All treats, no tricks

Around the nation, the young and the young at heart will celebrate Halloween with their costumes and tradition of scouting the neighborhood for treats. On the East End of Charleston, the ladies of YWCA's Shanklin Center celebrated the occasion with a party and their favorite pasttime, Bingo.

It may seem like a small thing. But to these older women who have suffered great tragedies and abuse -- often at the hands of loved ones -- it's a big deal. It's a real treat to celebrate a holiday with friends and know you're safe from the frightening experiences that once plagued your life.

These wonderful women enjoy holiday celebrations and daily visits with friends in the small community -- the YWCA Shanklin Center. Here, they live out their lives with peace and in dignity with the freedom to enjoy friendships and holidays. So for all the Shanklin women and any women who has known real fear in life -- not from haunted houses or imaginary ghosts -- we at the YWCA salute you and wish you a Happy Halloween.

Creative Cone Awards

Atop a picturesque West Virginia mountain, creative minds gathered last week to discuss how to move West Virignia in new directions. These West Virginians are interested in ways to create a state that thrives on "innovation, artistic vision, connectivity, diversity, entrepreneurship, technology and growth. In short – a West Virginia for the New Economy. "

At the conclusion of the three-day Create West Virginia conference at Snowshoe, the organization honored people from around the state who have embraced this mission and taken tangible steps to fulfill it in their communities.

In our community, Revs. Matthew Watts and Ron English won Creative Cone Awards for their work on diversity in the Charleston community. Unfortunately, the Charleston community has suffered some tragic domestic violence incidents and hate crimes in the last year. These two men have taken a stance against all acts of violence in our community. They are standing for tolerance, acceptance and love, for embracing diversity and sharing in our commonalities rather than focusing on our differences.

Rev. Watts spoke at the Silent No More domestic violence vigil earlier this month at the YWCA. His comments were inspiring that night. Domestic violence isn't just a violent act against women. It affects our entire community, Rev. Watts said. He believes it's the men's role in our community to protect the young women. To do so means to not accept any acts of violence. We applaud Rev. Watts for taking a strong stand against all violence in our community and congratulate him for his recognition at Create West Virginia.

Take a flower to childcare

Tomorrow (Tuesday, Oct. 21) KIDS COUNT will honor West Virginia’s 2,400 professional childcare providers by sponsoring a statewide "Take a Flower to Childcare Day." The YWCA of Charleston encourages parents, young children and community leaders to show their appreciation for childcare providers by presenting them with a single flower of any kind. Roses. Daisies. Carnations. llilies. Real flowers. Silk flowers. Homemade paper flowers. Anything goes!

The goal of this celebration of our area childcare professionals is to raise awareness about the important role childcare providers play in the healthy development of young children, the stability of working families and the future of the state's economy. According to Saturday's Gazette article, researchers at Marshall University found that for every dollar West Virginia spends toward a high-quality early childhood development system, the state can expect a $5.20 return through higher academic achievement and future earning power and fewer juvenile delinquents and high school dropouts.

Take a Flower to Childcare Day is part of KIDS COUNT’s Kids First Communities Campaign, a statewide effort to build broad public support for new state dollars to improve childcare. In the Kanawah Valley, the YWCA Child Enrichment Center serves as the regional leader of the Kids First Communities campaign.

It is so important to recognize the critical role childcare providers are playing and support their efforts to provide the highest quality of care possible. If you don't have a childcare provider but simply wish to show your support, we would welcome your flower at the YWCA Child Enrichment Center at 201 Donnally Street in downtown Charleston. Join us in recognizing the importance of early childhood development and showing childcare providers how much we appreciate them!

An hour in their shoes

Yesterday morning, the Appalachian Power Park baseball field was transformed into a field of remembrance for domestic violence victims. Inmates at the Charleston Work Release Center came up with a creative idea for raising awareness about National Domestic Violence Awareness Month: placing a pair of shoes for each domestic violence victim assisted by the YWCA Resolve Family Abuse Program in Kanawha County last year.

The result was a powerful visual image of 912 pairs of shoes neatly lined up in rows across the baseball field. This awareness event, entitled "An Hour in their Shoes," attempted to put into perspective the prevalence of domestic violence in Kanawha County alone. Inmates from the center also reserved a special place for five particular pairs of shoes, representing the five domestic violence-related deaths that occurred in our county last year.

We at the YWCA, along with the Charleston Work Release Center, wish to thank the Appalachian Power Park for use of their field, as well as area thrift stores - including YWCA Past & Present and Goodwill - that generously donated all 912 pairs of shoes. More importantly, we thank Pam Baldwin and the inmates at the center for their initiative to raise awareness on this critical problem in our community.

Highlights of another year passed

At tonight's Annual Meeting, we will celebrate the YWCA of Charleston's accomplishments over the past year, welcome new Board members, say good-bye to Board members whose terms have expired, and hear heartwarming reports from program directors about the thousands of lives impacted by our programs in the past year. We will also be revealing our 2007-2008 Annual Report, which we consider a snapshot of our organization from July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008.

Below are several program highlights from the 07-08 fiscal year published in the Annual Report.

YWCA Sojourner's Shelter:

• Served 1,080 individuals (unduplicated) at an average of 62 people nightly.
• Provided 5,530 case management/counseling hours free of charge.
• Provided 81,305 nutritious meals.
• 92% of residents found and maintained housing beyond six months.
• 86% of program participants gained meaningful employment, and 98% maintained that employment.
• 87% of program participants moved to a higher educational level.

YWCA Resolve Family Abuse Program:

• Served 4,596 individuals (unduplicated).
• Provided 3,131 shelter nights and 12,524 meals to 138 women and their children.
• Provided over 1,130 hours of free counseling to 173 victims and their children.
• Provided over 100 domestic violence educational presentations to more than 3,000 students, teachers, community organizations and service providers.

YWCA Child Enrichment Center:

• Served 284 children - 77% of which were from financially challenged families.
• Served 48,417 nutritious meals.

YWCA Alicia McCormick Homes:

• 100% of individuals were employed or had supplemental income, and 100% of school-aged children were enrolled in school.
• 75% of individuals remained in permanent housing for over one year after leaving the program.
• 100% of residents with addictions are succeeding in their recovery and attend NA/AA meetings on a regular basis.

Because these highlights represent only a fraction of the wonderful successes our programs had over the last year, we invite you to read the Annual Report to see the rest for yourself!

Sharing survivor stories

Krista Fink is a domestic violence survivor, author, mother, devoted wife and YWCA Board Member. In the last year, Krista has bravely shared her story of survival and recovery from domestic violence with thousands of women through news articles, public appearances (like Girls Night Out) and her book, "Silent No More."

Now Krista is offering an opportunity for other survivors to share their stories. To have a voice. To speak out and be Silent No More. In honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Krista lauched a blog for domestic violence survivors -- Silent No More. It's an opportunity for victims to share their stories -- even anonymously -- and allow their voices to be heard.

Since joining the YWCA's Board of Directors, Krista has been a staunch advocate for empowering women. She now runs a victims support group and became a member of the Public Advisory Awareness committee for the WV Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Her resilience and dedication have inspired other domestic violence victims and given them hope. Hope for a different future. That's why Krista was presented with the Hope Award by YWCA Resolve Family Abuse Program during the vigil last week.

For all that you do to help domestic violence victims, thank you, Krista.

empowerment: Past & Present

While you may know that the YWCA of Charleston operates a gently used clothing store on Charleston's East End, did you also know that we provide clothing to our program participants free of charge? At YWCA Past & Present, located at the corner of Elizabeth Street and Lee Street East, we empower individuals in need by providing them with quality clothing as they make their way toward self-sufficiency. Through our clothing voucher program, both adults and children at YWCA Sojourner's, Resolve, Shanklin, and Alicia McCormick can obtain vouchers for free gently used clothing, shoes & accessories.

In recent months, we have more than doubled the number of people we serve through this program. In August and September of 2007, 43 adult and 6 child vouchers were redeemed for a total of $1,404 in merchandise. In August and September of 2008, however, 98 adult and 34 child vouchers were redeemed - a total of $3,617!

YWCA program participants aren't the only ones to benefit from fabulous finds at YWCA Past & Present. Our store is open to the public from 7 am - 6 pm Monday through Friday and 10 am - 5 pm on Saturday. As everyone's budgets seem to be a little tighter this year, shoppers come to us for affordable back-to-school clothes, winter gear, one-of-a-kind jewelry, and much more.

In fact, a recent CNN article notes that people are increasingly looking for more ways to be savvy shoppers. The article states that in these troubled times, the powerful lure of a secondhand retail bargain is attracting customers from all economic classes. Read the rest of the CNN article here.

YWCA Past & Present could not continue to provide such valuable resources to our community without the hundreds of bags of donations it receives each month. Proceeds from YWCA Past & Present help offset the cost of the YWCA Alicia McCormick transitional housing program. Thank you to all of our generous donors...and happy shopping!

Raising awareness

Dozens of people joined the YWCA of Charleston yesterday to kick off Domestic Violence Awareness month with a silent protest and vigil. For more an hour, supporters of YWCA Resolve stood along Kanawha Boulevard with their signs to raise awareness about this devastating social ill that affects us all.

Following the silent protest, supporters, survivors and community activists joined us for the Silent No More vigil. The event honored those we've lost to domestic violence with a balloon release and celebrated many survivor stories -- including that of Krista Fink, a YWCA Board Member. She tells about her abusive relationship in her book, "Silent No More." Krista was honored with the Hope Award, for the hope that she now has in her life and the hope she brings to other domestic violence victims. Krista not only has turned her life around, but has reached out to other victims with a support group and blog for survivor stories.

Also on Thursday, Representatives from Verizon Wireless presented a $20,000 check to the YWCA of Charleston’s Resolve Family Abuse Program for its Teen Dating Violence Prevention Program. Verizon Wireless recently introduced its HopeLine® program, which collects no-longer used wireless phones and parts from any wireless service provider nationwide and turns them into support for victims of domestic violence. Between now and November 15, drop your old wireless phones, batteries or accessories off at any Verizon Wireless store and all proceeds will benefit the YWCA Resolve Family Abuse Program up to an additional $5,000.

The YWCA Resolve Family Abuse Program is grateful for the continued support of Verizon, a corporation that understands the devastating effects domestic violence has in our community and has taken an active role to fight it. With corporate partners like Verizon and the support of hundreds of community volunteers, the YWCA Resolve will continue its mission to eliminate domestic violence in our community.