Fundraising Campaign for Serenity Star Recovery

Help Serenity Star continue paving the way in sustainable recovery! We are a 501c3 non profit whose primary funding comes from our two, donation only restaurants, Comfort Cafe. We operate a Comfort Cafe in Smithville and in San Antonio. We also obtained a property in San Antonio with the vision of a second recovery center that we have had to pause on. Covid has severely limited our ability to fundraise through our two restaurants which is what keeps Serenity Star accessible to those in need. During these times, our cafes have been closed, limited to curbside/takeout, and only open at a very limited capacity to do our part to keep our communities safe. We have hit a point though where we need help if we are going to continue. So many people are in jeopardy right now from addiction during quarantine and programs like Serenity need to be there to save lives!

My name is Austin Payne and I have been in the Serenity Star family for almost 2 years. I came to Serenity in 2018 when I was 25 years old and had been struggling with drug addiction for 12 years. Throughout that period of time I went to 13 recovery centers and never stayed in recovery for longer than 3 months. My addiction started off with prescription medication due to sports injuries and later progressed into heroin, meth, and crack. For many years I believed that the drugs were the problem and denied there was anything deeper I needed to heal through. I wandered in the shadows ashamed of myself for so long. Serenity showed me how to step in the light and shine, to forgive myself, to feel feelings, to allow myself to make mistakes and learn from them, to have integrity, to freely give and be of service to the community, to have compassion for myself and others, to put myself in the equation, to truly work on loving and caring for myself and constantly improve at it. That is Serenity’s purpose. They’ve shown the way and empowered so many people including myself. And I want that opportunity to be there for everyone who seeks it. Thank you in advance for your contribution to this cause that means so much to me and is where i found my recovery and my tribe.

I am raising money to benefit Serenity Star Recovery, and any donation will help make an impact. SerenityStar offers six-month to one-year men's, women's and family transformational programs (inpatient/residential) including Personalized Programs, Family Support, 12 Step Sober Support, 1:1 Peer Counseling, Yoga and Meditation, Service and Purpose, Alternative Healing, Child Within, & Community Living. We are a peer-to-peer program of recovery. SerenityStar grew out of the need for sustainable recovery. Many of us in this program have spent a lifetime getting clean and then losing it. We began to look at what did not work for us and then filled the holes in our program giving birth to SerenityStar Recovery. We are a group of recovering addicts and alcoholics who are working a 12-step program alongside alternative healing methods and have been called into purpose. As a result, we are open to offering our experience, strength and hope to the next addict in want. This is a spiritual program. Our six-month to one-year program is donation based and is not so much chemical dependency treatment as it is a community of addicts devoted to finding our personal path and discovering our purpose in recovery. In such a community we are able to practice on a daily basis the skills and develop the relationships we need for sustainable recovery. We are committed to healing mind, body and spirit - the authentic person. We are different because we put your recovery back into your hands. We are not responsible for your growth or healing - you are - but we will show you what has worked for us and give suggestions on how to live differently. Our staff is comprised entirely of the SerenityStar founders and former clients. All of whom continue to work their programs and make their homes here. Check out our website SerenityStar.org, and our Facebook pages, SerenityStar, Comfort Cafe, Comfort Cafe San Antonio.