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The grass withers and the flowers fade but the WORD of our GOD stands forever.
Isaiah 40:8
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Justice Revival Revived Us All | |
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The room was packed and the energy was electric at our Justice Revival event on September 28. Our hosts, Olav & Gina Sandnes were so gracious with their generosity! Our keynote speaker, Becca Stevens of Thistle Farms was an inspiration to everyone in the room. Lehigh County DA, James Martin was passionate about the mission of Bloom and for the Mountain Laurel House project. The video created by Golden Pepper Productions was both heartbreaking and moving.
We are so appreciative for everyone who came out to the event, for our amazing sponsors, especially our Champion Sponsors: Air Products, Oceana Health, The Topper Foundation, J.B. and Kathleen Reilly and the Bloom Board of Directors, for helping to jump start our "Welcome Home" campaign and for our faithful leader, Carol Andersen and her dedicated staff for their hard work and dedication.
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Mount Bethel Hosts Bloom at Ladies' Brunch | |
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On September 24, Mount Bethel Church hosted Bloom and My Sister's Closet had a pop-up shop at their ladies' brunch, raising $500 to support our mission. We are blessed to have organizations like this to help raise awareness and the necessary funds to run our safe houses and support our residents.
If your church group or other organization is interested in hosting an event, please reach out to Rebekah Fritchman. We can do pop-up shops, fashion shows, clothing drives, etc. We'd love to discuss ideas with you!
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Flower Bar Events Raise Over $11k to Date! | |
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What a beautiful evening we had for our Fall Flower Bar at Black River Farms on October 6! Thanks to Fresche Flower Farm for partnering on these events. To date, Fresche Flower Farm has helped us raise over $11,000 through these DIY flower arrangement and holiday wreath events.
And, thank you to our amazing volunteer, Janet Callahan for the delicious food, with help from donations from Sam's Club and Wegmans!
We will be holding a DIY holiday wreath event on December 4. Save the date.
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What's Happening in our Homes | |
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Each day in our program is a huge accomplishment for our residents as they work hard to make a better life for themselves. The following are just a few of our residents' most recent accomplishments:
- A Jasmine House resident bought a vehicle
- One resident is moving from Bloom’s Jasmine House to one of our transitional homes
- A Heather House participant has started having regular visits with her young child
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Current Needs for our Homes | |
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It takes a lot of resources to operate our four (and soon to be five) homes and ensure we are providing our survivors with what they need to heal and rebuild their lives. Currently, we are in need of:
- Volunteers to
- drive residents to appointments, grocery shopping, etc.
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take care of small repairs in our homes
- to help with gardening around our homes
- to provide help with life skills like cooking, nutrition, and wellness; as well as job readiness and interview skills
- A van to transport our survivors to group activities
- Car(s) for residents to drive to appointments, jobs, etc.
- Household supplies, such as paper products (i.e. paper plates, napkins, paper towels, toilet paper, tissues) and laundry detergent and dryer sheets
- Gift cards to Giant, Weis, Dollar Store, and Target
Call our office at 610-866-5755 or email us if you may be able to help.
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Regular Monthly Prayer Meetings -
Time has Changed!
The sessions will now take place on Zoom from 12:00-1:00 p.m. the second Monday of the month: November 14, December 12, and so on.
If you would like to be added to the list to receive monthly reminders,
please email us.
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Mark Sessanta, Board Member
Our Board member, Mark Sessanta, first heard about Bloom’s mission about six years ago, and that was his impetus for becoming a regular donor and sponsor of our various fundraising events.
Back then, Bloom was Truth for Women, and a friend of Mark’s recommended that he join our Board of Directors. Mark decided to take his desire to help a step further and did just that.
Presently, Mark serves as our Board Treasurer, Development Committee Chair, and Finance Committee Chair, and we are grateful that, in those capacities, he brings to Bloom’s mission two extremely important aspects of his own life – his Faith and his business/financial acumen.
Mark explains how those aspects mesh with our needs: “Being a part of something that is helping rescue people from unbelievable circumstances is what life is all about, and knowing we are part of God’s mission is a big part of my life. I believe that we need to understand the finances to move forward as an organization so that we can impact the survivors' lives at the highest level. We also need to develop strategic plans moving forward for growth of the organization.”
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Welcome Home Campaign
We're off to a good start, but still have a ways to go! We need your help to reach our goal of raising $300,000 for our new home, the Mountain Laurel House, that will allow us to expand our services to serve pregnant survivors of sex trafficking.
In this new home, pregnant survivors will receive two years of safety while they heal, deliver and care for their baby, attend parenting classes and receive mentoring and vocational training. Graduates will have a plan for living independently beyond their time at Bloom.
Our goal of $300,000 will cover capital and operating costs of the Mountain Laurel House for the next two years. For more information on the "Welcome Home" campaign, click the Pledge Form button below.
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HAPPENING AROUND BLOOM... | |
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We are doing our part! We are now going bag free. Join us in becoming more sustainable!
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Halloween Sale
October 31!
Get 31% off all black items in the store.
(Exclusions apply)
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Donations:
We are accepting fall and winter clothing only!
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Volunteers Needed!
We are looking for volunteers for Monday, Thursday and Saturday mornings!
Contact Rebekah Fritchman if interested!
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Birthday parties, classes in colored pencil drawing, abstract painting, hand building with clay, as well as open studio visits have been keeping us busy this past month and it has been nice.
Looking at the next several months the calendar is filling up! Similar activities will be repeated but in addition we have been invited to several “ holiday” events. At these events, we have the opportunity to sell items we make in the studio such as jewelry, pottery, special decorations for the holidays…it is exciting and our brains are turning with ideas of what new things we will be making.
Love Bulbs
We are gearing up for our annual fundraiser: Grow Love, Grow Beauty, Grow Recovery. We grow in memory of a girl who loved to grow all things beautiful! If you want to be part of the planting, wrapping and packaging of these love bulbs we can always use the extra hands and would very much appreciate the help. The process will start in November and sales will start mid-November just in time for holidays. If you have never purchased a “Love Bulb” you are missing out on a magical experience.
Please contact the studio if you are interested in helping out with our "Love Bulbs" fundraiser or if you are thinking it is time for a fun, relaxing, creative outing with a group of friends.
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As we welcome new survivors into our homes on a regular basis and are in constant need of restocking essential items for them, we have created an Amazon Wish List. The online list makes it easy for you to pick out items that our survivors need while staying in our homes and have them sent directly to Bloom. All donations are greatly appreciated. We ask that when you make a donation to please include your name in a gift message so that we can properly thank you for your donations. | |  |
Do you frequently shop on Amazon? Why not make a difference with each of your purchases? Simply choose "Bloom for Women, Inc." as your organization of choice on Amazon Smile and a portion of all purchases will be donated to Bloom. | | |
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Bloom is a faith-based non-profit organization with the mission of providing sanctuary and a continuum of care to heal, empower and employ women survivors of sex trafficking. As part of its mission, Bloom offers emergency response, a two-year residential program, and an independent living program in the Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania. Bloom follows the model and is a sister community of the remarkably successful Thistle Farms Nashville program. In addition, the Bloom Creative Studio, located in Bangor, Pa., is a social enterprise to leverage art as a healing tool and provide employment opportunities for survivors. Bloom also has a women’s upscale, resale boutique, My Sister’s Closet, based in Bethlehem, Pa., providing employment opportunities for survivors and financial support for the organization.
Bloom
1425 Mountain Drive North
Bethlehem, PA 18015
610-866-5755
info@bloomforwomen.org
www.bloomforwomen.org
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