Fifth Street Ministries

08/19/2026

https://youtu.be/_ndybmQ-gCI?si=eRRfiJTIPLy_iVi7

Starting officially on September 7th, Fifth Street Ministries is launching a brand-new program! 💙

Our Bagged Lunch Program is a simple but meaningful way for YOU to get involved and make a difference right here in our community. 🥪

Please take a moment to watch our video and share it with your Facebook community so we can spread the word! Then, check out our website to learn more about the program and how you can get involved through the link below.

https://www.fifthstreetministries.com/bagged-lunch

Of course, if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me at [email protected].

Help us make a difference, one bagged lunch at a time. ❤️

Learn how Fifth Street Ministries’ Bagged Lunch Program brings our ...

08/19/2026

Two Veterans. Two journeys. Two new beginnings. 🇺🇸

Today, we get to share the kind of update that reminds us what progress can look like.

Two Veterans who came to Fifth Street Ministries first stayed in our Veteran Suite within the Emergency Shelter. Both worked with our Veterans Case Manager, Ron Avery, to identify their goals, complete the necessary paperwork, and begin building their individual pathways toward permanent housing.

As they made progress, each moved from the shelter into Heroes' House, Fifth Street’s transitional housing program for Veterans. And now, both are taking the next big step: moving into housing of their own.

For Jerry Riley, the journey included determination and a lot of hard work. Jerry consistently searched for employment, attended job interviews, completed his DD214, Social Security and housing paperwork, and kept moving forward. He found a job at Coaches restaurant and, without a car, rode his bike to work. He continued working while going through the HUD-VASH housing process and waiting for his housing to be finalized.

Ron describes Jerry as goal-oriented, positive and always willing to help around Heroes' House.

Our second Veteran followed a different path. With his traditional working years behind him, his focus was on completing the steps necessary for housing, remaining patient through the process, contributing to the Heroes' House community and preparing for what came next. He regularly expressed his gratitude for Fifth Street and told Ron he planned to make the best of whatever came his way.

And now, what comes next for both of these Veterans is a home of their own.

This is what a pathway to stability can look like: a safe place to begin, someone walking alongside you, opportunities to take the next step, and ultimately, the independence to move forward.

We are incredibly proud of both Veterans, and grateful for Ron Avery and everyone who invests in Fifth Street Ministries and makes journeys like these possible.

From shelter, to Heroes House, to home. That’s progress worth celebrating. 🇺🇸🏠

08/18/2026

🥪 You asked. We listened. Now, let’s do this together.

Fifth Street Ministries is excited to unveil our new Bagged Lunch Program, a community-powered approach to making lunches available every day of the year.

When we made the difficult decision to discontinue our daily lunch service, we heard from many of you just how important access to lunch is in our community.

We heard you.

Now, we’re creating a way for our community to help make it happen.

💙 There are two ways to get involved:

MAKE THE LUNCHES.
Businesses, churches, civic clubs, youth groups, families, friends, and other community groups can sign up to provide one or more blocks of 50 complete bagged lunches. The number of lunches needed varies by day, and your group can sign up for 50 lunches or take every available block for that day.

HELP HAND THEM OUT.
We also have one-hour volunteer opportunities, 365 days a year, for individuals or groups who want to come to Fifth Street and help distribute the lunches.

This program truly is powered by our community. You provide the lunches. You can help hand them out. Fifth Street provides the place and connects those community investments with the people who will benefit from them.

There are important guidelines for preparing, packaging, and delivering the lunches, so please visit our Bagged Lunch Program webpage and review the guidelines before getting started.

And have fun with it!

Make it an employee team-building activity. Challenge another department. Get your Rotary or civic club together. Bring your church group, youth group, family, neighbors, or friends.

📸 Take pictures.
🎥 Shoot a video.
🥪 Pack 50 lunches, or 100, 150, or more.
💙 Show us what community investment looks like.

Post your photos and videos and tag Fifth Street Ministries so we can celebrate and share the people who are making this program possible.

Your time. Your resources. Your investment. Our community.

Made by our community. Making a difference every day.

📱 Scan the QR code to visit the Bagged Lunch Program page, review the guidelines, sign up to provide 50 bagged lunches or more, or volunteer to help distribute them.

Empowering people in crisis to rebuild stability and achieve self-sufficiency.
704-872-4045

08/15/2026

Thank you, Grace Baptist Church! 💙

We are so grateful for our friends at Grace Baptist Church who continue to show up for Fifth Street Ministries…. not just once, but regularly, serving dinner for members of our Statesville community on some occasions and preparing dinner and dropping it off at other times.

Your commitment is a wonderful example of putting faith into action:

“Serve one another humbly in love.” — Galatians 5:13

And we have to give a special shout-out to two of our own faithful Fifth Street team members, Jim Taylor and Wanda Cromwell, pictured alongside our Grace Baptist volunteers. We appreciate the many hands and caring hearts that make our Community Kitchen possible each day!

🥪 And stay tuned… We’re getting ready to unveil another way for churches, businesses, civic groups, families and friends to invest in Fifth Street Ministries and help us meet the daily needs of our community… one bagged lunch at a time.

More to come soon!

Local people. Local partnerships. Local impact. Grace Baptist Church

08/13/2026

120 bowls. 120 investments in our community. 🥣💙

That’s our goal for this year’s Empty Bowls — 120 Bowl Sponsors at $500 each — and we’re already off to a great start with more than 20 sponsors committed, including several who have chosen to invest in more than one bowl!

Every bowl represents something bigger: an investment in helping people in our community move from crisis toward safety, stability, housing, and greater independence.

Fifth Street Ministries has been part of this community for decades, walking alongside individuals and families when life takes an unexpected turn. Empty Bowls helps make that work possible — and keeps local dollars working to meet local needs right here in Iredell County.

Businesses, churches, civic organizations, families and individuals — come be part of it. Help us get all 120 bowls sponsored!

$500 sponsors a bowl. Together, 120 bowls can make a tremendous impact.

Who’s ready to claim the next one? 🥣

08/09/2026

A huge THANK YOU to the Statesville Woman's Club for choosing to support Fifth Street Ministries’ Domestic Violence Services through My Sister’s House as part of the GFWC International Day of Service! 💜

On September 26, they’ll host Walk a Mile in Their Shoes, bringing our community together to raise awareness, support survivors, and collect much-needed items for My Sister’s House.

We are incredibly grateful for community partners who stand alongside survivors and help ensure that individuals and families experiencing domestic and sexual violence have access to safety, support, and a path forward.

💜 Thank you, Statesville Woman’s Club, for helping our community take a stand against domestic and sexual violence — and for supporting the work of My Sister’s House.

If you have questions about Fifth Street Ministries’ Domestic Violence Services or would like to learn more, please contact Emily Cowan, Director of Domestic Violence Services, at [email protected].

08/09/2026

💛 A BIG THANK YOU to our Community Kitchen volunteers!

Over the past couple of weeks, so many wonderful people have stepped into our Community Kitchen to help prepare, plate, and share meals with our residents and neighbors.

We may not have captured everyone’s name… but we certainly noticed the helping hands, smiling faces, and time you gave to Fifth Street Ministries. ❤️ (Thank you, Cybill, Elsie & Ellison Abrao… Angie & daughter… Wanda Cromwell’s grandbabies)

Our Community Kitchen simply couldn’t do what it does without volunteers who show up, jump in, and help make sure a warm meal and a welcoming space are here for those who need them.

To everyone pictured here…and those who volunteered but somehow escaped the camera…thank you for being part of Fifth Street!

And if you recognize someone we missed tagging, please tag them in the comments so we can thank them, too! 💛

08/04/2026

Sometimes the most beautiful works of art aren't the ones hanging on a wall - they're the moments shared while creating them.

On recent afternoon, our friends from Kewaunee Scientific https://kewaunee.com, joined by the incredibly talented local artist Amy Queen Chappin, spent time alongside residents of Fifth Street Ministries creating paintings, sharing conversation, encouraging creativity, and reminding all of us that art has a remarkable way of bringing people together.

At the very same time, another team of Kewaunee volunteers was hard at work transforming a quiet corner of our Community Kitchen into a welcoming art gallery entrance - a space that will now inspire reflection, conversation, and hope for everyone who walks through our doors.

Every day, guests enter Fifth Street Ministries seeking a meal, a safe place, encouragement, or simply the reassurance that someone cares. Now they'll also be greeted by a space that reflects beauty, creativity, and possibility. We hope it becomes a place where people pause to admire the artwork, consider the stories behind it, and imagine the new chapters that are still waiting to be written.

To Amy Queen https://www.amyqueenchappinart.com/, thank you for sharing your extraordinary talent and your gift for helping others discover their own creativity.

To the employees of Kewaunee Scientific, thank you for demonstrating what it means to invest in the community where you live and work. Your generosity extends far beyond volunteer hours - you are helping build a stronger, more compassionate Statesville. Whether you were holding a paintbrush beside one of our residents or transforming a simple wall into something inspiring, your efforts will leave a lasting impression on everyone who visits Fifth Street Ministries.

Thank you for helping us create more than artwork.

Thank you for helping us create hope.

08/03/2026

🍎🏡 As you’re shopping for the new school year, we invite you to consider helping a family in our community.

Our families at Fifth Street Ministries are working hard to build a fresh start, and something as simple as a bed, table, dresser, or other furniture can help turn a shelter unit into a place that truly feels like home.

We’ve created an Amazon Wishlist with furniture and home items for our family units. All donations can be shipped directly to Fifth Street Ministries.

🛒 Amazon Wishlist: https://a.co/02dJ6Mil

Thank you for helping us create welcoming spaces where families can find comfort, hope, and a fresh start. Every gift makes a difference. 🤍