Friends of Rowan House Newsletter- 7th Edition - May 2011
The Rowan House Hope and Healing Gala is just two weeks away!
Sherrie Botten, Executive Director of Rowan House Emergency Shelter, would like to personally invite you to our upcoming Hope & Healing Gala. The Gala is our big fundraising event of the year. We are hoping the proceeds will put us ``over the top`` in our ability to start our house this summer! C
It plans to be a fun evening with great entertainment, informative speakers, including Calgary City Police Chief, Rick Hansen, and great auction items to bid on.
There will also be an exciting announcement from Rowan House made at the Gala as well. We hope to see you there!
There will also be an exciting announcement from Rowan House made at the Gala as well. We hope to see you there!
Our Capital Campaign is really revving up!
We are excited to share that our capital campaign is two-thirds of the way to our goal. This will enable us to build a new, larger, more secure Rowan House. Our fundraising campaign will continue even after the new facility breaks ground as we will need to operate our building at three times our current funding capacity. But this will also allow us to provide services to everyone who comes to us in need. Last year we turned away 42 women and 29 children due to our safety and size restraints. This is more than double the number of women and children we were able to serve.
What started out as the simple wish of an eight-year-old boy with a passion for hockey to create a fun event for kids in High River
On June 11 & 12, 2011 the High River Boston Pizza will once again play host to hundreds of future hockey superstars! It is only through the generous support of businesses and volunteers that will allow such a special day to take place.
The event was such a huge success last year that it has now expanded to include communities throughout the Foothills. The tournament this year will take place over two days with three separate age divisions, six game zones, a super skills area and much more, including a Family Dance for all ages featuring live music from local band McLean’s Cherry.
This day is truly about the kids in our community. With the event expected to more than double in size this year, we need all the help we can get! There will be games, events, food and fun for the whole family. What started out as a simple street hockey game has turned into a community event for the whole family!
We believe that the Fury in the Foothills Junior Street Hockey Tournament is more than just a great day for our kids. It is also a chance to give back to our community. That is why all proceeds from the event will go directly to support the Rowan House Emergency Shelter.
Please let us know if you have any fundraising ideas that you or your business would like to include in this event. Help connect us with friends, colleagues or vendors that you deal with that may be interested in supporting this day. Or even challenge those within your profession or industry to match your donation.
Whether through volunteering, sponsorship, donation of items or direct financial support, the success of this event depends on developing partnerships with the Foothills community. If you are interested in supporting the Fury in the Foothills Junior Street Hockey Tournament in any way, please contact Deanna Tretiak at 403-601-4553 or by email at dtretiak@shaw.ca
For more information please visit our website at http://www.furyinthefoothills.com/
Shelter News
The Healthy Relationships Group is an eight week educational group on topics ranging from the cycle of domestic violence to self esteem. Women are able to attend for two hours on Wednesday nights, to share and learn about domestic violence in their lives. Further, the Healthy Relationships group provides an excellent opportunity for women to connect to other women in similar situations, and resources within the community. The Healthy Relationships group has grown in size considerably since the first in September 2010. The last session of group, running from March 16, 2011 to May 4, 2011 has served a total of 13 women thus far, resulting in 58 sessions attended by these women. The women within the group have expressed that the most important thing they have learned from the group is the fact that “they are not alone”. This is incredibly powerful information for rural women in domestically violent relationships, as isolation is a key component an abusive relationship. The Healthy Relationships Group has proven to be an excellent place for women to grow, learn and connect.
Rowan House’s Children’s Program is operating in order to increase safety for children of Rowan House clients and to increase the child’s knowledge of bullying and violent behaviour. The program is available to women who are residential or outreach clients to Rowan House, as well as women attending the Healthy Relationships Group. The Children’s Program has substantially increased its numbers since it first began in September 2009. Over the past year, 97 children attended the program creating a total of 220.5 hours of programming. It is significant to note the number of children attending is directly correlated to the success of the Healthy Relationships Group, where 90.7% of the children attending the Children’s Program are accessing it while their mothers are in the Healthy Relationships Group. Further it is important to note the Children’s Program workers are blessed to have two local volunteers assisting with the children Wednesday evenings. Without these volunteers the program would not be as flourishing as it is!
How to Help
· Don’t forget to purchase a ticket to the upcoming Hope and Healing Gala! Tickets are $200 per person or $1400 for a table of 8!
· Coco Rouge in Okotoks and Vespucci in High River both have an account set up in Rowan House’s name. If you are looking to donate gently used clothing these two stores will forward the proceeds to Rowan House
· Shop and Share
o People can go to www.shopandshare.ca and select from a wide range of well known, brand name stores, shop online, and then have a portion of the proceeds donated to Rowan House. It’s free for you and for Rowan House so create an account today!
That’s it for this edition. Join us next month for another exciting look at what’s happening!
In the mean time, you can visit www.rowanhouse.ca or call the office at 403-938-6785 for more information. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter.
