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Newsletter, Vol. 1, No. 1 November 2009
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Welcome to the first Mary's Shelter Newsletter!
This
monthly newsletter will provide news, personal profiles, and general
information about Mary's Shelter. We welcome your comments. Mary's
Shelter is a non-profit shelter in Fredericksburg, VA for women facing
a crisis pregnancy. Please visit www.Marysshelterva.org for more
information.
A Note from Our Director
Thanks
to all who have helped over the years. Mary's Shelter has been able to
grow and assist more women and children in need because of
your continued prayers and support. From all at Mary's Shelter, thank
you and God Bless.
Kathleen Wilson, Director
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Residences
We have a full house, (actually three full houses), at Mary's Shelter
with no room at the inn. We currently house 8 mothers and 7 children.
As is almost always the case, there is a waiting list for our shelters, so our homes are constantly at capacity.
Since July, three new babies have been born to Mary's Shelter
mothers: all beautiful boys!Moms and babies are all happy, healthy and
adjusting beautifully. In the last month, three residents have left Mary's Shelter
to begin their new lives, and three new expectant mothers have come to
fill their places. We welcome these mothers and pray that they will
commit to adopting the healthiest lifestyles possible for themselves
and their babies.
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Recent and Current Events
Cooking
classes
We have
two dedicated volunteers, Lori and Laura, who have started hosting cooking
classes. They are hoping to meet regularly with the moms. For each session,
they choose a recipe from "The Frugal Foodie" that incorporates food the
ladies are likely to have on hand. For the first class, Lori and Laura
discussed food safety and demonstrated how to butcher a whole chicken. The
ladies then sliced, diced, chopped, and sautéed the ingredients for chicken
quesadillas. The results were delicious!
Book
club
The Mary's Shelter monthly book group
is hosted by our friend Regina, an English teacher at St. Michael's High
School. This program has been a very pleasant
surprise. With Regina's guidance, our moms are expanding their minds and cultural
horizons. The book for the month of October was "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar
Allen Poe.
Volunteering
Students
for Life at The University of Mary Washington have committed to helping
Mary's Shelter with a variety of volunteer opportunities including painting and
babysitting. They have already started painting the bedrooms and bathrooms
at one of our shelters and should be finished in a few weeks.
A big THANK YOU! to Lori Fowlkes of Lori Elizabeth Photography for
taking so many beautiful pictures of our babies and working so hard
on our website. The babies were on their best behavior that day so the
pictures turned our perfectly. Be sure to look at the photo gallery on
our website to see the amazing work Lori did.
Fundraising
A Craft Bazaar fundraiser was held at
St. Matthew's Catholic Church on October 24th. The coordinator of this event, Adele Anderson, was absolutely
delighted with the results, which raised more than $3,000 dollars for Mary's
Shelter. Thanks to all who participated!
News
In July, we had a fire in one of
our homes (a few minutes before the book group was supposed to meet!). Fortunately,
the fire department answered the call quickly and no one was hurt. The fire
caused serious damage to the kitchen. Special thanks to the many
volunteers, including a great group of teens, who helped with repairs,
cleanup, and painting.
Upcoming Events
Please join us on Saturday, December 19th
for our 2nd annual Christmas Soirée. Come enjoy an evening of
musical entertainment, dinner, free babysitting, silent auction and Christmas
cheer! Please contact Eve Muggeridge for details: evedisrael@yahoo.com
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Who is My Neighbor?
Resident Profiles (Names changed)
VERONICA:
Veronica is one of our first residents to choose adoption for her baby.
Veronica loves her child so much and has joy with every move he makes.
She jokes about his personality and has nicknames for him. She loves
her baby but does not believe that she would be able to give her son
the life she wishes for him. Veronica is very young, very wise and very
unselfish in her love for her baby. Veronica was kicked out of her
parents' house and this pregnancy has been difficult psychologically.
She has faced many difficulties such as alienation from her family and
periodic bouts of depression. In spite of these obstacles, she remains
determined to do what she believes is best for her child. Please keep
Veronica, this special baby boy and the adoptive family in your prayers
as they all go through the miracle of life and love together.
MARIA: Maria
has started a positive new phase in her life which, until recently, has
been marked by trials and many pitfalls. Now, Maria has a full-time job
in Fredericksburg and childcare for her baby and his big
sister. Juggling a job, homework, and taking care of the house is a
new, exhausting chapter in Maria's life but she is handling it with
grace and gratitude. She is up early every morning, gets one child out
to school and her baby to the sitter, then heads to work. We are very
proud of the changes Maria has made in her life. She has spent much of
her adult life in one type of shelter or another, so the progress she
has made at Mary's Shelter is
truly remarkable. Maria has a few months left in our program and is
beginning to plan for the future. She is hoping to save as much money
as possible and have a comfortable nest egg when she leaves Mary's Shelter.
GIANNA: Gianna is very much the darling of Mary's Shelter
with her sweet personality and kind-hearted ways. She really is an
easy-going addition to our program. She has rediscovered her faith
since arriving at Mary's Shelter,
attending Mass regularly, going to confession, and being more open to
God's plan for her life. Gianna is currently discerning whether she
will keep the baby she is carrying or choose adoption. While she would
make a loving, caring mother, she is concerned about having the
necessary means of support to raise her baby alone. Gianna has not
confided in her family about this pregnancy, but plans to let them know
about her child over Thanksgiving. We hope that with her new-found
faith and her family's love and support, Gianna will have the maturity
and confidence to make the right decision.
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How can you help?
Prayer Support
Behind every resident is an always complicated, often sad
personal history. Please keep these mothers in your prayers. Please also pray for the fathers of
our residents' children that they might have a change of heart and become the
role model and parent these children deserve.
"Pray for us also, that God may open to us a door for the word" Col 4:2
Volunteer
Mary's
Shelter is a community endeavor and we are always grateful for the many
offers of both time and resources that we receive.
To find out more about how you can help click here
Special Christmas Project
Help us deck the halls! We are looking for volunteers who would like to help decorate our homes for Christmas. This is perfect for a youth group, confirmation team, or group of families to do together. Please call Kathleen at 540 623 5778, or e-mail Eve at info@marysshelterva.org for more information. Hot chocolate and cookies provided!
Volunteer Profile
Volunteer: Lori Fitzpatrick
Lori is a mentor, driver, cooking
class instructor, and a tremendous supporter of our shelters. Here's what she
has to say:
"Volunteering at Mary's Shelter has been a gift. As a mentor, it is
the greatest reward to witness the babies grow physically from head-bobbing
newborns to independent little personalities; to witness the Mothers grow
emotionally and become self-supporting protectors of their child; to be a
silent spectator of the increasing bond between mother and child. During a
cooking class, it has been a gift to witness the camaraderie of all of the soon-to-be
and new mothers grow in companionship and harmony. But most of all, it has been
a gift to witness all of us always growing spiritually and closer to our God
and to His word."
Make a Donation!
Donations of any amount are greatly appreciated!
If you would like to make a donation, please click here
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There is no shortage of women in need and Mary's Shelter will continue to grow as the Lord provides additional means. We are working hard at Mary's Shelter to build a strong base of supporters and volunteers. We have two main goals:
1)
To create an up-to-date mailing list of current and potential financial supporters
2) To enhance our program with dedicated volunteers and interesting and relevant activities
Please help us by spreading the word about
Mary's Shelter and by considering a volunteer commitment. Please visit our revamped website to get to know us better. You can find us at www.marysshelterva.org
Sincerely,
The Directors and Staff at Mary's Shelter
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