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This post is part of a series about the renovation of our emergency shelter.

With plans drawn up and budgets estimated for the project, attention turned to securing funding for construction. Documents were gathered and narratives written to develop our first grant application for support of the shelter improvements.

Meeting community need.

Goals for the renovation of the shelter were closely connected to community needs outlined in the Lexington-Fayette Consolidated Plan, an action plan developed through a participatory process to inform local allocations for funding received through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) formula grant programs.

The decision was made to submit our first application to LFUCG Grants and Special Programs for consideration. Following competitive review of the application and public hearings prior to award confirmations, we received notification of $420,000 received through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program.

Seeking and reviewing bids.

With the guidance of their grant administration team and continued support of EOP Architects, the competitive bid process meeting federal funding could move forward. The contract was awarded to Elaine Allen LLC, a Lexington-based construction management firm with past completed projects for GE, Toyota, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, University of Kentucky, and Cincinnati Zoo.

Meetings with the construction management team quickly began. Meanwhile, our staff worked together on planning to assure continued operation of the emergency shelter and 24-Hour Hotline, also housed at the facility, during construction.

Continue reading about the shelter renovation project at this link.

When thinking about making charitable donations to an organization, sometimes the biggest stumbling block is actually remembering to make the gift itself. One way to make this easier is to set up a recurring gift through your debit or credit card with the organization.

Patti’s Giving Story

Patti Wente was first inspired to become a monthly donor after hearing a survivor of intimate partner abuse speak at a Tai Chi Circle of Danville fundraiser.  “Hearing her experience and how GreenHouse17 had helped her reclaim her sense of self-worth made me realize the positive impact GreenHouse17 has on the 17 counties it serves,” she says.

The Tai Chi circle had already been very active with GreenHouse17 – visiting the farm, donating gift cards and presents at the holidays, and acting as a sponsor for our annual film festival, Lunafest. Starting recurring donations helped Patti still feel connected to the Tai Chi Circle after moving to Lexington.

“Becoming a monthly donor was easy,” says Patti. “I just went online, signed up and filled out my credit card information. It’s a painless way to support a great organization and the important work it does.”

Mike’s Giving Story

Mike Ahern agrees that setting up the monthly donations was easy. “The process couldn’t be simpler, and when you see the positivity and progress being made for beneficiaries of GreenHouse17’s essential work, it makes that few dollars feel like nothing.”

Mike and his wife – who introduced him to GreenHouse17 after she discovered the organization through her job in the school system – set themselves a monthly budget for donating to charities. “We’re always looking for charities that we feel are making a difference in an area that we are both passionate about and that doesn’t get enough attention.”

“I would say that the best thing about a recurring donation is that you don’t even miss it,” he adds. “After a couple of months of donating, it just becomes another part of your life that you would never consider changing. The fact that we can make a small recurring donation to help victims feel like people again feels like the least we could do.”

Your Giving Story

Setting up a recurring donation to support survivors only takes a minute. Click on the heart donation icon at the  top of our website. Then, complete the short donor form.

You can choose your gift frequency – annually, semi-annually, quarterly, monthly or weekly – when you make your gift, and it will set up to take it out of your debit or credit card at the frequency of your choosing. 

If you have any questions about setting up a recurring donation or would prefer to get started by phone, our Development Manager, Mary Trollinger, can help. Call her directly at 859.519.1922, or send her a note using the form at the bottom of this page.

Kentucky artist Jessica Holly has created a beautiful original silk screen design that we will print on our Holiday Hope Box this season!

Each Hope Box will be
printed with Jessica’s art.

Working with our community is crucial to bringing awareness to intimate partner abuse, and each partnership forged is one step closer to ending intimate partner abuse. By engaging in conversations about the mission, you create the space for those experiencing abuse to step forward and seek safety.

Visit our Handmade by Survivors shop at this link.

This holiday season be a part of the change in supporting survivors by sending or gifting a Holiday Hope Box. Each box gifted directly supports the survivors we serve. 

Corissa Phillips, CFRE
Operations Director

CFRE International has named our Operations Director, Corissa Phillips, a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE).

Individuals granted the CFRE credential have met a series of standards set by CFRE International which include tenure in the profession, education, and demonstrated fundraising achievement.

It requires a rigorous written examination testing the knowledge, skills, and abilities required of a fundraising executive, and recipients agree to uphold Accountability Standards and the Donor Bill of Rights.

“I am proud of the credential’s focus on ethical fundraising practices,” says Corissa. “This certification reflects our organization’s longstanding commitment to accountability in every aspect of our mission to end intimate partner abuse.”

Corissa brings 20 years of nonprofit administration to her grant management, fund development, and communications responsibilities at our organization. She earned her MA degree from the University of Louisville and BFA from Indiana State University. 

The CFRE certification program is accredited by the American National Standards Institute and is the only accredited certification for fundraising professionals. 

Most of us have been there: invited to a wedding, we find ourselves confronted with a registry that seems a thousand miles long. We ask ourselves, what do they really want? What do they really need? The whole process can be overwhelming. A new trend is taking shape that takes some of the worry out of wedding registry shopping: donating to a charity of the newlywed couple’s choosing.

Catherine and John

Catherine Monzingo, who as a family law attorney has worked with GreenHouse17 in the past, says she and John were getting married at a time when they were both already financially established and not in need of a lot of things. So they chose several charities, including GreenHouse17, to which they requested wedding guests donate in lieu of gifts.

Catherine explains that choosing our organization was partly a “sentimental reason,” in that “a gift to GreenHouse17 will help others rebuild their lives as a complement to us beginning ours together.” She also notes that she and John are “outdoor folks” themselves, and therefore “appreciate the benefits that the farm component of GreenHouse17 offers.”

Somewhat surprisingly, Catherine found that some of the guests seemed “incredulous” that “a gift to charity would indeed be a lovely and appreciated tribute to our marriage.” She thinks this comes from an “anticipated feeling of being ‘empty handed’ at a celebration,” and the donor not being aware that GreenHouse17 lets the couple know when a gift has been made in their honor.

She notes that she has been “delighted” to learn of the gifts made to GreenHouse17 in honor of her wedding to John.

Diana and Kent

Diana Hultgren, a chaplain who first heard about our organization through this UKNow article, says she was “deeply moved” by the story, for several reasons, and knew as soon as she read it that she wanted GreenHouse17 to be a recipient of her and new husband Kent’s wedding registry.

“The women in my family were great lovers of plants and gardening,” she explains, “and instilled that joy and solace in me from an early age.” As she is also a survivor, Diana connected with the nature-based healing of our work, saying, “Studying and working with plants, understanding their needs and their intricate connections to their environments was critical for my own hope, self-determination and healing.”

Diana and her husband Kent have been doing “alternative giving for Christmas for some years now, making donations to organizations or projects in honor of family and friends.” When they started planning their wedding, they wanted their union to give back, she says, as “connecting and investing in our local and wider community is very important to us.”

Choosing GreenHouse17 was part of doing everything “as locally and intentionally as possible, with an emphasis on sustainability, connection and community building.” Diana says that they listed several charities on their alternative wedding registry, and “people loved it.”

“The generosity of our friends and families was incredible, and so much more than we ever anticipated.”

Diana believes that the guests were “not only delighted to have a meaningful alternative to more traditional giving, they were more generous because it felt so good to celebrate that way.” She also notes that having GreenHouse17 as a beneficiary “informed a lot of people who had not heard of GreenHouse17 yet, and inspired others to choose this kind of alternative giving for their life passages and celebrations.”

Diana has continued to find different ways to give, noting our agency was on her employer’s list of charitable organizations to which she could designate a donation from each paycheck. “It was so easy to arrange,” she says. “I was thrilled to find a sustainable way to contribute through my work, which brings me joy.”

Incorporate Tribute Giving in Your Ceremony

We are so appreciative of all of the couples that have thought of us during their time of matrimonial bliss! If you are interested in making our mission a beneficiary of your wedding, please complete the short form below this story. We can share how other couples have incorporated their wedding tribute giving from invitation to the big day.

Few renovations beyond cosmetic improvements were necessary in 2005 when we moved into the 17,000 sq ft facility previously occupied by Bellewood Presbyterian Home for Children in rural Fayette County.

Considering possibilities.

After several years of providing shelter services from the facility, opportunities to improve the safety, confidentiality, and services for survivors had became apparent. And additional shelter capacity is desperately needed to meet increased demand and changing needs of intimate partner abuse survivors in our community.

The vision for the renovation began three years ago during a shelter visit with staff from EOP Architects, the Lexington-based firm known for the Kentucky International Convention Center Renovation and Rupp Arena Reinvention. With their guidance and professional support, provided in-kind without fees, a plan began to take shape.

Identifying solutions.

Discussions were informed by Building Dignity, a best-practice guide to design strategies for domestic violence shelters. Our conversations explored how our shelter facility influences policies and practices, what survivors and their children find challenging about the facility, and how the building could support our mission more effectively.

The following solutions to challenges were identified.

1.) Increase shelter bed capacity.
2.) Improve safety & confidentiality for adults and children in shelter.
3.) Improve use of shared spaces in the facility. 
4.) Maximize efficiency of staff work spaces.

Community gathered today to support the launch of the Children’s Safe Exchange and Visitation program in Lexington-Fayette County. We undertook responsibility for the program in Lexington and Georgetown, Kentucky following the closure of Sunflower Kids on March 1, 2018. In the months since, funding partnerships were forged and service referral partnerships strengthened to assure continuation of these vital community services.

“Both the public and private sectors have stepped up to help,” says Darlene Thomas, our Executive Director. “Community leaders understand these services are vital to public safety and well-being.”

Financial support for the new program has been provided by LFUCG Department of Social Services, through the Department of Special Grants and Programs, and the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet. AU Architects provides generous in-kind support with the donation of the program’s Lexington office. Partnerships with Lexington Police, Georgetown Police, Friend of the Court, Family Court judges, and program participants have informed the transition.

The program’s services will nurture lives of young people who have witnessed and/or experienced intimate partner abuse, child abuse, sexual abuse, stalking, or other related issues. Non-custodial parents will be charged a nominal fee based on a sliding scale, typically not more than $10 weekly. In most instances, both visitation and exchange services are court ordered.

Visitation services are provided in a safe, monitored space to encourage healthy visits between a non-custodial parent and child(ren). Safe exchange of child(ren) from the custodial to non-custodial parents is facilitated without contact between the adult parties. More than a hundred children and adults in Lexington have benefited from the program since the “soft-launch” of the program in mid-May. Services in Georgetown, Kentucky are expected to begin soon.

We continue to seek additional funding to support estimated annual costs to operate the program in the Lexington-Fayette community and Georgetown. Discussions have begun to consider possibility for expansion of the program to other communities in the organization’s 17-county service area.

“Children deserve connection and bonding without worrying about conflict, intimidation, control, and further abuse. We are committed to assuring these services remain available throughout our central Kentucky region.”

Learn more about the program and review FAQs at this link.

As a nonprofit organization, our work is guided by our Board of Directors. These volunteers from social, financial, legal, creative, and other professional sectors give hundreds of hours of time to our mission during their three years of board service. And most of our board members renew their services for the second three-year term allowed by our by-laws.

How do you say thank you for so many years of commitment to supporting survivors?

Darlene Thomas, our Executive Director, was looking for a way to honor retiring board members with a small gift that reflected our gratitude for their service. The vision was a gift that would matter for a long time. Something special. Something more personal than a logo desk clock or paper weight.

That’s when she met Rachel Savané, founder of Savané Silver in Lexington.

Rachel creates beautiful handmade silver jewelry featuring gemstones thoughtfully chosen for each piece, and part of her business model includes supporting local charities and nonprofit organizations like ours. After meeting with Darlene to explore our organization’s services and philosophies, Rachel personally created the design for our organization’s board service gift.

Each pendant or tie tack showcases a hand-selected purple stone that represents the color of domestic violence awareness. Next comes a silver design to complement the individual qualities of each gemstone. Rachel shares more about her creative process on her website.

“I create my jewelry designs drawing inspiration from each carefully chosen fine gemstone, while combining curvalinear silver to create a distinct melodic energy in each piece as I inject design in every element of the jewelry often manifesting new functionality.”

The Connection to Our Mission

Rachel’s care and creativity makes each piece of Savané jewelry unique. In many ways, her approach to design echoes the way we approach services. We believe every survivor’s story is different, and every survivor deserves support to meet their individualized, self-determined healing goals.

We are proud to present our retiring board members with a local, unique, and beautiful gift that honors their commitment to ending intimate partner abuse.  Thank you, Rachel, for creating beauty and supporting organizations like ours.

To learn more about Savané Silver, visit the website or call 859-455-8111 for showroom hours.

___________

The image featured is from Kristen Kennedy, former member of our Board of Directors.

Y’all. These words are powerful ones for us today.

We are so sorry to announce that this Saturday’s drop-in “Open U-Pick” from 11 am – 1 pm has been canceled.

Our farm and fields sustained some damage during the recent bad storms. Although we’ve been giving the flowers lots of love this week, we’re afraid there just won’t be enough for everyone.

Many stems and blooms were able to make it through the storm, so we still look forward to welcoming Early U-Pick ticket holders from 10 – 11 am.

Weather is always a risk for farm-based events, but canceling this Saturday’s open u-pick has been a really difficult decision to make. We hope you understand.

Please help us share this news with friends and family who were planning to attend.

#TLDR This Saturday’s open u-pick from 11-1 is canceled, but the ticketed “Early U-Pick” from 10-11 am is still on.

#HopeStillBlooms #HealingTakesTime #SupportSurvivors #endDV

This year, more than 100 children will attend area schools while living at our emergency shelter. Many parents and children living with us have left behind everything to establish safety. Your generous donation of these back-to-school supplies will nurture young lives.

• backpacks
• folders
• pencils and pens
• crayons, markers, and colored pencils
• glue sticks and bottles
• scissors
• pencil boxes
• loose leaf paper and spiral notebooks
• composition notebooks
• three-ring binders

Delivery of school supply donations to our shelter facility are appreciated before Wednesday, August 8.  If you need driving directions to our facility, please call 859-233-0657. For more information, send us a note from this link.