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Program Achievements
- We have a full house of residents making significant progress in their healing and recovery. The need for our program remains great. Since the start of the new year we have received 62 referrals, with 45 of these referrals meeting our admission criteria.
- We received a $29,500 grant from the Emergency Food and Shelter Program. These funds will be used for resident food assistance and housing/utility costs for our residential program.
- Another resident received her driver’s license. All 8 of our residents now have a driver’s license AND all their identification documents.
- Two residents are working on their Phase Three portfolios. Residents are considered “Graduation Candidates” after completing this portfolio.
- Two of our residents received promotions at work with RAISES!
- All 8 of our residents remain in the workforce and have developed a budget and opened a savings account where they make monthly deposits!
The Smokehouse Players are back with another benefit performance for MSH!
A.R. Gurney’s Pulitzer-nominated play, “Love Letters,” is a tender tragi-comedy that traces the 50-year love affair between two unlikely soulmates who are forever bound to each other through the letters they share from youth to maturity. Directed by Warren Rosenaur, this heartfelt look at love, life, and friendship is both heartwarming and heartbreaking in equal measure. Featuring Tim Gilster and Terry Vaughan.
Tickets are FREE (donations accepted at door). All donations received at the Thursday, April 7 performance to benefit Magdalene Serenity House.
NO RESERVED SEATING/SMALL VENUE. First come, first served. Doors open at 6:30, performance at 7:30. Beer, wine, lemonade, and cookies available for sale prior to the show.
We have SIX matching donors. A most heartfelt thank you to Carolyn and Nick Cole, Donna and Jim Meinecke, Kathy and Lowell Grisham, Dick and Margaret Rutherford, Bob and Linda McMath, and Christine Lubeck Klinger! If you would like to become a matching donor for this or future benefit performances, please contact joy@lovehealsnwa.org.
We hope to see you there!
DOUBLE YOUR GIFT on NWA GIVES DAY – April 7, 2022
For NWA Gives Day, coming up on April 7th, our goal is to raise funds for the appliances package for the Aftercare House. A second house was purchased in late 2020 to expand our services by offering safe, affordable housing to graduates of our two-year residential program. The Aftercare House is in need of several renovations to increase the capacity for 4 graduates to pay low-cost rent for up to one year while continuing to build savings, repair credit, and establish a positive rental history.
Thanks to Lowell and Kathy Grisham, David and Jane Gearhart, Kristine and Trent Palmer, Joel and Lynn Carver, and an Anonymous Donor YOUR donations will be Matched on NWA Gives Day! Don’t miss the opportunity to DOUBLE YOUR GIFT and EMPOWER GRADUATES to achieve full independence as the work toward fully reintegrating into the community.
Make your secure, tax-deductible contribution at www.lovehealsnwa.org. Proceeds from NWA Gives Day will be directed toward purchasing appliances for the Aftercare House, including a dishwasher, kitchen range, and washer and dryer.
Volunteer Spotlight
Joan Beyette
After spending thirty-four years in the classroom, I’ve enjoyed the freedom of retirement the past twelve years. Solo road trips have been one of my great passions for forty years, and recently I’ve been able to indulge that passion, with one of my goals being to enjoy as many of America’s beautiful spaces as possible. While I am slowing down a bit, I’m in the planning stages of my last big road trip, the Great Northern, following the route of the Great Northern Railroad across America, scheduled for next year.
Another important part of my retirement the past three years has been Magdalene Serenity House. I first volunteered as a driver, taking the women to the grocery store, doctors’ appointments, etc. Every Tuesday morning my little car filled with good talk and laughter, and I came to know the women and their stories. When they learned of my love of quilting, a couple of women became interested, and we started meeting for lessons in the dining room. Gradually, other women asked to join, and the quilting program was born. We now meet every Monday and Tuesday in the Magdalene dining room filled with tools, fabric, and sewing machines, and I’m so very grateful for the patience of our beloved staff as they work around our “stuff.”
When I’m asked about the best part of volunteering at Magdalene, I don’t need to think about the answer. It’s the women, of course, women who show determination, courage, and compassion every single day as they work to overcome hardships I’ve never had to endure. And they do it with grace and love. I spend a little time each week teaching them how to make quilts. They teach me how to be a better person.
Interested in volunteering? Email liz@lovehealsnwa.org
Intern Spotlight
This month we are featuring one of our incredible interns Val. Val leads a weekly group and assists our Executive Director with grant writing and marketing!
Hello, my name is Val, which is short for Vallibidi. I am a Religion and Literature specialist at University of Arkansas in the grad program for English. Most of my time is spent studying and reading, but when I’m not doing that I enjoy exercising, talking with my friends, binging shows, and playing games. I moved here from a Washington after I got accepted into the program.
I felt that interning at Magdalene Serenity House was the best choice for me because the work was similar to what I was already doing when I was in the Navy. This was the best choice for sharing and learning with others, and I felt it would give me the privilege to make a positive impact in the lives of others. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the experience so far and am really thankful that I was accepted for internship.
Other Ways YOU Can Support the Women at Magdalene Serenity House
1. Visit www.lovehealsnwa.org to make your one-time contribution or set up your monthly recurring contributions.
2. Attend the Smokehouse Players performance of Love Letters, written by A.R. Gurney, at Ozark Mountain Smokehouse on April 7-9. Proceeds from tickets and concessions on April 7th will benefit Magdalene Serenity House.
2. Start your shopping from the Amazon Smile and designate a percentage of your dollars spent to MSH.
3. Purchase items from our Amazon Wish List that our residents and graduates currently need and have them shipped directly to us.
4. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
5. Help us spread the word about how we are Healing a Community! Host us to be a presenter at your company or community group.
Special Thanks
- Soulmart LLC for contributing environmentally friendly laundry and dishwashing pods for our residents.
- Frank Sharp and The Smokehouse Players for selecting MSH as the beneficiary of all the proceeds from tickets and concessions for the opening night of their 2022 production of Love Letters on April 7th.
- The women for Alpha Chi Omega at the University of Arkansas for distributing flyers across Fayetteville to help get the word out about the Love Letters Benefit Performance by Smokehouse Players.
- Kyle Kellams and KUAF 91.3 Public Radio for hosting us to promote Love Letters.
- The Baum Charitable Foundation for awarding a grant to provide new resident needs.
- Tom Sissom and the AR Democrat Gazette for coming to learn more about our program.
- Washington County JP Lisa Ecke for taking time to tour MSH and learn more about our mission!