At the Bakersfield Rescue Mission, we believe in the importance of education and the difference it can make in the lives of those who come to us daily. In addition to the numerous programs and services we offer our guests to meet their physical needs, we strive to do more. The addition of our new building, the Curtis Kennedy Community Center, has allowed us to expand our Education Center. We are now able to meet the educational needs of the guests in our Homeless Intervention Services Center and the Christian Life Training Program.

Our old Education Center consisted of one small room. A table in the middle of the room was used for GED tutoring sessions and the wall was lined with several computers. We now have a whole wing of the Curtis Kennedy Community Center devoted to our education program. A library offers a mix of fiction, non-fiction, and educational reading materials. There are also two computers with internet access for research purposes. A closet in the library will soon be turned into an audio-learning center.

A classroom off of the library has allowed us to increase the amount of guests we have participating in our GED program. Another room holds our computer lab with 6 computers for learning general computer skills, resume building, and much more. There are also two stations in the computer lab with televisions for educational videos. We are also very grateful to have Gina join our Mission team as our Education Center Coordinator. Her hard work and efforts has allowed our Education Center to reach many with a variety of educational programs.

We would like to thank everyone who has made our Education Center a success. We appreciate your prayers, financial support, and donations. If you would like to learn more about our Education Center, are interested in volunteering, or to provide reading materials for the guests of the Bakersfield Rescue Mission contact Development at dev@thebrm.org or call us at (661) 325-0863 Ext. 310.