Thankful Goodbyes

I’ve always been bad at goodbyes. My whole life, for as long as I can remember, I always avoided saying the g-word. I’d say “see you later” or “see you soon” but never goodbye. Part of that is my positive attitude – I always choose to believe the best and look on the bright side and that includes saying goodbye to people. Why say farewell when instead I can hope I’ll see them sometime in the future? In this life you never know who you will work with again, run into again, see again. Why assume it is the end if perhaps it’s about to be a different beginning?

But let’s be honest. Maybe part of my failure to say that seven-letter word is denial as well. I’m the type of person who gives 200% in everything I do. I don’t just stick a toe in the water – I dive head first into the deep end – and that’s whether the waters are calm and clear; dark and unknown; or even full of sharks! To say I commit to what I do sort of sounds like an understatement as I write it. Is there a stronger word than commit? If there is, that’s what I do. And that (you fill in the blank…loyalty? intense dedication? craziness?) makes it hard to say goodbye.

The same is true as I prepare to leave Volunteers of America Chesapeake. Yes, I’m blessed with a new, exciting opportunity and for that I am especially thankful. But that doesn’t make the g-part any easier. For more than 2 ½ years I’ve given my all – first as the Community Development Coordinator at our Residential Program Center – and then when I was promoted to Communications & Media Relations Manager for the entire organization. I became the branding guru (or brand cop as some of my colleagues have “lovingly” called me!) and helped the organization unveil Called to Care – a new tagline reflecting the organization’s deep 116-year history and faith-based Ministry of Service  I created our annual reports, wrote our newsletters (sign up here!) and crafted press releases. I launched our new website, Facebook and Twitter pages. I wrote and produced two new videos: Because You Were Called to Care and A History of Caring. I even had the distinct pleasure of combining my journalism skills (remember I told you my first day I’m a former TV reporter and anchor?) with my love for helping others through my Courtney’s Quest 15-video campaign  (click here for one of my favorites) and this Courtney’s Quest blog.

So instead of saying the g-word I’ll instead say the t-word: thank you.

Thank you to all of the 650 staff members at Volunteers of America Chesapeake who inspire me every day through the life-changing work you do.

Thank you to our more than 10,000 clients – many who opened their heart to share the stories of their lives with me and gave me the honor of sharing them with others. I will be forever touched and changed by your strength and unwavering hope.

Thank you to the more than 2,000 volunteers, including our awesome Action Team students at St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes School in Alexandria, H-B Woodlawn School and Washington- Lee High School in Arlington, VA who passionately support our programs and the individuals we serve.

Thank you to the Volunteers of America national office, who I had the pleasure of collaborating with on amazing projects such as the Birthday Wishes program at our Pratt House and Loudoun Homeless Services Center.

Thank you to the Fannie Mae Help the Homeless Walkathon. For three years I was privileged to help lead this initiative and loved getting to know the schools, students, families and individuals who chose to walk to support our Homeless Services programs.

Thank you to all of my colleagues in the non-profit field I’ve met through organizations like NonProfit Roundtable and working together to make a difference in our world.

Thank you to all of the reporters who covered our stories and our wonderful PR firm Clapp Communications who helped that happen. It’s been so rewarding working with you to share the life-changing work Volunteers of America Chesapeake is doing.

Thank you to Mid-Atlantic Design & Print and Sir Speedy for working with me to create our collateral materials and Citra Productions for shooting and editing our videos. As a creative person (but who can barely draw stick-figures!) I’ve loved seeing my visions turned into reality.   Thank you for the long hours you’ve put in for our perfect products.

Thank you to everyone who supports this organization and whose donations have made making a difference possible.

In her congratulations note Volunteers of America Chesapeake’s Chaplain, Rev. Sandra Trice Gray reminded me that: “To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under the heaven.”  Ecclesiastes 3:1.

Well, I looked up the rest of the verse and as I prepare to leave (my last day is February 10), found comfort a little farther down in verse 12 (NIV) “I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live.”

Thank you for helping me to “do good” and be happy here. I look forward to continuing to make that my goal in all I do, wherever I go.

Thank you for reading and here’s to hoping I see you soon!

~ Courtney

A Thank You 17 Years in the Making

This week’s Thank You Thursday blog comes from two people… our President/CEO, Russ Snyder, and one of our clients from Volunteers of America Chesapeake’s Paca House who was kind enough to share his story with Russ.

The blog entry is written by Russ Snyder:

“Last week I had the pleasure of meeting one of our long-time residents at Paca House, our affordable housing program in Baltimore, Maryland.

This gentleman thanked me personally for allowing him to live in Paca House for the last 17 years. (I’m not sure why he thanked me since I have only been with Volunteers of America Chesapeake for 3 years.)  I had heard of this living legend residing in one of Volunteers of America Chesapeake’s programs and properties but I had never met him.

What struck me about this gentleman was his spirit….his spirit and belief and hope in God.  As the prophet Isaiah stated in Isaiah 43:1-7 (see below), God is with those that He created and loves those that love Him.  This long-term resident loves God and has trusted in Him over the past 17 years while he recovered his life in our affordable housing property and will now become independent of our service.  (He will be moving to North Carolina soon).

Praise God for this success story and praise God for the humble spirit of this resident who is so thankful for what we do as an organization for people like him.

To help support Paca House and our other programs and to make a donation in any amount (every little bit helps!) please visit and click on “Donate Now”

Blessings to you all this week and thank you for all that you do.

- Russ

Isaiah 43:1-7 – But now, O Jacob, listen to the LORD who created you.  O Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.  I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters,   I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.  I gave Egypt as a ransom for your freedom;   I gave Ethiopia[a] and Seba in your place. Others were given in exchange for you. I traded their lives for yours because you are precious to me.  You are honored, and I love you. “Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will gather you and your children from east and west. I will say to the north and south, ‘Bring my sons and daughters back to Israel  from the distant corners of the earth.  Bring all who claim me as their God, for I have made them for my glory.  It was I who created them.’”

The Gift that Keeps Giving

This Thank You Thursday I would like to spotlight one of our recent donors.

Thank you BB&T for your $5,000.00 donation to Volunteers of America Chesapeake to support our life-changing services to help those in need in the local community.

I am lucky to say this is not the first time BB&T has blessed Volunteers of America Chesapeake with a donation. As the picture shows, we were also blessed by BB&T in 2010 when we were chosen to be a beneficiary organization for BB&T’s Lighthouse Project.

The annual Lighthouse Project includes employee volunteerism and financial support in the communities in which BB&T operates.  Since BB&T began the Lighthouse Project in 2009, the corporation has completed more than 3,200 projects, provided more than 150,000 volunteer hours and touched the lives of more than 5 million people.

For Volunteers of America Chesapeake, more than 65 employees from BB&T Washington, D.C. Region/Prince George’s County donated three days of manual labor to improve Volunteers of America Chesapeake’s Eastern Avenue Apartments, which provides low-income families from Prince George’s County permanent housing, educational and vocational training programs, crises intervention and financial classes to help them on their way to self-sufficiency.

BB&T also donated $10,000 worth of items to improve our housing community’s playground, renovate the community room and create a brand new computer lab for the families.

I of course can offer my thanks, but sometimes it means more coming from our President and CEO:

“We are grateful for the company’s dedication to our mission to inspire self-reliance, dignity and hope through health and human services,” said Russell K. Snyder, president and CEO of Volunteers of America Chesapeake. “Corporate donations like this one aid our organization in providing our high-quality human services – and this donation couldn’t have come at a better time as we are currently serving 10,000 men, women and children in need – 1,000 more people than we were helping last year at this time.”

To learn more about Volunteers of America Chesapeake’s corporate donation programs or our Give A Major Gift, Make A Major Difference campaign, please contact Assistant Vice President of Development James Wynn at 800.646.2828 or jwynn@VOAches.org

To make a donation in any amount (every little bit helps!) please visit and click on “Donate Now”

Hopefully I’ll be thanking you next week!

~ Courtney

Warm Coats Warm Hearts

This Thank You Thursday I want to send my thanks to Maryland Physicians Care , WUTB-TV, My 24 Baltimore and you for helping our clients stay warm this winter.

 

I don’t know what you think about it, but I think the weather in our Baltimore/DC area has been pretty crazy lately. We had nearly 70 degree sunshine in the middle of January one weekend and then the next it snowed when it was only supposed to rain! Don’t get me wrong – I loved the warm weather sunshine and to be honest, I actually do like snow (I was born in a blizzard, so I have a special relationship with the cold white stuff) but all this flip-flopping of seasons and up and down of temperatures is causing a lot of confusion. Even the daffodils were popping up in a neighborhood I know – and it’s not even spring yet – in fact it’s really barely even winter!

 

Rather than let the craziness of the mother nature go to my head I simply accepted each day as a new one and vowed to be prepared. Maybe it was my one or two years of being a Girl Scout… or better yet my lifetime of my mom’s voice in my head “It’s supposed to rain today – make sure you pack your umbrella!” “Courtney, where is your hat? It’s cold outside!” but either way I planned to be prepared.

Now, thanks to you, Maryland Physicians Care, and WUTB-TV, My 24 Baltimore, Volunteers of America Chesapeake can help our clients be prepared for the cold weather season. Volunteers of America Chesapeake was proud to be a partner of Maryland Physicians Care’s Coat Drive to help those in need stay warm this winter. Our drop-off bins were overflowing (like the picture above!) thanks to the generous support of our community who decided to donate more than 300 new or gently used coats for someone in need.

Many of the coats (especially the kid coats!) went to children and families staying in our homeless shelters or supportive housing programs, like our Pratt House in Baltimore. Many of these families were previously homeless and are now working toward self-sufficiency. Sometimes parents must choose between other expenses (like buying new winter gear for their kids) and paying vital expenses like rent. Your donation made their decision simple!

Even more exciting… your donations couldn’t have come at a better time.

In Falls Church, VA our Bailey’s Crossroads Community Shelter’s Hypothermia Program is busy providing warm, safe shelter for the fifth straight year in a row to men and women who are homeless. As of January, 2011, the annual Point-In-Time Count recorded more than 1,500 individuals in the Fairfax-Falls Church community who were homeless. Our shelter provided 900 of these individuals with short-term housing assistance.

In Leesburg, VA our Loudoun Homeless Services Center is also busy running its Cold Weather Shelter. In November 2009, Volunteers of America Chesapeake opened the Cold Weather Shelter; an emergency winter shelter serving up to 18 additional individuals each night from November 15 to March 30 of each year.  Cold Weather Shelter clients receive a hot dinner every night, breakfast in the morning and a bag lunch to take with them.  They can also take a shower and wash their laundry.

In Virginia Beach, VA our Lighthouse Center is busy operating its Winter Shelter. This program provides emergency services to more than 60 homeless adults each night from October to April. Through outreach efforts, word-of-mouth and local police department referrals, individuals seeking shelter are encouraged to report to a designated central location and are then transported to a site where cots, bedrolls, food and coffee are available. Established in 1990, this program is truly a partnership between the local faith community and public agencies, orchestrated by Volunteers of America Chesapeake.

And that’s just the beginning. Those three are some of the extra programs Volunteers of America Chesapeake operates in the cold weather months –  on top of the 26 other programs the non-profit operates all year long to support men, women and children in need throughout Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

From coats, to car donations, to cash donations, now is the time to support our services so we can help those in need during these most critical cold weather months. Missed out on the drive? Don’t worry! We have plenty of ways for you to help:

• Give a Major Gift, Make A Major Difference
• Gifts of Hope
• Visit our online shopping accounts where you can do all of your shopping at your fingertips and a portion of your purchase is donated to our organization.
• Shop and donate directly from our wish list.
• Donate your old car, RV or boat through Cars Helping People.
• Even $1 can make all the difference 

Just as the warm coats you’ve donated have warmed the hearts for those they help, any donation can warm the hearts of those in need.

Thank you for your generosity – it always warms my heart.

A sampling of the 300+ coats collected!

~ Courtney

You made our Christmas Wish Come True!

You Did It! You Made Our Christmas Wish Come True!

Throughout the month of December we have been asking for your help on our Facebook page and Twitter page. We have sent you letters in the mail and e-blasts (didn’t get one? Click here to sign up for our e-newsletter!). We’ve shared videos with you such as this powerful account from our clients of how Volunteers of America Chesapeake saved and changed their lives and this great organization overview. I’ve blogged for weeks sharing stories and took you behind-the-scenes through my special videos showing how you can make a difference.

We even launched a number of special campaigns just for you. We launched “Give a Major Gift, Make A Major Difference” and have been overwhelmed by the response of major donations we’ve received. We launched a new version of our Gifts of Hope campaign, providing an alternative gift guide for items (that you can give all year!) that will last long after they’ve been unwrapped. We created online shopping accounts where you can do all of your shopping at your fingertips and a portion of your purchase is donated to our organization or you can shop and donate directly from our wish list. We launched an awesome new website for our car, boat and RV donation program, Cars Helping People and, per your request, even started accepting stock donations (for more information contact James Wynn, jwynn@VOAches.org or 800.646.2828). Motivated on the hope that our Christmas Wish would be answered, we even launched a campaign where $1 could make all the difference.

And guess what? It did! Through all these mediums and more we wished intensely, like the little boy from our Hilda M. Barg Homeless Prevention Center featured in the photo above seated on Santa’s lap… and I am ecstatic to report our Christmas wish came true!

Thanks to you, our most amazing donors and supporters, Volunteers of America Chesapeake reached our goal of raising $100,000 in December to support our mission to inspire self-reliance, dignity and hope through health and human services.

Together we are “Called to Care” and can take pride knowing our services are helping change the lives of the more than 10,000 men, women and children Volunteers of America Chesapeake is currently serving.

So from the bottom of my heart – a heart which by now, through reading my blogs, you know very much believes in the spirit of Christmas and Christmas wishes coming true – I  thank you 100-thousand times over!

Together, let’s keep believing wishes do come true!

~ Courtney

PS – our work doesn’t stop just because we reached our goal. In fact, our work has only just begun this New Year. To make sure 2012 is even more successful and even more individuals receive the life-changing services they need (and deserve!) click here to donate now.

Thank You for Your Season of Giving!

American cartoonist Charles Schulz once said “Christmas is doing a little something extra for someone.”

This Christmas, from Baltimore to Virginia Beach, throughout Volunteers of America Chesapeake’s programs, we have witnessed the outpouring of generosity by those doing a little something – or in some cases doing a lot – to help those we serve.

Thanks to the generosity of community volunteers and partners, parties were planned, trees were trimmed, treats were made and presents were given.

I won’t even try to begin to outline all of the ways people made spirits bright across our organization or try to express my thanks – as those who know me, know if I did this blog would go on for pages. Instead I’d like to highlight 3 examples from this season of giving.

In Virginia even the youngest members of our communities got involved – children from Hoffman-Boston Elementary School hosted a Christmas drive for our clients at the Residential Program Center in Arlington. As a project through the Student Council, students collected four boxes of non-perishable foods and special holiday treats including cookies and chips, which they donated to the men and women at our homeless and substance abuse recovery shelter who can’t afford to purchase these items.

In Maryland, we were blessed by WMAR-TV’s 13th annual Kindertime Toy Drive. The event, organized by WMAR multi-media journalist Pete O’Neal, honors the men and women who have died in the line of duty. Law enforcement and fire officials from across the state joined forces to provide their own Santa sleigh, delivering toys throughout Baltimore. Children from our Pratt House, Eastern Avenue Apartments and Irvinigton Woods community received presents (more than 250 gifts in total!) which they may not have otherwise received on Christmas Day. Our own President & CEO Russ Snyder and his wife, volunteered at the event, giving out toys to children in need throughout the area.

Our Volunteer Coordinator Lynelle Crawford also participated and said the event was all about sharing hope and a testament to the quote “the true measure of a person is not how did they die, but how did they live, not what did they gain, but what did they give.”

Now for the third. This one is a thank-you in advance. Although Christmas is over, the season of giving is not. If you wanted to do something to help someone but thought you were out of time, fear not – because you’re not out of time! In fact, this is the perfect time because you still have 3 more days of 2011… and if you itemize your taxes, that means you have 3 more days to make a charitable contribution before year-end! Simply click here to donate online.

You can also call us at 800.646.2828 or 301.459.2020. Have an old car, RV or boat you’d like to get rid of? Donate it to Volunteers of America Chesapeake through Cars Helping People, our charitable donation program. You’ll get your tax deduction and the satisfaction of knowing your support is helping more than 10,000 men, women and children in need.

Now I’d like to leave you with a special poem, written in 1976 by Norman Wesley Brooks called “Let Every Day Be Christmas.” I hope you find it inspiring and find it true for yourself today!

Christmas is forever, not for just one day,

for loving, sharing, giving, are not to put away

like bells and lights and tinsel, in some box upon a shelf.

The good you do for others is good you do yourself.

Merry (forever) Christmas!

~ Courtney

Thank You for Helping Us Celebrate Christmas!

This Thank You Thursday, I am saying “thank you” 161 times.

Sixty of those thanks come from our 60 clients who are part of Volunteers of America Chesapeake’s Prince George’s Mental Health program. This program is a community psychiatric and residential rehabilitation program for adults with mental illness.  Volunteers of America Chesapeake supports these individuals to live independently in 16 homes across the county.

The 100 remaining “thank yous” are on behalf of Volunteers of America Chesapeake’s Prince George’s Mental Health program staff members who see first-hand how much the generosity of volunteers, donors and our local community means to the men and women we serve.

The final one “thank you” is from me. I am blessed in my role as Communications & Media Relations Manager for Volunteers of America Chesapeake to hear these stories every day and I too, realize how big of a difference even something small makes for those we serve.

Together, we are thankful for helping us celebrate Christmas. Recently, our clients enjoyed a Christmas party celebration at St. Matthews Episcopal Church’s Parish Hall in Hyattsville, MD. The party was scheduled to run from 5:00-9:00PM, but everyone was having such a wonderful time that the parish allowed us to celebrate for an additional hour!

Everyone enjoyed food donated by Quiznos, Just Jerk – Authentic Jamaican Jerk House, Buffalo Wild Wings, Cluck-U Chicken, Muffin Man, and Safeway and danced the night away.

“Prince George’s Mental Health is grateful for the generosity shown by the members of our local community,” said Tomeka Bolden, Senior Program Director. “St. Matthew’s Episcopal Parish was instrumental in providing us with such a beautiful venue and other local vendors gave without hesitation to make this event a memorable one for our consumers.  This will serve as a continuous reminder that the members of the community care about them as much as their Volunteers of America Chesapeake family.”

Sixty of our clients joined 15 of our Residential Counselors and our Prince George’s Mental Health Administrative staff members: Kyoko Queen (Vice President of Mental Health Services), Roseline Fraser (Residential Manager), Randolph Howard (Residential Director), Manoh Stewart (Rehabilitation Coordinator), Sharon Everett (Rehabilitation Supervisor), Jackie Hall (Community Service Coordinator w/Shelter Plus Care Housing program and the Community PRP programs) and LaQuanda Alston (Residential Coordinator).  Roseline Fraser and Sarah Fredericks (Residential Counselor) were the primary organizers of the event however many Residential Counselors brought food and assisted as well.

The party may have only lasted one night, but the memory will long be celebrated in the minds of those who were overjoyed to attend.

This is just one example of the many ways you can make a major difference for the individuals we serve. To find our more, visit our website at www.VOAchesapeake.org or click here to make a gift that can transform lives!

To get more involved with this particular program, please contact:

Prince George’s Mental Health Services

4611 Assembly Drive, Suite D

Lanham, MD 20706

Phone: 301.306.0904

Fax: 301.306.5105