PLANNING FOR THE NEW YEAR

Monday, January 11th we had our planning meeting for the coming year.


Elizabeth Sprague, a resident, Tracy and her son, Connor, from HOPE MINISTRIES joined us. Elizabeth shared about Hope Ministries and what they do. Hope Ministries is comprised of a lot of things, some of which are Bethel Mission, Door of Faith, Family Center and the Hope Bargain Center. At the Family Center they take in women and children and help them change their lives. Some come because they are getting out of abusive relationships, addictions, or they just need a change in the way their life is going. The program is 6 to 24 months. They women attend classes during the morning for the first four months. The classes are on conflict resolution, problem solving, money management, etc. A goal of the program is to help the women pursue an education to help them get past making minimum wage. If an education isn't a goal for the woman, then they work with her to help her with job procurement and job skills.


Elizabeth shared there are tours for the community to come and see what the program is all about. They also have a thrift store in Pleasant Hill where they accept donations of clothing and household items.


Tracy shared that she was currently pursuing an education in Hotel and Restaurant Management. She shared that the staff were not just staff, but rather people she had come to see as family. This last Christmas her greatest gift was that she got her child back! She has been a resident for six months and hopes to be able to stay for another 18 months. She has family/support in Colorado and may move there to "start a new life" once she completes this program.


Currently the Ankeny BT group has earned $1900 towards the gazebo at Hope Ministries. Scott, from the DMACC Building Trades Program, was also at the meeting and shared that the class is currently drafting designs and will be getting quotes for materials soon. They hope to do the gazebo in the spring.


Many options to raise further funds for this gazebo were discussed. We finally left it that Scott would speak with a DMACC group that adopts a charity each year and see if they would like to join in the fundraising for the gazebo. The gazebo project is a combined project already with BT and DMACC, so the funding coming from both areas is a great thing! Scott will also be applying for some funding through Lowe's Foundation.


Susan also would like to possibly do some plant/flower planting once the gazebo is built. More details to follow.





BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS....our annual Bowl For Kids Sake is March 6th. Gail Turner is putting together a team (or more teams if enough people are interested) for the event. This is a fun event and a great thing to help raise money for a great cause. Gail herself is a BIG SISTER!
Contact Gail if you are interested in participating: thepetpal@gmail.com




HALLOWEEN PARTY for CANDEO....we agreed that we will continue to do this again this October. Starting looking for your costume!