An Exciting Opportunity to Give to Gracehaven
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The Big Give Is Back!
This unique giving opportunity allows every gift made to GRACEHAVEN during the 26-hour online giving rally to be automatically increased.
How Does It Work?
The Columbus Foundation has made available a bonus pool of $1.3 million to organizations who are registered in their online data base called "The Giving Store." GRACEHAVEN is registered, and we are excited to partner once again with The Columbus Foundation in this event.
You Can Make a Gift in Three Easy Steps:
2) Type in
GRACEHAVEN in the search box.
3) Click the
GIVE button to make a gift, and follow the directions.
Credit card fees are covered, so 100% of every gift goes to GRACEHAVEN.
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"I Just Did What I Had to Do"
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by Rebekkah O'Bryan
 "Laura" is 17 years old. Her mother's substance abuse issues, frequent in
carcerations and involvement with violent men forced Laura
into foster care where she was sexually abused when she was very young. She was reunited with her mother at 15, but her mom struggled to make ends meet and was being abused by one boyfriend after another. The oldest of three daughters, Laura felt a responsibility to help keep her family together. When her much older boyfriend suggested she do so by selling sex, she agreed, believing she had no other options.
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 A great big thanks to Elayna and Brian Stierhoff who have worked diligently with the girls to make our dreams of a thriving vegetable garden come true. The girls worked alongside them as they weeded, planted and cared for the plants. Now, the girls take great pride in caring for the garden and watch the vegetables grow to maturity. And in the evenings the girls go to the garden to pick their vegetables for dinner -- and are eating
healthier meals as a result! "Thanks for this opportunity to serve," Elayna wrote to our staff. "We are blessed to be able to help out the girls and really enjoyed working with them."
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At the House
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Team Building
We've started an exciting new team building time at the house. Each week the girls participate in an activity that helps them learn to work together. Recently we had a discussion about
gratitude, and discussed how being thankful and appreciative of one another leads to a more positive and motivational environment. One thing the girls all agreed on is that they are grateful for chocolate! So we played a game with Oreos to see which team could build the tallest tower in a short amount of time - and everyone was one handed!
Not wanting to let the cookies go to waste, we had a surprise for the girls. We gave each girl an ingredient and told them to make a pie. See the creations they made below.
The moral of the lesson: each ingredient (we are all ingredients) is great on its own, but when we add them together we can make something amazing!
Also Going On...
The girls who chose to participate are enjoying the Bible studies. They recently had a discussion on abandonment and how God will never abandon us -- a very relevant topic for them. Two of the girls have also attended a YFC club meeting and very much enjoy the fellowship. One girl said,
"It's so cool how you guys explain Jesus. You make him sound like he's not so strict and angry." And we're especially excited that two of the girls, who had already accepted Christ, chose to be baptized recently and even shared their stories with everyone there.
Our partner, 88.5 Shine FM, has donated free tickets for the girls to go see a Christian concert.
The girls have also started pottery classes which has greatly helped them with their creativity and self esteem.
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What Is a Button Bouti
que?
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The Button Boutique is a "shop" we've set up at the house to help teach the girls how to make good decisions. As they are rewarded for good behavior, they receive buttons. When they've earned a certain number of buttons they can shop in the boutique for items which they enjoy. We're accepting donations for the Button Boutique, so if you have any of the following items please contact Brooke Pollard at [email protected] to arrange pick up.
Nail care items Cosmetics
Snacks and bottled drinks Hoop earrings
Photo albums Gift Cards ($5-$15)
Scrap books/supplies Glitter body spray
Christian/inspirational CDs *Anything a teenage girl would like
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We're In Need of Mentors
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 Have you ever had a mentor? Or someone to offer encouragement and guidance for your life? Many of our Gracehaven girls are desperate for this type of relationship. Their lives are so chaotic they need help making a plan to help them be more stable and successful.
We have as many as 15 girls who have expressed interest in mentoring, but currently only have three matched with mentors. We ask that mentors commit to once a week for at least one year, and we offer training and plenty of support.
CLICK HERE for more information.
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PRAY
- Managing a house of teenage girls can be exciting as well as challenging. Please pray for the girls, and the staff, to create a healthy and positive living experience.
SHARE - Tell others about Gracehaven and the plight of these special young ladies.
GIVE - We always need funds to help facilitate our many outreaches. Please consider a gift today to help victims of human trafficking.
CLICK HERE TO DONATE
SEE THE STORY - We hold one-hour presentations on our Social Impact outreach, of which Gracehaven is a part. If you'd like to learn more about Gracehaven through this presentation,
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.
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Copyright © 2015. All Rights Reserved.
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