532051 to help welcome our new neighbors home!

At Community First! Village, our volunteers are at the heart of everything we do by creating a sense of community for our formerly homeless neighbors. So far in 2023, we’ve hosted more than 4,690 volunteers in the Village, culminating in more than 33,660 hours served! Thanks to our volunteers, staff and missional community, our neighbors living in the Village are able to find hope in their newly forged family. Help us continue to invite others into a lifestyle of service with the homeless by giving at https://give.mlf.org/campaign/giving-tuesday-2023/c532051 and make sure to check out our volunteering opportunities for the new year at https://serve.mlf.org/volunteer-calendar/!

Volunteer with us at Village of Lights by visiting the link below!
serve.mlf.org/jobs/village-of-lights-event-volunteer

Our annual Community First! Village of Lights & Holiday Market starts in less than 2 weeks, and we want you to be a part of the celebration! We have opportunities for you to serve with us during our light show, at our Holiday Market and throughout Community First! Village as we welcome the community to spend the holidays with us. Learn more and sign up to volunteer with us at serve.mlf.org/jobs/village-of-lights-event-volunteer!

Give early at the link below!
https://give.mlf.org/campaign/giving-tuesday-2023/c532051

Giving Tuesday is November 28th! Join us on this global day of giving as we continue to welcome more formerly homeless men and women home to Community First! Village and care for our neighbors still surviving on the streets. Learn more about how to get involved this Giving Tuesday and give early at https://give.mlf.org/campaign/giving-tuesday-2023/c532051!

Giving Tuesday is November 28th! Join us on this global day of giving as we continue to welcome more formerly homeless men and women home to Community First! Village and care for our neighbors still surviving on the streets. Learn more about how to get involved this Giving Tuesday and give early at https://give.mlf.org/campaign/giving-tuesday-2023/c532051!

Our annual Community First! Village of Lights & Holiday Market starts in less than 2 weeks, and we want you to be a part of the celebration! We have opportunities for you to serve with us during our light show, at our Holiday Market and throughout Community First! Village as we welcome the community to spend the holidays with us. Learn more and sign up to volunteer with us at serve.mlf.org/jobs/village-of-lights-event-volunteer!

In honor of our 25th anniversary, Mobile Loaves & Fishes has produced a coffee table book titled “Goodness Live Here”. This new book is a collection of stories and photos documenting the organization’s progress over the years and is here just in time for the holidays! Be sure to grab one for yourself and your loved ones as we reflect on the past 25 years of Serving Goodness together. Visit shop.mlf.org/products/25th-anniversary-coffee-table-book to purchase!

There are only a handful of people who have been with Mobile Loaves & Fishes since its very first day 25 years ago, and Alan's guest on this season finale of the Gospel Con Carne is undeniably one of them! Alan is joined by his daughter and Mobile Loaves & Fishes' Director of Community Empowerment, Taylor Graham, for this 25th anniversary special edition episode. You may be surprised to learn that being part of the family business wasn't always in Taylor's plan. Hear Mobile Loaves & Fishes stories from Taylor's perspective, and each of their reflections from their recent six-week journey in Spain on the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage. Whether it's serving our homeless neighbors over the past quarter century or walking 500 miles across Spain, Alan and Taylor agree there is one key takeaway found in each of these unique journeys: keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Listen to this special edition episode "25 Years of Following God's Detours, with Taylor Graham" on Spotify, iTunes, Sound Cloud or at mlf.org/gospel-con-carne-podcast!

Want more 25th anniversary goodness? Be sure to tune in to KEYE’s “We Are Austin” morning show tomorrow morning to catch an interview with our founder and CEO, Alan Graham! He will be sharing about the past 25 years of Mobile Loaves & Fishes, his recent Camino de Santiago pilgrimage journey in Spain, as well as highlighting MLF's new coffee table book, Goodness Lives Here. Alan's segment is currently expected to air during the 9:00-10:00am hour. Make sure to check it out!

GOODNESS ALERT: We are humbled and honored to have been recognized today by the Travis County Commissioners Court for Mobile Loaves & Fishes' 25th anniversary. Along with a proclamation declaring November 14th, 2023 as the "Mobile Loaves & Fishes Day of Serving Goodness," Travis County Judge Andy Brown commented that, "Austin is a better place because of MLF’s efforts, and we’re honored to recognize Alan Graham and his team today for the significant impact they’ve had in Central Texas over the past 25 years." We are so grateful for this community that has been serving goodness with us for the past quarter century!

Want to learn more about Community First! Village? Tune into KLRU tomorrow evening, November 14th, at 10:00pm for a screening of the documentary “Community First: A Home for the Homeless.” Hear stories from some of our formerly homeless neighbors about how the Village has helped them to restore their sense of dignity in a supportive and caring community.

Our artist neighbors have been working hard all year to create beautiful pieces for everyone on your holiday shopping list. Join us at our annual Community First! Village of Lights & Holiday Market happening on December 1st, 2nd, 8th and 9th from 5:30-9:00pm to shop these unique, hand-crafted pieces. Your purchases of their work help our formerly homeless neighbors earn a dignified income. Make sure to RSVP to join us at the Village of Lights at mlf.org/village-of-lights!

We hope you will join us at our annual Community First! Village of Lights & Holiday Market happening on December 1st, 2nd, 8th and 9th from 5:30-9:00pm. This year, our Community Cinema will be showing four different movies over the two weekends! Below you can find our different showings. Be sure to RSVP for the event at mlf.org/village-of-lights!

- December 1st: Home Alone
- December 2nd: The Grinch (2018)
- December 8th: Elf
- December 9th: Muppet Christmas Carol

SAVE THE DATE for our annual Community First! Village of Lights and Holiday Market happening on December 1st, 2nd, 8th and 9th from 5:30-9:00pm. With more than 250,000 Christmas lights choreographed to holiday music, our Village of Lights is sure to put your entire family in the Christmas spirit! Additionally, our Holiday Market offers unique, handcrafted gifts created by artists and makers who live in Community First! Village. Our artist neighbors have been working hard all year to create beautiful pieces for everyone on your holiday shopping list. Your purchases of their work help our formerly homeless neighbors earn a dignified income. Food will also be available for purchase and you can enjoy Christmas movies each night in our Community Cinema. Enjoy a ride on our mini train, snap a photo inside our new life-size snow globe and you may even see Santa making an early stop at the Village!

RSVP now to join us for Christmas cheer at mlf.org/village-of-lights/.

Our 2022 Annual Report is now available! Because of you, we continue to lift our homeless neighbors off the streets of Austin and into a permanent place to call home. See this Goodness in numbers, and hear from some of our neighbors in our 2022 Annual Report at https://mlf.org/annual-report-2023/.

Our neighbors, staff and missionals recently gathered for a night of karaoke! We love finding different ways to have fun and create community at Community First! Village whether that's through dancing, singing or just spending time together.

We are excited to share that we recently started construction on the final tiny home on Phase 2 of Community First! Village. Hitting this milestone would not have been possible without you! As we begin finishing construction of the final homes being built in Phase 2 of the Village, we look forward to seeing homes begin to go up on our expansion properties in the coming years!

Final Camino de Santiago Update: On Saturday, our Camino de Santiago crew officially finished their 500-mile pilgrimage! We are so proud of the team for completing this incredible challenge and can't wait to have them back home. Listen to a few of their takeaways and join us in celebrating this amazing accomplishment!