PECO Energy Warms Hearts with Donation to Laurel House

Outside, it's quite cold - but our hearts (and those of the families in our shelter) are warm, thanks to a recent fundraiser held by PECO Energy.

Each December, PECO employees at the Plymouth Service Building coordinate a baked goods and craft sale to benefit selected nonprofits in the immediate community. For the second consecutive year, PECO employees selected Laurel House as a beneficiary.

Laurel House was delighted to receive $420.00, representing a portion of the event's proceeds. (Our friends at Fellowship House in Conshohocken received the other portion.)

Attending the January 28 check presentation were (from left to right, pictured above) PECO representatives Nancy Mifflin and Eileen Mather; Beth Sturman, Executive Director of Laurel House; and PECO employees Cheryl Dowd, Sue Campbell, and Dave MacFarland.

Dave MacFarland, Manager of Support Services - Training, Methods, M&DS for PECO, wrote us a letter that explained why PECO selected Laurel House.

"We used this ... activity to raise money which could be given as a donation to a local agency that is focused on improving the lives of others. Your organization, the Laurel House, was identified as one of the agencies near our service building that is positively impacting the community .... Your efforts to help the families, specifically abused women and children, has not gone unnoticed."

Thank you, Dave, and everyone else at PECO. With the cold temperatures this weekend, this donation warms our hearts as we will use these much-needed funds to warm the hearts of the 11 women and 10 kids who are calling our shelter home.

The Malvern School to Host Chick-fil-A Fundraiser on 1/25 to Benefit LH

Join us for dinner at the Chick-fil-A in Audubon, PA on Monday, January 25! The Malvern School of West Norriton will be hosting a Spirit Night to benefit Laurel House and everyone is invited.

DATE: Monday, January 25
TIME: 5 - 8 p.m.
WHERE: Chick-fil-A, 680 S. Trooper Road, West Norriton, PA

A portion of all sales between 5 - 8 p.m. will be donated to Laurel House. (Even drive-thru orders count, too!)

There will also be a prize wheel for $1, with 100% of all proceeds from the prize wheel being donated to Laurel House.

Thanks so much to our friends and the students at The Malvern School of West Norriton for organizing this event. We hope to see you there!

Teens Host Spaghetti Dinner and Bingo Night to Benefit Laurel House

At Laurel House, we're grateful to have so many teens and tweens who volunteer and organize projects (such as cell phone collection drives and special events) to support our families. We're proud of them for helping in our efforts in their community and for taking a stand to end domestic abuse.

We're especially proud of our partnership with the Teen Leaders Club of the Indian Valley Family YMCA. This incredible group of teenagers has been planning a Spaghetti Dinner and Bingo Night fundraiser for Laurel House ... and everyone is invited to join in the feast and the fun!

WHAT: Spaghetti Dinner and Bingo Night

DATE: Friday, November 20
TIME: 6:00 - 8:30 p.m.

PLACE: Indian Valley Family YMCA

890 Maple Avenue

Harleysville, PA 215-723-3569

Adults (12&up) $5.00 per person
Children (4-11) $3.00
Children (Under 3) FREE

Early-Bird Special (Seniors 60+) $4.00
5:00-6:00

BINGO starts at 7:00 p.m.
Every family: 1 card per person

50/50 Raffle

For JUST BINGO and NO DINNER – 50 cents per game

The Teen Leaders Club at the Indian Valley Family YMCA is a program created and implemented by teens under the supervision of adult advisors. Teens learn leadership skills through community involvement, intergenerational activities, special events, rallies, web site design, and more.

Come out and show your support for Laurel House ... and for this great group of teen leaders who are making a positive difference in our community!

Laurel House's BFFs Make Girls Night Out a Success

Saks Fifth Avenue in Bala Cynwyd was the place to be on Wednesday, October 7 when more than 125 Laurel House supporters and their BFFs enjoyed a festive Girls Night Out.

Chaired by Heather Andrews and Amanda Beeler, GNO's proceeds will benefit Laurel House's domestic violence education programs throughout Montgomery County.

Attendees enjoyed a night of shopping, tarot card readings, hand massages, and fine wine.

Laurel House is especially grateful to all of its BFFs, especially Saks Fifth Avenue for hosting the event and A la Maison, the new French Bistro in Ardmore which generously donated all the catering for the evening and recently voted "Best New Restaurant 2009" by Main Line Today.

Photos from the event can be viewed and purchased at Susan Scovill On the Main Line.

Thank you to everyone for making Girls Night Out such a tremendous success for Laurel House's domestic violence programs!

A Timely Response by Volunteers from the Verizon TelecomPioneers

It took three very full SUVs to transport all the groceries donated to Laurel House today by members of the Verizon TelecomPioneers' Northeast Council Liberty Bell Chapter.

They arrived this morning, first thing, and soon our conference room table (and some of the room itself) was filled with jugs of apple juice, boxes of pretzels and crackers, condiments, oatmeal, pounds of pasta and rice, and industrial-sized cans of tomato sauce.

While we were organizing the groceries, one of our counselors came into the conference room. She had a client, she said, whose abuser just cut off her access to all the food in the house, for herself and her children. They were hungry, they needed help, they were working out a plan.

Could we help this family out with some food?

Yes. We could help.

Because so many people already have.

Dinner Was Served ... and Donated by Kildare's

Dinner at Laurel House's shelter was a special treat on Tuesday evening, thanks to Dave Magrogan and the staff of Kildare's , the Irish pub restaurant in King of Prussia.

Kildare's donated more than two dozen sandwiches - hot off its brand new menu - to Laurel House for last night's dinner. Kildare's was connected to Laurel House through NBC10 news reporter Tracy Davidson.

"We have 11 women and 12 kids here in our shelter," said Jenny Boyer, Housing Director for Laurel House. "At times like this, when we truly have a full house, we're even more grateful to people like Mr. Magrogan, Tracy Davidson, and the folks at Kildare's for making sure everyone has a great, delicious meal."

King of Prussia Indians Football Association Score Points with Food Drive

Teamwork from the King of Prussia Indians Football Association resulted in a big win recently for Laurel House's shelter.

The football league learned of Laurel House's empty pantry and full shelter from our recent email and blog post, and rallied together to help tackle the problem.

A collection drive was held at the beginning of the football association's season earlier this month, and a friendly competition was launched among the teams. The goal was to collect the most non-perishable groceries for Laurel House's shelter (and the winning team got the extra points of receiving free water ice for a week).

A generous donation of $100 from the King of Prussia Indians' board kicked off the food drive and supplemented the non-perishable items with fresh meat, fruit, and vegetables.

Congratulations to the members of 75JV (the winning team pictured at the beginning of this post), to food drive organizers Fran Littlewood and Joelle Newell who delivered the groceries to Laurel House's shelter with help from cheerleaders Hannah and Jenna (all pictured here) and everyone who supported this effort.

You are all true champions.

Full Cupboards, Full Hearts

Last week, we wrote about our shelter being full (and it still is). This week, we're full in a different way.

We're filled with gratitude.

Our shelter's pantry is once again filled with an abundance of food, thanks to the incredible response to our email last week requesting help.

We asked and so many of you answered - by making donations of food and funds (in one case, your last $10 before payday). You answered by organizing collection drives in your neighborhood and in your offices. By asking your friends and families to help.

And our response of thank you seems so little, as we are filled with heartfelt appreciation that so many people care. We're living in unprecedented economic times, and all of us - all of us - are feeling the effects of strained pocketbooks and dwindling resources. Still, that didn't stop you from reaching out, doing what you could. And then asking, what else? Can we do more?

Our cupboards are filled now, but the need will remain, especially as we approach the fall and winter months. We will continue needing your support to keep our shelter warm, to provide our families with nourishing meals. We're touched to hear that several people plan to replace toy drives with "basic needs" drives for our families this holiday season, for that's what will be needed.

You reminded us of so much with your response to the food drive - that we're all in this together, that others care so very much, that even when the challenges of the day fill our plates to overflowing, there's always room for a helping hand and a compassionate heart.

Thank you. From the bottom of our (very full) hearts.

Get Ready, Set, and Registered for Laurel House's 5K Dash Against Domestic Violence

Get on your mark ... get set ... go register for Laurel House's 5K Dash Against Domestic Violence!

Our annual 5K is right around the corner, taking place on Sunday, October 25 at beautiful Parkside Place (near the Upper Gwynedd Township Building at Sumneytown Pike and Park Place) in North Wales, PA.

Registration/check in begins at 8 a.m., followed by the 5K Run and Fitness Walk at 9 a.m. Runners and walkers of all ages and abilities are welcome.

The top female and male runners will receive overall awards. Awards are given to the top female and male age group winners. Age groups are 14 and under, 15-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50 and over. Course certification #PA 07010 WB.

Awards will be given to the top 3 pledge raisers, too. Laurel House's 5K Dash offers a great opportunity for friends, students, families, and co-workers to form a team to walk (or run) together against domestic violence.

Entry fee for the event is $25.00. Proceeds benefit Laurel House's Nehemiah's Way and DART II programs, both coordinated through our North Wales office.

Nehemiah's Way provides housing for survivors of domestic violence to live independently for up to two years. DART II offers immediate crisis intervention for law enforcement officers responding to domestic violence calls, regardless of the day or night.

(You may even see one of our DART II officers, like our friend Officer Fred Lynch above, volunteering their time along the DASH route to make sure everyone stays safe.)

Laurel House is able to help countless people affected by domestic violence because of sponsors and supporters of the 5K DASH, like these:

Event Sponsor

Merck

Media Sponsor

The Reporter

Abington Bank
Allan and Joyce Goldberg
Sue DePaul - Allstate Insurance DePaul Agency
Empowered Zone

Fitzpatrick Container Company

Brian and Sonja Haggert
Harleysville Rental
John Gambino RE/MAX Blue Bell
North Penn Gulf
North Wales Water Authority
PNC Bank
Rotary Club of Harleysville

Jerry and Pat Younce

(Want to see your name on this list? Talk with Tina at 610-277-1860, ext. 108 or send her an email at treynolds@laurel-house.org.)

In the meantime, register online today. You can even create your own Laurel House 5K webpage to solicit pledges from family, friends and co-workers and help us to raise our goal of $25,000 ...

And to dash away domestic violence.

Stories from the Shelter: Making a Difference, One Pencil at a Time

When we opened the two boxes, we discovered they were filled to the brim with brand new school supplies. It was a donation - a very generous donation - sent to Laurel House last week from the employees of Horsham, PA based Catalyst360 (formerly The Hartford).

Notebooks, crayons, pencils, and glue sticks were piled on the conference room table. Moms, all of whom are currently living in our shelter, transitional housing program, or clients of our community counseling program, came by to select the necessary items to send their kids back to school.

The kids' eyes lit up - from gratitude, yes, but also because the Catalyst360 donation was filled with name-brand stuff. Crayolas. Elmers. The stuff of childhood, and the stuff that makes a child living in a domestic violence shelter fit in just a little bit more with his or her peers.

While the kids' eyes were lighting up, one mom's eyes started filling with tears.

"I didn't know how I was going to afford school supplies this year," she confessed.

Even though Back-to-School Sales are abundant, funds to buy needed clothing, backpacks, and - yes, even two notebooks at 2 for $1.00 can present a hardship for families in crisis. This can be difficult to fathom, difficult to imagine for those of us for whom buying a box of crayons or two notebooks is almost an after-thought. With the current economic climate, more and more Laurel House families in our counseling programs and housing programs are feeling the pinch.

We are feeling so grateful today to the kind people at Catalyst360, and other community groups and businesses, for helping out our families with their school supplies. If you'd like to help out too, consider making a monetary donation to help provide nutritious breakfasts for kids as they go off to school, clothes for the rest of the school year (they'll likely grow!) or contribute to our Family Fund which will directly help families throughout the year with unexpected expenses.

We thank you, for helping the kids of Laurel House step forward towards success in this new school year.

posted by Melissa Firman, Director of Development and PR, Laurel House

Beachcomber Swim Club Provides End of Summer Gift to Laurel House

Within a few minutes of Laurel House sits a summer's oasis, with acres of swimming and shuffleboard, playgrounds and ping-pong. Since the mid-1950s, Beachcomber Swim Club in Blue Bell, PA has been part of the community, providing families with the chance to relax, grow, and enjoy the company of others.

Recently, according to a note that we recently received from Beachcomber's board, the facilities were sold, debts paid, and remaining assets distributed to charities - Laurel House among them. We were incredibly delighted (and surprised!) to recently receive a generous gift of $3,250 from the Beachcomber board and members.

In keeping with the spirit of families who started Beachcomber on behalf of others, Laurel House plans to use this generous gift to help families affected by domestic violence. The funds will be used in support of the children's program, to help continue counseling services, and to provide families in Laurel House's shelter and transitional housing programs with access to fun recreational activities, such as baseball games and trips to the Zoo.

Summer is ending, and so is one chapter in the lives of those connected with Beachcomber Swim Club. For the families at Laurel House, however, this gift from Beachcomber at the end of the summer comes with the promise of new beginnings in a new season.

Many thanks to our friends at Beachcomber Swim Club for selecting Laurel House as a recipient of this gift. On behalf of our families, we are most grateful.

New Support Groups for Survivors of Abuse

Has your partner or ex-partner ever acted jealous ... tried to keep you away from family and friends ... hit or hurt you ... put you down or called you names?

Laurel House can help.

Support groups are now being offered for women who are currently experiencing or have experienced this type of abuse and want to have their voices heard and understood ... learn about the dynamics of abuse ... build trusting relationships ... connect with other women.

Support groups meet on Monday evenings in both the Norristown and North Wales, PA areas. A new support group will meet, beginning in September, on Tuesday evenings in Collegeville, PA.

Laurel House also offers individual domestic violence counseling for both men and women who have been victimized by their partners. Counselors are master's level clinical social work and counseling psychology interns, supervised by a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC). Laurel House's counseling services and support groups are confidential and free of charge.

For more information, call 610-277-1860, ext. 118 for times and location details. Or, just leave a comment on this post and we'll see that it gets to our support group coordinator right away.

Golfers with Generous Hearts Raise Funds "Fore" Laurel House Families

Women golfers from Overbrook Golf Club in Villanova, PA and St. Davids Golf Club in Wayne, PA joined together on Wednesday, July 8 for a special interclub outing to raise funds "fore" families at Laurel House. The tournament was coordinated by Overbrook members Jackie O'Connor and Ginny Bullock.

Jackie captured the spirit of the day and camaraderie of the golfers in a post-event email she sent to Laurel House.

"It was a truly successful event--beautiful weather, great golf and generous hearts from two clubs united in a way that was unusual for an interclub event," wrote Jackie. "[W]e decided to host a "green" theme which ...evolved into using Kermit the Frog. His famous words, "it's not easy being green" was about knowing who you are. His message was people are good and want to do their best and no matter how or why we might be different from anybody else, we should learn to love who we are and be proud of it. So, Ginny and I decided to reach out in the spirit of that love to support the battered women of Laurel House and their children who are victims of domestic violence."

The 36 golfers participating in the event donated more than $400 in cash and gift cards for the families at Laurel House. In addition, they delivered a van full of towels, bedding, clothing, food, and other items.

"I think if you ask the women who participated, the caddies and even the lunch staff--they will say it was such a great day to see how a small group of women can make such a difference no matter how different we are or what club we belong to," Jackie concluded in her e-mail. "On that day we were one club--FORE others!!"

On behalf of the families in our shelter and transitional housing programs, Laurel House extends many, many thanks to everyone from Overbrook Golf Club and St. David's Golf Club for your support!