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"Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things."
~Psalm 107:8-9
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Lehigh Valley Anti-Trafficking Week Raises Awareness | |
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This past week was Lehigh Valley Anti-Trafficking (LVAT) Week, organized by the Lehigh Valley Anti-Trafficking Collaborative, in which Bloom is one of the the four participating organizations. This year, our Residence Manager, Alyssa Santana, was the Chair for LVAT Week. There were numerous events throughout the week to raise awareness of trafficking in the Lehigh Valley.
Three of Bloom's participants received Survivor Leader awards at the Survivor Breakfast Award Ceremony, where they were honored for their resilience and bravery.
Alyssa and another Bloom participant spoke at the LVAT Symposium about housing and non-governmental organizations for survivors.
The Red Sand Project was held at multiple locations across the area, one was at the Bloom Creative Studio, which also helped in the preparation for the project by bagging all the red sand. Our Bloom participants also took the lead on making a variety of t-shirts for the different LVAT Week events.
Additionally, Bloom residents participated in the Candlelight Vigil, as well as the Voices of Survivors Art Event where they displayed their photos of pictures they took telling their own story of survival.
We are so proud to be a part of LVAT Collaborative and bringing awareness to trafficking in the Lehigh Valley. And, we want to thank Alyssa for all her hard work in leading the initiative this year.
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Bloom by the Numbers (this past quarter) | |
Bloom for Women is Now a United Way Qualified Non-Profit Partner | |
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Bloom for Women recently announced that we have become a qualified partner of United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley. We are now eligible for direct funding from the United Way and can leverage many of their valuable resources.
“We are proud to be a qualified partner of United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley,” said Carol Andersen, Bloom's CEO. “They do so much good in our community and to join forces with them will only help us further our mission to serve women survivors in the Lehigh Valley. The ability to receive funding from United Way, as well as being able to take advantage of their vast resources is an enormous opportunity for women survivors here in the Lehigh Valley and will have a direct impact on their success.”
“We have long admired Bloom for Women’s life-changing work with survivors of trafficking and exploitation. Through this partnership, we look forward to deepening and strengthening our relationship to build a safe and stable community where every person can thrive,” said David Lewis, President of United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley.
Through this partnership, United Way will help Bloom to strengthen the quality and impact of our programs and services through multiple capacity-building strategies, such as leadership development opportunities for its executive director, board members and staff, as well as training and technical assistance. United Way also provides multiple avenues for financial/non-financial resources, including: program funding, partnership funding, volunteers, and donated goods.
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Celebrating our Survivors & God's Blessings | |
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Bloom is now offering Annual Sponsorships for 2024. These packages provide individuals and organizations with the opportunity to provide Bloom with on-going support throughout the year and also receive year-round recognition as a philanthropic leader in the Lehigh Valley.
Annual Sponsors will be recognized at both of Bloom's major fundraising events, our Annual Golf Outing in May and our Freedom Benefit Dinner in October.
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What's Happening
in Our Homes
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 some of our participants' milestones and activities they have participated in this past month:
- Two participants celebrated being with Bloom for one year.
- One participant celebrated being in the Bloom program for two years.
- Three participants were awarded Survivor Leader awards during Lehigh Valley Anti-trafficking Week.
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Current Needs
in Our Homes
It takes a lot of resources to operate our 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:
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Van for our Mountain Laurel House residents (mothers and babies).
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Gift cards for grocery shopping (i.e. Target. Walmart, Giant, Weis, ShopRite, PriceRite).
Visit our Amazon Wish List for an on-going list of items we need to take care of the women and babies in our homes.
Call our office at 610-866-5755 or email us if you may be able to help.
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May 6, 2024
Bloom Annual Golf Outing
Brookside Country Club
Macungie, PA
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October 2, 2024
Bloom Freedom Benefit Dinner
Hotel Bethlehem
Bethlehem, PA
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Regular Monthly Prayer Meetings
The sessions will now take place on Zoom from
12:00-1:00 p.m. the second Monday of the month:
November 13, December 11, and so on.
If you are interested in joining us for prayer,
please email us.
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Join us for our Giving Tuesday Gift Card Campaign | |
The holidays are just around the corner and again this year, we are collecting gift cards for Giving Tuesday. These gift cards help us support our five homes for women survivors and their babies. | |
HAPPENING AROUND BLOOM... | |
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Join our VIP Shopper Club and take advantage of special perks from coupons, invites to private shopping events to first looks at new items and exclusive sales! Click here to learn more.
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VIP-Only Sale
November 13-18
20% off all full-price clothing
Remember to bring your VIP card!
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Special Sales!
November 20-25
15% off all full-price pants
| Donations are Being Accepted | |
Please check our website for details on what we will and will not accept.
We are currently only accepting fall and winter clothing.
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My Sister's Closet will be closed for Thanksgiving on November 23 and 24!
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The Bloom ladies did a wonderful job making 75 t-shirts for Lehigh Valley Anti-Trafficking (LVAT) Week, job well done on this huge task!
Now, we are moving forward and preparing for the holiday season. The ladies have begun helping with prepping items for our Centerpiece Workshop and the Pop-Up Shop that will be held December 9th.
All supplies are in for our Annual “Love Bulb” sale so we will be busy. We sell these in memory of a young lady who Loved to Grow All Things Beautiful. You will soon be able to purchase these Love Bulbs on the Bloom website, in the Studio and at My Sister's Closet. It is a wonderful gift idea, as it is amazing to watch the process of this bulb "bloom" into a beautiful flower. Grow Love, Grow Beauty, Grow Recovery.
Our kilns have been busy working between pottery and glass fusion. Beautiful creations are being made!
We continue to have Kids Art, Open Clay Studio, and Paint Night once a month and we are now starting classes on the pottery wheel. If anyone is interested in learning the wheel, please call the studio at 610-588-4775.
If you are someone that enjoys making gifts for others for the holidays, you should come see what we have to offer.
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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. | | |
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 and sexual exploitation. As part of its mission, Bloom offers emergency response, a two-year residential program, pregnant survivor services 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, community volunteer opportunities, and financial support for the organization. | |
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Bloom Headquarters
1425 Mountain Drive North
Bethlehem, PA 18015
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Bloom Lehigh County Program Office
532 Hamilton Street
Allentown, PA 18101
(By Appointment Only)
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