12/12/2025
Here at the AIM Center, we are celebrating the gift of hope this holiday season. Hope can be hard to find for people living with severe mental illness (SMI) because of isolation and loss of relationships. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
We know that connection, community, and purpose are key ingredients for building hope when someone is living with SMI. The AIM Center is working every day to provide those things for our members and help them successfully manage their mental health. We invite you to join us by making a holiday gift to the AIM Center. Your gift will go directly to programs that create hope for our members.
Take Amanda for example. When she first came through our doors just a few months ago, she didn’t know if AIM Center would even be the right place for her. She had just been discharged from a psychiatric hospital, was homeless and hopeless. She felt like she really had nobody in her life to continue believing in her, even some of her family had given up. At AIM, we like to say we are all family, and we welcomed her with open arms.
Amanda was quiet those first few days. She got the hang of it though, and within a week she was blossoming. We offered her a hot shower, daily warm meals and some items from our emergency hygiene closet which she graciously accepted. She cried happy tears and told us she felt that “God had smiled down on AIM Center.” Just one month later in the Clubhouse, Amanda is now showing new members the ropes, helping with clerical duties, and is here from the time we open to the time we close daily. Amanda says she feels like she has purpose again - that she has hope and friends - and a reason to keep going - because of the Clubhouse.
Building hope is woven into our day-to-day routines at the AIM Center, it’s central to everything we do. This year alone, our Clubhouse kitchen will serve more than 10,000 meals, ensuring our members have access to nutritious food in a welcoming environment; the Clubhouse will welcome hundreds of members who will choose daily activities that help them learn new skills and develop talents that carry over to the world outside of our Clubhouse walls; and our employment programs will place members with SMIs in competitive-wage jobs throughout the Chattanooga region. This is just a small glimpse into what we have the honor of seeing our Clubhouse do every day. 🧡
You can be a hope builder too, for Clubhouse members like Amanda. The generous gifts of supporters like you allow us to expand our work and create spaces of hope for people recovering from SMI. Will you consider including the AIM Center in your holiday celebrations by making a tax-deductible donation before the end of the year?
You can donate today by visiting www.aimcenterinc.org, giving through Facebook, or mailing a check to us before December 31st. A gift of any amount helps. If you've already sent your holiday gift, thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
Give Now: https://bit.ly/AIMGiveNow
