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| Event Schedule |
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Luna Blu Dinner
March 28th
4:00 PM
Please join Light House residents, staff and board members for a Celebration Dinner at Luna Blu. Luna Blu has very kindly offered to provide dinner to 25 of our residents free of charge at their restaurant. Staff from Luna Blu will be volunteering their time to serve our residents and ensure that they have a wonderful experience. It is our goal to fill the restaurant with supporters of the Light House and enjoy dinner with those that we serve. Space is limited so please make your reservations early by calling Luna Blu by March 26th.
(410)267-9950.
MAY 5 Mark Your Calendars!
Whole Foods to
Donate 5%
Shop Whole Foods in Annapolis this Cinco de Mayo and help the homeless of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County! Head to Whole Foods in Annapolis Towne Centre anytime on Wednesday, May 5th (Cinco de Mayo) and Whole Foods will donate 5% of that day's net sales to the Light House shelter. If you don't have a big order, consider buying a gift card for future purchases to help make this fundraiser a huge success. Please help us to spread the word by forwarding this to your friends and family!
Kid Walk
May 8th
Time: 8:00 AM
Navel Academy Stadium in Annapolis.
For more details and to register!
"Light the Night" Dinner
May 13th
Time: 6:30 PM
It's bound to be a great night--terrific friends, food and wine--and 60% of the night's proceeds go directly to the new Light House Homeless Prevention and Support Center. Buy your tickets today at www.friendslhs.org |
| Become A Light
House Keeper |
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It costs roughly $70K a month to operate our current shelter. Our Light House Keepers truly keep the doors open and the lights on by giving regularly throughout the year. Sign up today and choose convenient monthly, quarterly or semi-annual, or annual contributions to be billed to your credit card. Click Here! |
| Sponsor A Bed Program |
Sponsor A Bed
The Sponsor a Bed program allows donors to sponsor one of the 65 single beds in the new Homeless Prevention Support Center. Your name or the name of a loved one will be permanently engraved on a plaque adorning one of the shelter beds. Quantity Remaining: 65
Click Here for more details!
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| Buy A Brick Program |
Buy a Brick
The Buy a Brick program enables you to engrave your name or the name of a loved one in a brick that will be used to pave the front walkway to the new Homeless Prevention Support Center. Quantity Remaining: 982
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JOIN OUR LIST
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March 2010 |
Dear Friends of the Light House Shelter:
Welcome to our first edition of Light House's electronic newsletter. In our continuing effort to keep overhead costs low while keeping our friends and supporters informed of our latest news and events, we have created this e-newsletter with the help of a generous volunteer. We aim to send this out bimonthly initially, but hope to distribute news more often as we head toward fall and the Grand Opening of our new Light House Homeless Prevention & Support Center.
The new shelter, located on Hudson St. in Annapolis, will greatly increase our capacity to serve the needs of homeless individuals and families in our community. During this extraordinarily snowy and cold winter, the Light House shelter was filled beyond capacity nearly every night. We added bunk beds and cots to shelter more people, but it wasn't nearly enough. With limited space, we continue to turn away more than triple the number of people we serve.
The new shelter will have 45 beds, five family apartments, and a day center for chronically homeless individuals. The bigger space will allow us to serve 1,500 homeless men, women and children each year and provide more ways for the community to help strengthen our at-risk neighbors.
As excited as we are by the promise of the new Center, we need help now. The harsh winter has taxed our financial resources and capacity to serve those in need. Please consider making a donation today to help us continue the important work of providing emergency shelter, food and education. Join the caring community who makes this work possible.
Elizabeth Kinney
Board President,
Annapolis Area Ministries Inc.
(the Light House)
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 We celebrated a major milestone this month in the construction of our new Homeless Prevention Support Center on Hudson St. in Annapolis. The final piece of exterior -our Beacon of Hope- was added to the building on March 11th. Major supporters of our Campaign for Shelter were on hand to sign their names to the top of the Beacon of Hope before it was lifted by crane to its permanent home atop our roof.
Construction Update
Construction of the new shelter began on November 16th. Despite some rain and snow delays Hamel Construction was able to pour the concrete for the building slab during the week of January 18th, and the construction of the exterior walls has occurred quickly since then.
Installation of the electrical wiring and plumbing for the building has commenced and will continue during the coming month. Late in March, the driller will be on site to construct the wells for the geothermal heating and cooling system. The exterior siding on the building will be installed after the well drilling is complete.
We look forward to a mid-September completion date! |
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On May 13th the Light House, in conjunction with generous support from The Chop House restaurant, will host its first "Light the Night" dinner to support Light House's Campaign for Shelter. Proceeds benefit the construction of our new facility. The night starts at 6:30 p.m. with a cocktail reception followed by dinner and wine at 7:30 p.m. Guests will also be treated to a Fashion Show featuring the latest clothing from Anthropologie and Brooks Brothers. The event will be held at The Chop House restaurant and tickets are $200 per person ($120 tax deductible). Seating is limited and this event is likely to sell out, so purchase your tickets early. To learn more or purchase tickets go to www.friendslhs.org under Events/Light the Night |
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The Light House welcomes Michele Marshall, Volunteer Services Coordinator, to the team! Michele joined the organization in February and brings valuable experience from the Volunteer Center of Anne Arundel County.
Please feel free to contact Michele: 410-349-5056 x14 marshall@annapolislighthouse.org regarding the Light House dinner program, preparing bag lunches, breakfasts, and for a list of current volunteer opportunities and shelter needs. (Holly Mallonee, former Volunteer Coordinator, has transitioned to the role of Light House Director of Operations.) |
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Valerie and three of her children arrived at the Light House in July, 2007, and were fortunate to find emergency housing in one of the family apartments. At that time Valerie was without a job and a place for her family. While staying at the Light House, Valerie found full-time employment. Valerie's children also settled into a school routine.
In August, 2008, the family moved into the Light House Anchor House program - a two year program which provides transitional housing and the continued assistance of Light House counselors and support services. Valerie reflects: "The Light House has made me a better person and has improved the relationship with my family. I was able to get a job, start a 401K and open a bank account." As Valerie and her children near the end of their second year in the Anchor House, Valerie is actively searching for her own apartment and is in the process of buying a car. As Valerie joyfully said, "With the help of the Light House staff I can now walk with my head high."
"I am very happy how my mother did everything she could to become a better mom," Valerie's daughter Raishell said, "although she was already the best mom. I am very proud of her."
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Marguerite started volunteering at the Light House shelter after moving to the Annapolis area from New York. She was referred to the Light House shelter, by one of our amazing volunteers David Knight.
As a massage therapist, who owned her own practice in New York, she has a flexible schedule and always makes time to distribute hot and bagged lunches at the shelters lunch window. Marguerite has amazing energy and a passion for those that we serve and says that, "the nicest people in Annapolis hang out at the Light House". |
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Did You Know...?
At the end of last year, there were 908 homeless children enrolled in Anne Arundel County Public Schools-the majority of those were in elementary schools. That's up 36% from the prior year, likely due, in part, to the economy.
When a child grows up homeless, he or she has an 80% chance of becoming homeless again as an adult. The best way we can help these children is to help their parents break the cycle of homelessness.
Yet that is no easy task. In an economy where even skilled workers struggle to find good paying jobs, many of our clients struggle to find jobs that will pay enough to stay independent. Many do not have high school diplomas. Others combat mental illness, addiction, and domestic violence. Light House programs help these parents find work, improve their job skills, and become independent-work that is vitally important to reducing the number of homeless children in our schools.
Help us to rebuild lives and restore families. Please donate today! |
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Friends of the Light House Shelter was formed in 2002. Acting as a support unit, the Friends helps sustain the operating costs of the Light House shelter through annual fundraising events. For more information on the Friends of the Light House Shelter, their events, or volunteer opportunities, please contact Melanie Quinn at 410-268-4251 or events@annapolislighthouse.org. Friends of the Light House Shelter is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 corporation. |
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