James Batmasian: The “People Rescue” Man

A recent article (published August 2018) had some wonderful things to say about Investments Limited’s co-founder James Batmasian.  The article, written by Jason Pelish and published on the “BocaWatch” community site highlights James Batmasian and his involvement in community causes, especially HOME Boca, which is a homeless outreach organization in Boca Raton, and explores James Batmasian’s desire to help “rescue people”, be it people who have fallen on hard times and live on the streets, or helping at-risk youth through education and leadership.

Here are a few excerpts from the article, you can find the entire article here:  https://bocawatch.org/bocas-jimmy-b-the-people-rescue-man/

“Some people love animals. They rescue them, they foster them, they heal them so they can run and fly on their own. Some people are just animal people – it’s in their blood. Just like some people can’t keep their hands off animals in need Mr. Batmasian can’t keep away from people in need. He’s drawn strongly to worship. Getting to stand next to him in church, hearing his sonorous voice sing praises is a faith building experience for even the most weak of Spirit. He attributes the reason he’s drawn to helping people to his driving faith, but there’s something more driving him. Many people are drawn to religion and prayer, but few put it into action so fearlessly. He uses religion to rationalize his feelings of wanting to help people, but there’s an ingredient he possesses, beyond a personal desire to please God, but a compulsion that makes it impossible for him to stop being a genuine “people rescue” person.”

“How many homeless people’s stories have you listened to personally over the years? Like what’s the scope of faces – the number of people you’ve looked in the eyes?  Literally hundreds. I have tons of their names and telephone numbers. Sue Keith meets with 50 of them a week, and I probably have 20 in my phone that I am communicating with on a regular basis, including at FUMC for our Saturday program, and a lot of them come to our Sunday services. Constant communication, giving them empathy, care and love, and showing them that you are always there for them are very important.”

What are some local charities that you’ve vetted in terms of knowing they do good – who would you recommend for those who are able to contribute financially?  Obviously I am a big fan of HOME and PROPEL, but we support many others as well.

• “Love cannot remain by itself – it has no meaning. Love has to be put into action, and that action is service.”
• “The most terrible poverty is loneliness, and the feeling of being unloved.”

If you would like to see other organizations that Investments Limited supports please see the here.