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We  just received some amazing news. Our organization is among four recipients of the 2013 Mary Byron Project Celebrating Solutions Award!

This national award showcases and recognizes organizations for innovations that demonstrate promise in breaking the cycle of domestic violence. A panel of experts select programs they believe serve as models for the nation. The award specifically recognizes our organization’s commitment to integrating  farming, nutrition, and other trauma-informed healing efforts with traditional responses to domestic violence to help victims rebuild their lives as survivors.

Fellow award-winners include District Alliance for Safe Housing, (DASH) in Washington, D.C.; National Crime Victim Law Institute in Portland, Oregon; and Rutgers, School of Social Work, Center on Violence Against Women and Children in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Each winning organization will receive $10,000 donation from the Mary Byron Project.

News of this important recognition is especially meaningful to our Board of Directors and staff during the holiday season, when the critical need for our services and care is underscored. Although the day-t0-day work of our complex mission can be daunting, survivors in our shelter and around our 17-county service area inspire us every day to continue our commitment to the  mission of ending intimate partner violence in families and our community.

We have big news to share! We’ve learned an idea we submitted to a national competition was chosen as a finalist from more than 160 submissions representing 260 applying organizations

A few weeks ago, our staff submitted an idea to the Partnership for Freedom, a competition seeding innovative ideas to better care for survivors of modern-day slavery in the United States. Reimagine: Opportunity, the first of three challenges to be issued by The Partnership for Freedom, seeks creative, sustainable ways to address critical issues faced by human trafficking survivors: sustainable housing, economic empowerment and social services

Our idea supports survivor healing and self-sufficiency through development of agricultural vocation and small business skills to promote economic independence. The program model borrows from the agricultural practice of value-added production, a process that increases the economic value of produce by altering its condition.

We have formed a project team — representing our organization, Grow Appalachia, and Berea College — and will travel to Washington D.C. next month to participate in an Innovation Workshop to refine our idea and prepare our proposal for final submission. We look forward to sharing and exploring our commitment to agriculture-based healing with national leaders and innovators to help find solutions for survivors.

Final winners will be announced in Spring 2014 and will receive funding to begin piloting their solutions. We will keep you updated along the way. Wish us luck!

Our friends at United Way of the Bluegrass have partnered with Walmart to collect donations of unwrapped toys this Saturday, December 14 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Please swing by to help Fill the Truck for Local Kids! Look for the big truck in the parking lots at the Nicholasville Road and Richmond Road Walmart locations.

The toys collected during the day will be shared by our organization and Chrysalis House.

Help stock our Santa Shops to create some holiday cheer where it’s needed most and show your support for survivors. We will be the only source of holiday help for more than 100 families surviving intimate partner abuse this season.  The families we serve in our shelter and the community are surviving physical and emotional trauma that no one should ever have to experience, especially during the holidays.

• Nonviolent toys  and winter outerwear for children of all ages–from infants to teens–and gifts for adults of varying ages, sizes, and interests are needed. We’ve put together a list of gift ideas. You’ll find a few items listed in the right column of this page. The complete list can be downloaded here. We appreciate the delivery of unwrapped gifts to our shelter by Friday, December 13. Just give us a call at 859-233-0657 for driving directions. (We’ll ask you to complete a short form for your tax records when you drop off the gifts.)
• Are you planning to do most of your holiday shopping online these days? If so, please consider purchasing a few items from our Amazon.com Wish Lists. When you add items from our wish lists to your shopping cart, you’ll be given the option to have them delivered directly to our shelter. It’s super-easy. (Your receipt of purchase from our wish list will serve as your tax documentation for the donation.)
• Gift cards to popular regional retail outlets like Target and Walmart help us make last minute purchases to help families who have left behind everything to be safe just days before the holidays. Cards can be dropped in the mail to GreenHouse17, ATTN FINANCE, PO Box 55190; Lexington, KY 40555. (Please  include your name and mailing address if you’d like to receive a letter for your tax files.)

Maybe you’d like to do a little more to help survivors this season? Consider coordinating a holiday donation drive at your workplace or organization! Just send us a note using this form, and we’ll follow up really soon to help you start planning.

With your help, we are committed to creating hope, healing, and cheer for survivors during the season.

The Holidays are here!

Can you believe it?  It seems like just yesterday we packed away our sunblock and swimsuits and now we are gearing up for the Winter Holidays!  Here at GreenHouse17 we are very excited about some cool things happening at our shelter and in the community.   However, we need your help.

The families at our shelters are experiencing some of the most difficult times in their lives–traumatic situations that no one should ever have to experience.  Our hope is that, with your help, we can provide some Holiday cheer that will comfort them this Holiday Season and let them know that they are truly cared for.

There are MANY ways you can get involved.  Donations.  Toys.  Gifts.  Holiday drives at your organizations.  Cards.  The list is endless! If you are looking for a way to express your compassion for those who are currently recovering from domestic violence, click the link below for some ideas:

Holiday Giving – GreenHouse17 – 2013

We kindly ask if you would like to donate presents, please deliver your gifts unwrapped by Friday, December 13th. 

Thank you all, have a great week!

LUNAFEST LEXINGTON is an annual film festival by, for and about women. This year’s festival is sure to make you laugh, tug at your heartstrings, and motivate you to make a difference in the community. It’s a night out that gives back to our organization and The Breast Cancer Fund. This year we’re offering two dates in Lexington. Make plans to attend the event that works best for you and your group of friends, family, and co-workers.

Thursday, November 7 (purchase tickets)
Lunafest Lexington
The Kentucky Theater
The evening includes a reception, chance drawings, screening of local films, and the national film selections. General admission: $15. Nonprofit partners and student rate: $10. Doors open at 6 p.m. Local film contest at 6:30 p.m. National films at 7 p.m.

-or-

Sunday, November 10 (purchase tickets)
Lunafest Special Encore Viewing + Film Discussion
Transylvania University
William T. Young Campus Center Gym
We’ve partnered with our friends at Transylvania University for this special encore viewing and facilitated film discussion with Sarah Jane Sanders, Lexington-based blogger and photographer. General admission: $15. Student rate: $5. Doors open at 1:30 p.m. with a campus resource fair before films start at 2 p.m.

MARQUEE SPONSOR

MEDIA SPONSOR

PARTNERS

SPOTLIGHT SPONSORS
Fifth Third Bank
Central Bank

RED CARPET SPONSORS
Waddell & Reed
Bak4More
BB&T Insurance

LEADING SPONSORS
Office Depot
RCI Environmental, LLC
RCI Solutions, LLC
Susie & Kevin McEuen

SUPPORTING SPONSORS
Chiro One
Kentucky Environmental Foundation, Inc.
Landscaper’s Corner, Inc.
Danielle Warren, Mary Kay
Sutherland & Associates
UK College of Social Work
Rebecca T. Wheeler, DMD, PLLC
Wild Birds Unlimited

GIVING CIRCLES
The Alltech Ladies
Danville Tai Chi Circle
KFPS Friesian Moms

Lunafest was established by LUNA, the makers of the Whole Nutrition Bar for Women.

The 2013 GoodGiving Guide Challenge kicks off on Friday, November 1.

Blue Grass Community Foundation is hosting a party from 3 – 7 p.m. at West Sixth Brewing to launch this year’s efforts. The nonprofit with the most guests at the party will win the first challenge — a $666.66 donation!

Last year, the community helped us finish in the top ten and raise more then $17,000 to nurture lives harmed by intimate partner abuse. With your help, this year we hope to raise $20,000 to provide safety, healing, and advocacy services for victims.

Please stop by the launch party this Friday to say hello and share your support of our organization. The party’s free of charge, and the first guests to arrive will receive a free cupcake. Drinks and food will be available for purchase from the bar.

If you can’t attend the launch party this Friday, please consider making a challenge gift in our name on November 1. Follow this link to our donation page at the GoodGiving Guide Challenge website. We could really use your help to start this year’s challenge strong!

Today marks the final day of our 17 Days/17 Ways campaign featuring ways you can help end intimate partner abuse in families and our community.

Some of the ways to help have been easy ones, like following us on social media. Other ways to help have been more difficult, like finding the courage to call 911 if you hear violence or reaching out to someone in need.

All of the ways to help matter. Imagine a community of concerned citizens who…

• Dialed 911 if they saw or heard violence.
• Spoke out when someone was using abusive or controlling language.
• Reached out to someone who might be experiencing intimate partner abuse.
• Included domestic violence one the neighborhood watch list of crimes.
• Volunteered time to help victims of domestic violence.
• Helped their workplace or church develop a written policy regarding domestic violence .
• Purchased the fresh flowers and produce we grow on our farm to support survivors.
• Invited educators to speak on domestic violence prevention at their school, church, civic group or business.
• Followed us on social media and shared information about the issue and ways to help.
• Threw parties to collect items to donate to our shelter.
• Talked to young adults about healthy relationships and helped them recognize the signs of dating violence.
• Donated good, supplies and money to help our organization serve and advocate for victims.
• Told their state representatives they support protections for survivors of domestic violence.
• Asked themselves honestly if their own behavior is truly violence-free.
• Wrote a letter to their local news media describing the problem of domestic violence.
• Adopted our agency at their workplace and were allowed time off to volunteer.

Believe your voice and actions can make a difference. Every action — big or small — creates a community that believes victims and supports survivors.

Explore the whole collection of 17 Days/17 Ways to Help End Intimate Partner Abuse here.