Our Story
In the summer of 2010, while jogging on the streets of Chicago, God broke Josh Dorrell's heart for the city of Galveston. It was four little words that did it: "Galveston is the place." Josh described it as the "clearest voice I had ever heard." He went home and told his wife, Danielle, who was at home with their two-year-old daughter Zoe. The Dorrells packed up and found themselves in Galveston that very same weekend.
Armed with a 3-year start-up grant from Christian Mission Concerns, they hit the ground running. The Dorrells moved into the North Broadway neighborhood, one of the communities hardest hit by Hurricane Ike, and began just doing life with their neighbors. In addition to doing disaster recovery for a short season, the Dorrells organized street camps for the neighborhood kids, and Josh even took a job at Wright Cuney, the local community rec center. Having been part of Mission Waco with his parents, Jimmy and Janet Dorrell, Josh knew that to effect real change, his neighbors needed to be part of the solution. So he began interviewing everyone he came across, asking them, "How can we make this neighborhood we love better?" The answers came pouring in, but three answers seemed to outshine the rest: after-school programs for kids, mentoring programs for youth, and adult job training. From these needs, Galveston Urban Ministries was born. Galveston Urban Ministries exists to bring lasting community transformation to Galveston, Texas, through holistic relationships rooted in faith, dignity, and collaboration.
At GUM, we believe real change happens when people are known, supported, and empowered.
Just on the north side of Broadway, spanning only about 20 blocks, is the community of North Broadway. As one of the neighborhoods hardest hit by Hurricane Ike, the North Broadway community has many challenges. High poverty rates, average incomes as low as $9,000 a year, and the lack of thriving community businesses has made development in the North Broadway community hard. In spite of all of this, we have seen the beauty of community transformation through relationships! After school, it's normal to see scores of children playing at the Wright Cuney Rec Center while the adults either play basketball at the park or just sit and talk to other neighbors on their porch until the street lights come on. Residents are kind and eager to give you a history lesson on how their neighborhood has changed for better. Our goal is to see our city thrive and North Broadway become a community people want to live in rather than leave!
