News from Safe Harbor of Greater West Chester

Thanks to those who could make it on the morning of June 6 to move the shelter to our temporary location. I've posted pictures from the big move...I placed them on my web site so it will be easier to view.

www.danwilliamsphotography.com

People, Places and Things

Safe Harbor Move-In Day

Turn on your speakers

What a great turnout of residents, staff, volunteers and board members. The press was there and the job got done. Also, my hat's off to Glenn for a great job organizing and executing this. Well done...

Warmest wishes,

Dan

Thank you!! by Glenn L. Fricke, Executive Director

We are now at our temporary location in the Borough of West Chester located at 200 East Gay St, which was provided by Stan and Scott Zukin of Zukin Realty. Our move went so well we were in our new home within 2 hours. On June 6, 2009 the beds, desks, boxes and just many other items were moved. Thank you to the staff, volunteers, and most of all our men and women that assisted in this "adventure" into our temporary home.

Our campaign "Raise the Roof for Our Homeless Single Women" is going full force. We still need another $500,000 for the completion of the expansion of the second floor to support the program that will open late September or early October. We have received tremendous support from the county, state, many individuals, businesses and especially our Faith Communities. Our special friends at Grove United Methodist Church provided a $25,000 grant for many items for the women's dorm, as well as our friends at Westminster Presbyterian Church, who provided a $20,000 grant for the elevator that will be needed to access the second floor per the ADA regulations.

Thank you to all our friends, grantors and foundations that continue to support the needs of our homeless single men and women here in Chester County. Remember to talk to your neighbors...every dollar is a great gift that supports the Safe Harbor men and women that live here. Have a wonderful summer.

Warm Regards,
Glenn

Mark your Calendar!!

As we plan for our future volunteer needs, we have scheduled two volunteer training sessions this summer.

If you've never attended a training or would like a refresher, please join us! All the volunteers from the Single Homeless Women's Task Force which sponsored the homeless women over the last two years have been invited and I would encourage our "seasoned" volunteers to attend and welcome these new volunteers!

When: July 25 OR August 29

Where: Safe Harbor, 200 E. Gay St. (please park on Market or Gay, not in Miller's Parking lot)

Time: 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

RSVP: SafeHarborShelter@comcast.net

We will begin promptly at 10:00 a.m.

A new Volunteer Handbook will be distributed at this training!

Sponsors needed

Have you been thinking about how you can help Safe Harbor during this renovation time or beyond? Please consider the ideas below and call us if you can help us out!

1. Bottled water - since our new location doesn't have a water faucet, we are purchasing water in five gallon containers for our residents. Please consider sponsoring our monthly fee of $80

2. BINGO prizes - our activities calendar is still operating, but we are in need of small prizes for our residents. $5 gift cards to local stores are always popular!

3. Underwear - T-shirts, underwear (sizes Med., Large, X-large, 2XL) as well as socks are needed for our male residents.

Just an idea...do you receive those $10 coupons in the mail from JCPenney or other local retailers? Many times, the coupon states "$10 off a $10 purchase". If you don't need to use this for yourself, consider stopping by the store to pick up one of our needed items. $10 will buy that package of socks or underwear or can cover most of the cost of a wallet or other small item we can use for BINGO! Sometimes, you would only need to kick in $2 for an item that we need and you will get the satisfaction of making a big difference at our shelter.

So, look out for those coupons and let the shopping begin!

Recent Fundraisers

Safe Harbor is so grateful to Calvary Lutheran Church who held a 5K run to honor East Goshen resident Nita Greet, who died in a house fire on February 12, 2008. We received an amazing donation of $13,435! Please read the Daily Local News article 5K run sponsored by Calvary Lutheran Church for further details.

The first annual Dub C 4 miler ran ravers through the beautiful downtown borough of West Chester on June 12. Safe Harbor received $1,000 in proceeds from the race! Bob Baumann took pictures of the event and proceeds from the sale of the photos (people participating in the race and crossing the finish line) will be donated to Safe Harbor. Check out Bob's website at Bob Baumann photos and click on events for photos of the day.

Many Thanks!

Thank you Maureen Thompson and Stephanie Claypoole who represented Safe Harbor during a community fair at Bayard Rustin High School on May 30th!

Thank you to Louis Fortunato and his colleagues from CIT Vendor Finance of West Chester who helped with our "pre-move" to our new location. Louis and his team arrived June 1 to help move many boxes, file cabinets and shelves which took a lot of pressure off of us on our real move date!

Congratulations on a job well done!

Alicia Anderson was recently promoted to Supervisor at Safe Harbor. Alicia will be on-call on a daily basis for support to staff and residents.

Alicia will also coordinate the training of new volunteers and staff and will fill in for the Executive Director in his absence.

Take me out to the ballgame or maybe bowling?

If you and/or some friends would like to make a difference in the lives of our residents and give them something to remember, may we suggest sponsoring a trip to see a baseball game or an afternoon out bowling! The Reading Phillies are an inexpensive alternative to Philadelphia and bowling is nearby, so it wouldn't be far to travel! You choose the day and we'll let our residents know they have a treat in store for them.

Please call Patty at 610-692-6550 to discuss this activity in detail.

Thank you for your consideration!

In Memoriam

Ruth E. McGuire, 64, of Exton, passed away at her home on Friday, May 22, 2009.

Ruth was an active and involved member of Ss. Philip and James in Exton and was a coordinator of the recently established Emergency Women's Homeless Shelter. Her contributions will continue to be an inspiration to all involved in the "Raise the Roof" for homeless women project.

Wish List	We are seeking sponsors of the following items for the shelter once the renovations are completed. Five - Six round tables and 20-24 chairs Loveseats and chairs for the women's Serenity Room Supply cabinet ($300) Two Key cabinets ($60 each) Window treatments ($5,000) Lockers ($3,800) One or two office desks Lateral file cabinet ($850) Commercial locked mailbox ($377)
Can you help us out? Do you or a friend/family member have the ability to sponsor one of these items? Call Patty at 610-692-6550 if you can make this happen!