"And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power."

~1 Corinthians 6:14

Our Outreach Program is expanding. This past month, we launched B.R.A.C.E. (Be Ready, Alert, Courageous, and Educated), an eight-part, interactive community education program for youth and young adults ages 5-21. The goal of the program is to raise awareness, teach safety skills, reduce abduction and trafficking risk, while developing interpersonal relationships and improving overall community wellness in the Lehigh Valley.

The curriculum is structured to be adaptable and easily implemented in a variety of settings (i.e. public spaces, and religious and academic settings). Parental, educator and pastoral engagement is being implemented through sharing the aspects of the curriculum and providing safety tips for daily reinforcement in the home, classroom, church, etc. At the end of the program, it is our hope that participants would have an improved self-image, understand personal boundaries, be able to identify risks to their safety, develop a safe support network, and understand how to implement safety skills learned during the program.

Bloom's Outreach Manager, Sheniqua Mitchell, launched the program at the Laundry on Linden on Tuesday nights. In collaboration with Laundry Mat Ministries, St. Luke's Parish Nurses, and Star Community Health in the City of Allentown, this program is aimed at reaching community members who do not have access to washing machines and dryers on a routine basis; many are unhoused, suffering from substance use disorders and other chronic conditions. Additionally, this population includes victims of trafficking and those who are at risk for sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. Each week, Bloom's staff works to develop relationships with potential victims, as well as providing our new B.R.A.C.E. program to the children in attendance.

If you would like to learn more about B.R.A.C.E. or our other community outreach programs, contact Sheniqua Mitchell via email or at 610-866-5755.

Next week is the 25th Lehigh Valley Auto Show. Bloom is thrilled to announce that we will be the beneficiary of the show's kickoff VIP Gala on Wednesday, March 20th. The VIP Gala is open to the public for the first time and all proceeds from the Gala will benefit Bloom and help us further our mission.

The Auto Show will take place March 21-24 at Lehigh University. Visit their website for more info: lehighvalleyautoshow.org/.

A big thank you goes out to the Helen & R.K. Laros Foundation for granting Bloom the funds necessary to upgrade all the windows for our Heather House.

"We are so grateful for the generous support of the Helen & R.K. Laros Foundation," said Carol Andersen, CEO of Bloom. "Operating and maintaining all five of our homes in the Lehigh Valley can be expensive. Receiving grants like this one is essential to ensure a safe, comfortable space for women and their children to heal and begin their journey towards a life of independence."

"The Helen & R.K. Laros Foundation is honored to support Bloom in their mission to give victims of trafficking a safe and structured environment to start the next phase of their lives," said Laura Bennett, Foundation Vice Chair & Trustee of the Helen & R.K. Laros Foundation.

**This is an external event benefiting Bloom.

**This is an external event benefiting Bloom.

**This is an external event benefiting Bloom.

Save the Dates!

June 1, 2024

Highmark Walk

DeSales University

Bloom is a Participating Non-profit

September

Bloom for Women

Celebration

October 2, 2024

Freedom Benefit Dinner

Hotel Bethlehem

November 2-8, 2024

Lehigh Valley Anti-Trafficking

Awareness Week

Numerous Events

December 2024

DIY Holiday

Centerpiece Workshop

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:

April 8, May 13, June 10 and so on.  

If you are interested in joining us for prayer,

please email us.

Connie Deemer-Hengst

Connie Deemer-Hengst brings to her role as Bloom for Women’s Finance Manager a professional lifetime of financial expertise as well as a personal lifelong passion for lifting up the lives of the oppressed and otherwise disenfranchised, particularly women.

Connie tells us that back in our pre-Bloom (Truth for Women) era, she researched local not-for-profits and ended up interviewing our former CEO, Kim Gery Checkeye, to fulfill a course requirement for her MA in Human Services at Liberty University. “I led a women’s prison Bible study for the Salvation Army at the time, and was very interested in organizations that could provide support to women after they were released. In 2019, the audit manager, who conducted the audit of a homeless shelter when I was the financial controller there, called me to let me know about the bookkeeping opportunity at Truth for Women. I was so excited about this opportunity because my heart was all about helping struggling women.”

Join Bloom's Sustainer Circle Today!

Make an Immediate Impact!



The Sustainer Circle is Bloom’s monthly giving program supporting critical resources to fund the work of providing sanctuary and a continuum of care to heal, empower and employ women survivors of sex trafficking.

The Sustainer Circle recurring monthly gift is an automated, monthly giving program where members support Bloom all year round and sustain the important work of our programs.

It’s convenient! No more checks to write or no monthly reminders to set! This saves you time and reduces printing and postage costs.

Has immediate impact! In 2022, monthly recurring donors contributed $70,000! We are grateful for this on-going support!

It's timeliness! You know your gifts will always be on time and will go to work immediately, changing survivors’ lives each and every day!

Click the button below to join our Sustainer Circle!

My Sister's Closet

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.

VIP Sale!

March 11th-16th

15% off full price tops

March Sale!

March 18th-23rd

15% off full price dresses

New Bloom Sweatshirts

Get yours before they're gone!

Donations are Paused!

We will begin accepting spring and summer clothing April 1st!

Please check our website for details on what we will and will not accept.

Spring has sprung inside the Studio. The snowflake decorations have come down and the paper flowers we made are welcoming you as you step into the building.

Recently, we have added products to our online store so take a look at what we have available. Just click the "Shop Online" button below.

The participants have been busy making and hanging flowers, posting events on social media, brainstorming on spring ideas for Kids Art, and making t-shirts for Bloom’s outreach program B.R.A.C.E.

Back in the Studio, pottery wheel classes and hand-building classes continue and there has been excitement over what individuals have created with clay. Kids Art has been making a variety of projects gearing up for spring and Easter. Making paper mache bunnies and Easter eggs have been messy fun. We just finished our first wood-burning class and although the class size was small the instructor was awesome and encouraging and the results were great. Check the "Take a Class" link below for our upcoming classes!

We certainly have a variety of things to do at the Studio so stop in and see what you have been missing. 

By the way, we are looking for more:

POTTERY WHEELS and

CHILDREN’S ROCKING CHAIRS. 

Contact us via email or call us at 610-588-4775 if you have items to donate. Thank you!

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. 

610-866-5755

info@bloomforwomen.org

www.bloomforwomen.org