Please join us for an evening of kitchen camaraderie and delicious soup making as we mark the official launch Soup Sisters Diamond Valley in support of Rowan House.

Monday, February 28, 2011 Diamond Willow Artisan Retreat

5:30 PM cocktails and appetizers
Introductions and opening remarks:
Sharon Hapton, Founder of Soup Sisters
Lynn Lynn, Vice Chair of the Board, Rowan House
Guest Chef Nixon Darren, Cafe Divine
Pat Lothrop, Diamond Willow Artisan Retreat
6:15 PM Let the soup begin!
We'll be breaking into groups and creating
4 nurturing and delicious soups
that will be delivered fresh to the women
and children at Rowan House the very next morning.
The evening will culminate with a
light meal wonderfully prepared by you, our inaugural Diamond Valley Soup Sisters
http://www.soupsisters.org/

Guest Chef
Darren Nixon
Divine Restaurant
Tickets are $75 and will go to ensure the ongoing sustainability of Soup Sisters becoming operational in Diamond Valley.
Your support will provide:

• The first batch of approximately 180 servings of fresh soup to Rowan House  
• A re-useable supply of glass bowls and plastic 'to go' containers for storage, delivery and serving of Soup Sisters soups.
• A Soup Sisters keepsake apron and tote bag for you to take home
• Cocktails and appetizers followed by homemade soup and wine pairing.

Buy your launch ticket at www.soupsisters.org

Coco Rouge Boutique Consignment Accepts Clothing Donations!!!!

Co Co Boutique accepts consignment clothing for the Rowan House Account.  Lots of women want to donate their clothing to the Rowan House, so another way to do this is to take those clothes to Co Co Rouge Boutique in Okotoks for the Rowan House Account. 

Clothing should be clean, gently used, folded into garbage bags & dropped off @ Co Co.  The staff @ Co Co know about the account & usually with 2 weeks the clothing is in stock & ready for sale

Check out their website for more information.

http://www.cocorouge.ca/

Co Co Rouge Boutique

200 Southridge Drive

Okotoks, AB

T1S 0B2

(403) 995-3365

February 2011 Newsletter

Feature Story: 2011 Gala

Rowan House’s biggest fundraiser of the year is fast approaching! Our 2011 Hope and Healing Gala is set to take place on May 14th at the Highwood Memorial Centre in High River. Mark your calendars and tell all your friends! Our gala committee is hard at work and planning for this event is well underway.
Here’s a small taste of what you can look forward to:
Classic Motown choreography, stunning costumes and unique harmonies describe the group "Toshi Jackson & the Silhouettes". This glamorous illusion entices the ears and eyes of its audience. A true tribute to Diana Ross & The Supremes, the leader of the group was born and raised in Los Angeles and has worked at Motown Records. Performing at various functions including hotels, casinos and private functions, "Toshi Jackson & The Silhouettes" have also performed with their counterparts - The Legendary Temptations. They feel that the music they sing should reflect a true expression of love which in turn, touches the heart and spirit of their audience." Also, Larry Ray has been performing Elvis Presley for 15 years. Winning numerous awards for his impersonating, making radio and television appearances and showcasing in the Canadian Living Magazine have been a few of his accomplishments as an entertainer. He enjoys performing and has the experience to show for it.
How you can help:

We are a registered non-profit society with charitable status and we rely on the support of community donors to continue our programming and services. Without the amazing support of local businesses and individuals, Rowan House Emergency Shelter would not be able to protect the women and children of the rural Foothills.
Currently Rowan House is a tiny two bedroom facility located in the basement of an adolescent group home. We have significantly outgrown our current facility and are in desperate need of a larger, more secure shelter. Every year we turn away more families than we can house. We have purchased land in the Town of High River and raised $700,000 to date. We need an additional $800,000 to complete this facility in 2011. This dream will only become a reality through the generosity of local businesses and individual supporters.
We are asking for your support. This is your opportunity to truly make a difference in the lives of women and children throughout the Foothills community. We are requesting a donation of auction items for The 2011 Hope & Healing Gala. Funds raised at our Hope and Healing Gala will go directly to build this new Shelter.

Please be a proud supporter of Rowan House Emergency Shelter and be a part of making a difference!

Events and Fundraisers

• The Cowboy Christmas dance held December 11th raised $1588.87!
• Hockey Day in High River raised $5600.00!
• The Foothills  Training Centre Call to Arms Seminar raised $5000.00!
• The Charity Checkstop in Okotoks raised a total of just under $10,000 which was split with the Salvation Army.  Rowan House recieved $4700.00!

Also a big thank you to everyone that helped out and donated during the Christmas Campaign! Almost $4000.00 in gift cards were donated for client use this year.

Congratulations to our quilt raffle winners!

Queen size quilt donated by High River Handy Craft Guild - Sheila Virgo
Baby quilt donated by Chinook Quilters - Keilie Gates
Quilted runner donated by Rosanne Herchak - Margeret Chin

Fundraisers to watch for:

• April 2nd Scrapbooking Convention
• May 14th Hope and Healing Gala - tell your friends!
• June 11th & 12th Fury in the Foothills http://www.furyinthefoothills.com/ 

Volunteer Corner

Thank you to all of the volunteers who helped out during the Christmas Campaign and all of the other events and fundraisers that were held during 2010. Without you, these things would not be possible! We look forward to what’s to come in 2011.
Also thank you to those who have come on board to fill a number of needed positions. We now have Newsletter Publishers, a Social Networking volunteer, Child Care Attendants for the Healthy Relationships Group, a Donations Coordinator, a Storage Facility Organizer, and our 2011 Gala Committee!
We are still in need of drivers for pick and drop off of donations and/or to take donations to Outreach Clients. If you know of any gentlemen that are willing to volunteer their time for Rowan House, please have them contact Gisele. We will try not to over use their generosity, but sometimes we need to move heavier donations to and from different locations.

Something else to think about: The Soup Sisters organization and the Diamond Willow Artisans Retreat are partnering with Rowan House! Here’s what they’re looking for:

The Soup Sisters support women’s shelters across the country with the very simple and heartfelt gesture of providing homemade soup. They were founded in March 2009 by Calgarian, Sharon Hapton and their local launch is February 28th.

We will need a maximum of 4 volunteers for these bimonthly soup making events. We would really like to get at least 8 volunteers so that they would only have to work every second event, although if you wish to be at every event that is okay too. The events will be held on a Sunday but the exact time is still to be determined.

We will be used for meet and greet, registration, and of course clean up. The participants in this event will be paying a fee to make the soup (this is how the ingredients for the soups are purchased).

The participants will make 4 different kinds of soup at this event and all of the soup will be donated to Rowan House for its women and outreach clients.
After the soup is made and packaged it will be dropped off at the shelter.

If you are interested please let Gisele know ASAP so she can set up a meeting with Pat Lothrop at the Diamond Valley Artisan Retreat about 4.5 km west of Turner Valley and clarify the rest of the details.

Visit www.soupsisters.org for more information.
If you would like to volunteer or you’re looking for more information, please contact Gisele at volunteer@rowanhouseonline.org or at the office at 403-938-6785.

The next volunteer meeting will be held on February 7th at the Elizabeth Street Office at 1:00 p.m. For those that cannot do daytime meetings we are working on a time that is best for those who wish to meet in the evening. 


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 http://www.rowanhouseonline.org/ or call the office at 403-938-6785 for more information. You can also find us on facebook and twitter.
And don’t forget to tell your friends and family about Shop and Share at http://www.shopandshare.ca/.
People can select from a wide range of well known, brand name stores, shop online, then have a percentage of the proceeds donated to Rowan. It’s free for you and for Rowan House so create an account today!