Bethany Village News

Volunteer of the Year by Kathy Cotton

2007-04-05T13:07:00.000-07:00

It’s a small group: A long-retired, world-traveled professional who at the age of 91 cruised Anna in a yellow convertible T-bird. A hard-working mother of 12 children. A women’s collective from a lakeside homeowners association. And me, Kathy Cotton.

The late Dorothy Budell, Jean Samuels of Anna, the Eagle Point Bay Ladies Group of Goreville, and I have in common this one thing: We have all been chosen by Bethany Village to be honored for our volunteer service to this nonprofit organization that assists homeless women and other families in crisis.

Annually, in April, Bethany Village participates in National Volunteer Week, a celebration sponsored by Points of Light Foundation and first established by executive order of President Nixon in 1974. “Inspire by Example” is the theme for this year’s April 15—21 focus on the contributions of one of America’s most valuable assets: volunteers.

The U.S. Department of Labor reports that 61.2 million people volunteered through or for an organization in the one-year period ending September 2006. That is more than a quarter of America’s over-16 population.

At Bethany Village last year, residents of our Transitions Apartments, community-service and court appointees, board members, and other volunteers donated an astounding 13,243 hours of unpaid labor. A total of 1,467 of those hours were logged at my desk.

The trek that led to this 2007 Volunteer of the Year award began in 2003. When Bethany Village hired its first employee, Executive Director Bonnie Barnhart, I volunteered to assist her with a few weeks of business analysis, a process that helps an organization improve its functions and use its resources efficiently.
Guess I grossly underestimated how long that task would take us. Now, almost four years later, we’re still analyzing, improving, finding new ways to support this remarkable nonprofit organization.

First, there was a financial systems revamp, which led to my service for a time as treasurer of the board of directors. Then there was the papyrus period. What genuine paper lover could resist the lure of creating thousands of forms, documents, handbooks, signs, and promotional materials? Along the way were the challenges of fund-raising, program development, and reporting. Like the girl in the old Shake and Bake commercials, I can say, “And I helped.” (For the full effect, speak that with a punctuated drawl.)

So, why be a helper? Why work hard, even passionately, without pay? I can answer for only one of the 61.2 million people who share the title, “volunteer.” I work because I’m not finished yet. I have not learned all I want to learn. Haven’t created all I want to create. Haven’t given all I have to offer. When there are even a few pennies left, a dollar is not yet spent.

Winston Churchill said, “We make a living by what we do, but we make a life by what we give.” Giving has always been my life. I just don’t make a living at it any longer.

I welcome you to join me. Be a volunteer.

Morales & Whipple by Kathy Cotton

2007-04-05T08:01:00.000-07:00

Havana-born Marilyn Morales and Baton Rouge native Kirk Whipple are about to help homeless women in Union County, Illinois. On their 2007 concert tour, the nationally known twin-piano duo is making a stop in Cobden for a benefit performance. Proceeds of the 2:00 p.m., April 15 event will go to the Bethany Village Transitions Residency Program for homeless women and children.

For just $10, paid at the door of the Cobden Community Center, area music lovers will support families in crisis while being royally entertained by the 20 flying fingers of Whipple and Morales. What a double-good way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

These gifted duo and solo pianists are also composers, educators, and directors of The Unconservatory Festival Orchestra in Miami, where their work is now based. Their repertoire includes modern, classical, and original compositions, and they conduct presentations in both English and Spanish.

The couple has performed throughout the United States and abroad, and their list of credits (check www.southernartistry.org) is long. Whipple and Morales are listed on the rosters of the Kennedy Center Approved Artists, the State of Florida Touring Artists, the State of South Carolina Artists in Education, and State of Louisiana Touring Artists. They also serve as executive and artistic directors of The Unconservatory, a nonprofit musical organization.

This fundraiser is sponsored by our friends at the First Presbyterian Church of Cobden. We are grateful not only for the financial support, but also for the cultural and educational opportunity the couple’s visit offers. Later in the day, Whipple and Morales will present a Composition Master Class, sponsored by Skinner Studios and others for pre-registered piano students in the area.

The folks under the bright green roof on East Davie in Anna encourage you to save the date. Plan now to treat yourself to extraordinary music at the community center (formerly Drapers) on Front Street in downtown Cobden.

Come As You Will Be by Kathy Cotton

2007-03-27T12:16:00.000-07:00

In the mid-eighties, author Diana von Welanetz hosted an unusual costume party on the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. Guests were invited to envision what they wanted their lives to be like in five years, then to come to the party as though their dreams had come true.
For the “come as you will be” event, guests dressed in their successful-image attire, brought props, bragged of their pseudo-accomplishments, and talked about upcoming adventures. They stayed in character for an entire evening.
At that Welanetz event, Jack Canfield—now the famous cocreator of the outrageously successful Chicken Soup for the Soul series—pretended to be a best-selling author. He bolstered his role-playing with several bogus New York Times reviews in hand.
In his 2005 book, The Success Principles, Canfield reports, “I went on to write, compile, and edit over 80 books, including 11 number-one New York Times best sellers. . . .All those who attended that party have gone on to realize the dreams they acted out that night and much, much more.”
One of the questions Bethany Village asks of women who enter the Transitions Residency Program (TRP) is, “What goals do you hope to accomplish during this transition from homelessness to your own home?” Based on their answers, this is how our participants might look if they were guests at a “come as you will be” party.
I would have my GED and PTA license. I would have a decent, steady job and live in my own place.
I would be more independent than ever, manage my bills, have good supportive friends, and be a good mother.
All my debts would be paid off and my children would enjoy the stability of our new home and my good job.
I would have my driver’s license and a better-paying job. I would have a pretty smile again because I finally got new dentures.
I would have a car, a college degree in law enforcement, a job, and a good home for my children and me.
I would have a good credit rating and my past-due bills would be all paid in full.
I would be independent and able to manage money well. I would have a good savings account and a steady job for decent pay and be able to financially take care of myself.
My social skills would be enhanced and help me at my job and in life.
I would have disability support, be a better housekeeper and mother, and know how to love and depend on myself.
I would live, function, and socialize as a sober person, have a sense of self worth, be steady in a job and save enough money to feel confident that I can support myself and my daughter on my own.
I would have a career with retirement and insurance and live within my budget, eat for my body and mind’s best health, have good self esteem, and be the kind of person my children want to be around.
Bethany Village offers women in TRP the space of one year to live in secure, fully furnished Transitions Apartments while they take the steps to meet their own personalized goals. Our program supports their goals of self-sufficiency, work hard, education, and overcoming the emotional challenges of a past that included homelessness.
It’s our dream to some day echo Jack Canfield’s report that “all those who participated have gone on to realize their dreams and much, much more.”

Doing the Best We Can by Kathy Cotton

2007-03-16T12:39:00.000-07:00

Some years ago when I was dabbling in newspaper feature writing, an irate citizen called my attention to the plight of a family whose utilities were being disconnected. She wanted an exposé. How could this happen to disabled parents with a child in the home? Was it legal to disconnect when the weather forecast was brutal? What would become of them without heat and water?

I used my influence, not with the newspaper but with my friends, to help the family get through the crisis. It was a simple matter of a few people chipping in to pay the bill.

Recently a member of that family was in crisis again—this time, temporarily homeless. The stop-gap provision of staying temporarily in a motel had been generously provided by the benevolence of local churches. Local and private resources were at their end.

Even the expertise of Bethany Village, whose mission is to move the homeless to homes, came up short. Call after call by our intake clerk and our director met with the same answer: no vacancy.

There was not a temporary shelter space available in Marion or Heron. Nothing in Carbondale or Cairo, in Mount Vernon or Olney. No empty beds in any shelter in the Southern Illinois Coalition for Homeless. This was not as simple as a few people chipping in to pay an overdue utility bill.

The underlying problem goes beyond too few beds in the shelters. It is too few affordable homes, too few jobs that can sustain the costs of housing and skyrocketed utility charges. Each of the 16 federally subsidized facilities of the Union County Housing Authority has a waiting list. A qualified applicant for a single family dwelling at any facility may have as many as 16 other qualified families in line ahead of them. Many others do not qualify to be on the list.

The individual cry for help can be muffled by the endless slamming of doors as they close. So, What can we do? Each day we listen. Each day we look for creative solutions. Each day we do our best, even if our best doesn’t seem like enough.

Fifty-buck Meals by Kathy Cotton

2007-03-09T12:53:00.000-08:00

This week I took four children to a local restaurant for supper. With tax and tip the bill was 50 bucks. Despite delightful conversation with our attentive waitress and the obvious good deal of having someone else prepare five different plates of food, I couldn’t help weighing the relative value.

If I had been buying items for the Bethany Village Food Pantry with that same $50, I could have funded 294 pounds of food delivered to our door from the Tri-State Food Bank in Evansville, IN. As a pantry that serves families with DHS eligibility, we pay only the shipping charge of 17 cents per pound for salvage and commodity foods.

If I had applied my Ulysses S. Grant bill to the national Angel Food Ministries food relief program, I could have purchased two units of food for homeless families (or for myself and the four kids I took to a restaurant). Angel Food is locally distributed through the generous support of the United Methodist Church of Anna (UMC).

The Angel Food Ministries $25 menu for April includes six bacon-wrapped hamburger steaks, four pork chops, two pounds of breast filets, one pound ground beef, one pound meatballs, two pounds chicken tenders, one supreme pizza, one pound corn dogs, 20 oz. French fries, 16 oz. corn, 16 oz. pinto beans, 10 oz. gravy, 16 oz. rice, one pancake mix, and a large pie.

You don’t get a waitress and a chef, but you do get hard-working volunteers from UMC who make the trip to the Metropolis distribution point to pick up and prepare the food boxes. Coordinator Thomas Maske’s crew will be distributing more than 100 Angel Food orders at the church on St. Pat’s Day this month. The new program is growing rapidly.

This Angel Food bargain is available to anyone; no income restrictions apply. Any individual or group from our area can make an order to pick up for themselves or to donate as a tax-deductible gift to homeless families. Place orders at the Bethany Village office or at the UMC. We can even process LINK card payments.

The next time you are enjoying service at one of our local restaurants, the convenience of fast food, or a good home-cooked dinner, we hope you will remember that it is easy to share the pleasure of a meal. For as little as 17 cents, you can support a food pantry that assists more than 200 low-income families and about 20 homeless women and their children each month. It’s a value worth weighing.

Optimisms by Kathy Cotton

2007-02-12T13:50:00.000-08:00

The World Question Center, posted at www.edge.org, invites the world’s brilliant minds to consider an annual question. Their 2007 query is, “What are you optimistic about?”

Columbia University physicist Brian Greene is optimistic that the world will increasingly value the power of our creative and analytic abilities in making critical decisions. Stuart Kaufman, director of the Institute for Biocomplexity is optimistic about novel cancer therapies, while Oliver Morton, author of “Mapping Mars,” pins his hopes on solar energy conversion.

World peace, immortality, educated innovation, and trends toward honesty also made the World Question Center record. Since the list was intriguing but not exhaustive, an informal Bethany Village poll of brilliant minds provides these additional topics of optimism.
Thrift shop coordinator Kelly Rust is optimistic that local weather will soon get in line with our booming sales of spring and summer clothing.

Executive director Bonnie Barnhart is confident that Bethany Village now provides the best and most efficient programs and resources it has ever offered to help our clients and to make a difference in the community. “We’ve tweaked these programs for three years,” Barnhart says, “and I believe every change has made them serve our clients even better.”

Her optimism bears out in last month’s service summary, which shows our third highest caseload in any one-month period. We provided client services to 28 homeless families, 45 families at risk for homelessness, and 27 unemployed persons. Twenty women and 13 children made their homes in the Transitions Apartments. Food from donors went to 550 people. We distributed inkind donations with an estimated value of $21,826.

“We do good things here,” intake clerk Linda Hopp says. “We always have, and I know we will continue.” She shares in the optimism about increased help for needy families.

Transitions supervisor Jean Samuels adds, “I’m optimistic that every woman who comes here homeless can leave here better off. Everyone in this program has the potential of feeling better about themselves and succeeding in what they are willing to work at.”
One of our Transitions residents validates this confidence, saying, “I have a job now and I’m optimistic that we’ll soon have a home of our own and that I will be able to get my own car.” After 15 months in the program, this mother of two sons is achieving her major goals.

My choice for optimism sides with Harvard Medical School psychologist Nancy Etcoff who is hopeful about increasing the hedonic set point. I, too, believe that people can become happier.

Etcoff writes, “. . .people keep pursuing happiness. They want more. Can they get it? I offer a cautiously optimistic yes.”
Though heredity downloads the traits that set our “happiness baseline,” it seems apparent that some people find ways to sustain happiness beyond the predispositions of their DNA. Some also create happiness against the odds of circumstance.

For example, I see it here in homeless women who rediscover their value as worthwhile human beings, in women who learn to trade blame for gratitude. There is an inner happiness that rises from knowing that one’s life makes a difference.

In the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson included the pursuit of happiness among humanity’s unalienable rights. Seeking happiness is the right of homeless women, homeless children, and families with poverty-level income. Bethany Village is optimistic that an increased measure of happiness can be found.

Chicken Soup & Jello by Kathy Cotton

2007-02-02T14:10:00.000-08:00

Between my collection of graphic design books and favorite portraits by a gifted photo-artist, a shelf in my office displays two packages of Jello and a can of Campbell’s chicken noodle soup.

It wasn’t the colorful, creative packaging that earned these food items their feature place among my favorite things. Soup and Jello are there because of their age.

The date on the can’s rusted tin bottom tells me it will soon be sweet sixteen. If soup could drive, this can would be in line at the Anna Drivers License Examining Station. My two Jello boxes are codeless, but pre-date 1994 nutrition labeling. The orange-flavored one has a price of 14 cents stamped on it in blue ink. They are old.

When these items were tossed from donation boxes onto the heap of foods we can’t give to hungry families, I considered testing them. I wondered if adding a cup of boiling water and a cup of ice cubes to more-than-decade-old lemon gelatin could still bring it to wiggle stage. (I thought it would.)

Instead I decided to make these packages a daily, graphic reminder of an important donation principle: “Do it now.” The display reminds me to share what I don’t need while it will do the most good for those who need it.

The workers at our thrift shop on Bunny Bread corner are reminded of this Good Donor Principle each day. They receive beautiful, expensive dresses ruined by hanging for ages in a closet. Warm wool sweaters that have been a tasty snack for moths. Like-new items that were in style when that chicken soup would have made a good lunch.

One of my Quaker friends invited me to a “naked lady party” at her home this weekend. She assures me that we will all remain modestly attired at this clothing-swap event. Everyone will bring the extras from their own closets, and we’ll have the fun of sorting and shopping from our collected merchandise.

For those who don’t want to turn closet cleaning into a party event, Bethany Village provides a wonderful alternative. Those little gifts that “ just aren’t you” (even though the holiday tags had your name on them) become birthday presents for homeless women and children. That can of vegetables that isn’t your family’s favorite adds to the soup pot of a hungry family. The jeans your child outgrew so fast become another child’s school clothes. Timing is a key to being a great donor. Simply give things when they will have the greatest impact on others.

This month the First Christian Church in Anna provided cake mixes in time for our new monthly birthday party project. Sixty-nine pounds of ground venison arrived from Meg Simonds and Brian Edwards, just as our freezers were empty.

Those stalwarts of giving—the Wetaug Church of Christ, First Baptist Church of Jonesboro, Goldwing Road Riders and Anna First Baptist—brought food to restock dwindling pantry supplies. Salem Lutheran Church delivered needed hygiene items. At our thrift shop friends provided clothing for our new spring-is-coming displays.

So, if you have decades-old autographed baseball cards (like the ones my mother-in-law threw away) or 1991 soup and very old Jello, you might not want to share them. But if you can bless someone in need with your surpluses, do it. Do it now.

Souper Bowl by Kathy Cotton

2007-01-26T13:25:00.000-08:00

The last time I was wild about football was in the ’80s when my son played on the AJ Wildcat teams that went to state two consecutive years. I loved the state champ in jersey #80.

Though I’m no pigskin fan, one of the Super Bowl XLI festivities still sparks a cheer from me: the Souper Bowl of Caring. On a Sunday when the sports world focuses on football mania, young people across our country will quietly raise millions of dollars through a Souper Bowl that helps people who are hungry and hurting.

The idea began in 1990 when youth at a church in Columbia, SC, were inspired by a prayer to help hungry people. Their plan was to hold soup pots and collect $1 each from worshippers on Super Bowl Sunday. That first year, 22 churches participated, collecting $5,700 for the hunger.

This simple movement grew into a national, youth-led event. Since 1993, people of all faiths and ages have joined the Souper Bowl of Caring to generate $33 million. A pantry in one of our neighboring counties raises more than $10,000 in the event!

Because groups give all the money to local charities of their own choice, food banks, soup kitchens, and shelters across the country receive funds to help make it through the lean winter months after the holiday-giving boom has dwindled.

Here’s how your congregation, club, school, or organization can participate in the February 4, 2007, Souper Bowl of Caring.

Announce the collection to your members, asking that each person donate $1 or a non-perishable food item. Collect the donations in pots and tally the results. Report your participation on or after February 4 at www.souperbowl.org or call 1-800-358-SOUP. Deliver your donations directly to the charity of your choice.

If your group chooses to support the Bethany Village food pantry, you can be sure that 100% of your cash gift or food donation will go directly to Union County families in need. Our pantry clients meet Illinois Department of Human Services income guidelines.

Last year several area churches made Souper Bowl of Caring donations to Bethany Village. Our friends at Anna Heights Baptist Church had a by-the-pound Souper Bowl collection competition that netted a whopping 1,562 pounds of food for the pantry. This year we hope even more groups will expand the fun of the big football day by thinking outside that 120-yard by 160-foot box.

The folks under the bright green roof on East Davie Street hope that Sunday’s football extravaganza with its multi-million-dollar advertising will remind you to share the simple things: a buck, a can of soup. Be a “souper hero” to a family in need.

BV & Angel Food by Kathy Cotton

2007-01-12T09:20:00.000-08:00

Bethany Village has joined hands with a local church congregation to support the arrival of Angel Food Ministries (AFM) in Anna. United Methodist Church Anna is now a host site for distribution of AMF nationwide grocery relief.

Angel Food Ministries of Monroe, GA, is a non-profit, non-denominational organization. In its thirteen-year history this “food ministry with a servant’s heart” has grown from service to a few dozen local families to bargain-priced food distribution for up to a half million families a month.

United Methodist Church Anna joins nearly 100 churches and organizations that serve as host sites in Illinois. Other area hosts include Alto Pass, Benton, Caledonia, Marion, Metropolis, Murphysboro, Olmsted, and Zeigler. Metropolis serves as the distribution point where the UMCA volunteer team picks up orders.

Until they were approved as a host site, United Methodist placed orders on a small scale with Alto Pass. Anna coordinator Thomas Maske hopes that adding the new ministry at his church will expand service to area families, as well as provide a food donation program for Bethany Village.

Without application or qualification, any individual or group may purchase a monthly $25 food box from Angel Food. Purchases can be for personal use or for a tax-deductible in-kind donation to homeless and needy families through Bethany Village.

Groceries, including frozen, packaged, and fresh foods, are sold for $25 per unit in a quantity that fits in a medium-sized box. Comparison-shopping puts the typical value of a food box at $42 to $78. AMF also offers to purchasers of the basic order an additional assortment of specialty bargains.

For those who wish to purchase a $25 food box with food stamps, Bethany Village will process Link card orders during our regular business hours, 9:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. weekdays. Personal or donation orders with payments by cash, money order, or check go to United Methodist Church Anna. Checks are made out to the church.

The basic menu, posted at the AFM web site and through host organizations, changes monthly. Along with order and pick-up dates, the menu will be published monthly in Monday’s Pub, courtesy of the Gazette-Democrat. Bethany Village will also email the monthly menu and order form by request.

The February $25 order includes 3 lb. breaded chicken tenders, 1.5 lb. ribs, 4 lb. chicken thighs, 1 lb. ground beef, 2 lb. breaded chicken breast filets, 10 beef burritos, 1 box cereal, 1 box taco shells, 1 pie, 16 oz. Rice, 1 corn muffin mix, 20 oz. french fries, 16 oz. sugar snap peas, 16 oz. mixed vegetables, 12 oz. smoked sausage, dozen eggs, and 16 oz. pinto beans.

The last day to place and pay for February orders is Monday, Jan. 29. Distribution at 111 West Monroe in Anna is set for 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10. Any order not picked up during scheduled distribution becomes a donation to Bethany Village.

The goal of Bethany Village has always been to help homeless and needy families. In addition to our pantry, which provides food to hundreds of families each month, we expect the Angel Food Ministries program to benefit many Bethany Village clients. We welcome you to try a food box or to donate one. And we send our thanks to the hard-working crew at United Methodist Church for making it possible.

July 2006 Update

2006-08-04T13:12:00.000-07:00

The flow of life and help at Bethany Village is continuous. All 20 of our Transitions Apartments for homeless women and children are full today.   Two residents are preparing to move out, and a new family has already been approved to fill a vacancy.
The turnover is a common part of our process. But what occurs between those dates stamped as “entry” and “exit” is often amazing. This week a young mother proudly displayed her General Education Diploma. She will begin her college education next week; in fact, she is one of five Transitions residents currently enrolled in college.
A mother of two who recently moved into the apartments secured a job this week.  She is one of ten residents who made the leap from being unemployed to becoming working women.
During their Bethany Village residency—from one to 24 months—some women regain custody of their children. Others pay off indebtedness, get their first car or first job, learn to live without an abusive mate, or find the means to deal with medical difficulties.
The support network that makes possible these positive changes is extensive.  Our staff includes a caseworker and a job specialist with decades of experience in their fields. Additionally, we have linkage agreements with more than 40 area agencies and organizations that can provide other specialized services.
Last month volunteers worked 1,259 hours to help keep Bethany Village programs running smoothly. Our thrift shop grossed $6,683—one dollar at a time! The shop also provided $420 in vouchers to needy families.
We distributed in-kind gifts valued at $21,960. Items included clothing and household items for our store, food and hygiene items from the pantry, school supplies, and household products for the apartments.
Our food pantry served 235 families (596 individuals) with food and hygiene items valued at $8,732.  We offer a note of thanks to friends of Bethany Village whose gardens provided fresh corn and butternut squash this week. We welcome the abundance from local gardens as a tax-deductible gift to our pantry.
During our annual fundraising campaign this month, we offer you an easy opportunity to support the good work of Bethany Village. Call our office at 833-1777 to purchase a ticket to our Great Boars of Fire buffet dinner September 8.
Each $15 ticket includes a $5 donation to Bethany Village.  If you can’t attend the dinner, consider sending us a support gift of any amount toward our $10,000 goal. Your donation will be doubled in value by a matching challenge grant from the Delta Foundation.  There is no better time to give support that will make a genuine difference in the lives of needy families.
The folks under the bright green roof on East Davie in Anna thank you for helping us help others.

# # #

Mathing-Gift Challenge Grant Set

2006-06-01T09:05:00.000-07:00

June 1, 2006, BV news by Kathy Cotton.

A Rich Tennant cartoon featured in Fundraising for Dummies shows two workers setting up a fundraiser dinner.  One asks, “Does the check writing pen go above the dessert spoon or next to the salad fork?”  I laughed out loud when I saw it.

The blatant honesty of offering a “check writing pen” will be the centerpiece of this year’s Bethany Village’s annual fund-raising dinner. It will be a no-frills event. No speaker or band. No theme or decorations. No auction or raffles. We will quite simply offer our friends a fork and a pen—a really good meal and a really good cause!

So highlight Friday, Sept. 8, on your calendar and plan to join us at Great Boars of Fire for a casual, come-and-go barbecue dinner.  Tickets will be available in early August. And if you want to support our work with Union County’s homeless women and children and other families in crisis, then you will have a wonderful opportunity to write a check with double impact. This event features a matching-gift grant for donations up to $5,000.

Just as we were seeking matching-fund donors for our fall campaign, Delta Foundation Executive Director Jodell Wheeler of Naples FL and Marella Kaufman of Anna made a site visit at Bethany Village. They were impressed enough for the Delta Foundation to provide the full $5,000 that we needed for our fundraiser’s matching-gift challenge.

We hope you will agree with Wheeler’s assessment of Bethany Village.  She writes, “It is a privilege to make a donation to such a worthwhile cause and impressive operation.”  We hope you will take advantage of our matching grant challenge and also feel that it is a privilege to assist needy families through our programs.

If you have tried to reach Bethany Village by phone this week, you may have had a frustrating experience. Our wonderful multi-line system with its answering machine and voice-mail options was knocked out by a massive lightning ground-strike. We now have a single operational phone for both the office building and the 20-apartment Transitions facility.

The staff is getting lots of exercise, traveling office-to-office and building-to-building. Who knew we communicated with each other so much? By the end of yesterday, I was travel-worn enough to use my cell phone to call the director in the next room. Note that until a new system is installed, there is no phone service here after 4:00 p.m. and just a little very-greatly-appreciated service during the day.

We thank friends at Anna Junior High School for a school-year-end donation of baby items and bottled water. We also genuinely appreciate food contributions from Don and Millie Hankla and from First Baptist Church of Jonesboro.

Our shelves were so empty today that Jamie, our food pantry coordinator, could only offer clients mashed potato flakes, noodles, stew and figs. Now that school is out we have a greater need for kid-friendly foods like peanut butter and cereal. Attraction to figs appears to be limited for our youngsters.

This week Bethany Village welcomed four new residents and two young children to the Transitions Apartments. All of us under the bright green roof on East Davie in Anna thank you for helping to provide a safe and supportive place for these homeless families.

Reaching our Potential

2006-05-10T08:53:00.000-07:00

Our executive director, Bonnie Barnhart, asks hard questions. Not just questions about funding. Or budgets. Or homelessness. This week the director, with her book bag stuffed with Maslow, Shaw, and Gegax, posed to her staff this question, “How do you motivate people to reach their full potential?”

For each of the homeless women who live for a time in our Transitions Apartments, Bonnie wants to do just that:  water and fertilize the seed of individual potentiality and watch it press up through hard soil into a blooming flower.  Just how to tend the oft-trampled garden is the issue.

One of Bonnie(s favorite potentiality fertilizers is awareness.  She believes for herself, as well as for the residents in her charge, that pouring on the gifts of people with greater aptitudes and experience, new talents, and different outlooks spurs growth. So she brings in the experts.

Poised and peaceful Susan Holland led yoga classes here.  Shawnee College instructors offered courses in conflict resolution and anger management. Nina Lofton and Glenda Boone of US Bank in Cobden shared the basics of banking.  Imaginative education consultant Joanne Blakley of Anna began a series of creative writing workshops.

Now Sonja Comer of The Fellowship House in Anna is beginning an eight-week codependency support group at the Transitions Apartments. She calls the project Learning to Let Go.

Attendees will learn about addiction to being needed and what to do about it.  Many codependents, like other addicts, blame the people around them for their problems or simply deny their problems.  Often pushed by feelings of emptiness or low self-esteem, the codependent uses the needs of others to make herself feel whole and in the process enables the needy person to abdicate healthy responsibility.

Melody Beattie, author of Codependent No More, developed a checklist of ten questions for codependents. She asks, “Do you feel responsible for other people(their feelings, thoughts, actions, choices, wants, needs, well-being and destiny? Are you often unable to stop talking, thinking and worrying about other people and their problems?

“Do you feel compelled to help people solve their problems or by trying to take care of their feelings? Do you stay in relationships that don(t work and tolerate abuse in order to keep people loving you?  Do you leave bad relationships only to form new ones that don(t work either?”

To a little potentiality seed, awareness of the vast wealth of positive alternatives to our detrimental tendencies is like fresh, spring rain: one more element needed for growth. Bethany Village will be watching for new blossoms.

5/5/06 News: April Stats

2006-05-05T11:00:00.000-07:00

By the first-week deadline of each month, the left-brained, analytical, detailed, logical part of my job dives into a collection of Bethany Village data called the service summary.  I analyze volumes of life reduced to neat columns of numbers. I check them for accuracy. Compare them to last month, last year.  Record them for posterity.

Somewhere in this process my right brain joins in. The statistics wear faces. There’s a beautiful, red-haired toddler sharing her piggy book; someone listening intently to a lonely senior adult; a desperate, homeless woman discovering one last option.

I see an honest, hardworking mother clutching a utility bill—she’s embarrassed to ask for help. There’s a dedicated and sweaty volunteer; a smiling, grateful client picking up an assistance check that means the family won’t be evicted.

I pass some of our monthly stats on to you with the hope that you, too, will see or feel the hope and gratitude behind the numbers.  Here is April at Bethany Village.

Transitions Apartments
Sixteen homeless women were enrolled in the Transitions Program and lived in the apartments with their 15 dependent children. A total of 58 women and 48 children have lived in the 20 furnished apartments since our October 2004 opening. Maximum residency is two years.

Volunteer Staff
A total of 1,002 hours of unpaid labor, including 493 Work Service hours provided by our residents, helped run our facilities and programs for the month. At minimum wage, the gift of work hours is valued at $6,507.

Crisis Services
The Food Pantry served 217 families (533 individuals) with food valued at $7,596. The 75 client households we served included 30 homeless families, 45 families at risk for homelessness, and 32 unemployed persons.

Thrift Shop
Thrift Shop revenue for the month was $5,563. Free shopping vouchers in the amount of $417 were distributed to needy families.

Support
We’re grateful for in-kind donations of clothing and household items to our Thrift Shop plus food to our pantry with an estimated total value of $17,906.  Non-grant cash gifts totaled $2,308.

Special Projects
We began our ongoing aluminum can recycling project. The 2006 summer housewares drive is underway. We are collecting good used (or new) bath towels, wash cloths, dish towels, dish cloths, four-place settings of dishes, tableware, plastic glasses, and bed linens. The Thrift Shop is looking for donations of children’s clothing and summer clothes for all sizes.

The folks under the bright green roof on East Davie in Anna are grateful for all the individuals, churches and agencies whose cooperation results in our good report.  With our whole brain we thank all who help us help others.

4/20/06 News: We Love Volunteers

2006-04-20T12:42:00.000-07:00

Volunteers are not paid—not because they are worthless, but because they are priceless! Like many not-for-profit organizations, Bethany Village would not exist but for the vision and generous contribution of volunteers.  Every person on the March 2001 organizing committee of this countywide family crisis center was a volunteer. Every staff member until September 2003 (when we added one employee) was a volunteer. And now volunteers provide more than a thousand hours of work each month to Bethany Village.

National Volunteer Week
     We are celebrating National Volunteer Week with a gratitude table in our front office. It is covered with small donated gifts: stationery, candles, lotions, household items, cosmetics, books. Each of the wonderful people whose work is free to Bethany Village is invited to select an appreciation gift.  (I’m personally torn between choosing a pedometer and a bottle of Aussie Mega shampoo.)

Office & TR Volunteers
     Bethany Village is genuinely grateful for all those who give a piece of their valuable lives to make a difference in the lives of families in crisis. We appreciate the volunteers who currently work at the office:  Steve McMahan, Dorothy Treece, and tutors Shirley Harris and Joanne Blakely.  We are also blessed each day by the work service hours donated by the 15 resident women of the Transitions Apartments.

Thrift Shop Volunteers
     At our thrift shop, except for the paid supervisor, the work of our entire staff is without cost to Bethany Village.  We are thankful for our Easter Seals workers, Norma Frailey and Ken Pearson; our assigned residents; and the team from Eagle Point Bay Ladies Group of Goreville, which was named the Bethany Village 2006 Volunteers of the Year.  That rotating team includes Irene Hoffman, Loretta Robinson, Mary Strobl, P.J. Amigdalos, Vicki Jarvis, Lou Mandekich, Phyllis Wasielewski, Marge Kick, Delores Wiemer, Betti Futch, Janus Kling, Joyce Dutton, Jan Marcan and Jeani Tarrant.

Volunteer Board of Directors
     And, of course, we express gratitude for the ongoing work of our volunteer board of directors:  Alfred Kamp, Bill Lewis, Meg Simonds, Judi Ray, Alice Edelman, Kim Guetersloh, Cathy Reed, Dr. Sharon Resch, and Monsignor Dennis Schaefer.

“I am only one. . .”
In the past three years I’ve met dozens of other volunteers here—Retired Senior Volunteer Program workers, community service and court-appointed placements, AmeriCorps volunteers, Easter Seals assignees, college interns and community friends.  Each one brought unique gifts and skills to this workplace and each contributed something valuable to the important work here.
     Edmund Hale wrote, “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything but sill I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.”  That is the heart of a volunteer.  I know; I am one.                                                                         –Kathy Cotton

4/13/06 News: There's No Place Like Home

2006-04-11T13:04:00.000-07:00

Clicking together the heels of her ruby red slippers, little Dorothy clutched Toto and repeated, “There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home.”  That sentiment is deep in the hearts of many homeless families who live temporarily in shelters or doubled up, couch-to-couch, in other people’s overcrowded homes. They dream of home, too.

A new report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition based on 2005 data brings to focus just how difficult it may be for homeless families to accomplish that dream in Union County, Illinois. In our county the fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $492. In order to afford this level of rent without paying more than 30 percent of income on housing, a household must earn  $1,640 monthly or $19,680 annually. Assuming a 40-hour work week, 52 weeks per year, this level of income translates into a housing wage of  $9.46.

A minimum wage worker earns an hourly wage of  $6.50. In order to afford the fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment, a wage earner must work 58 hours per week, 52 weeks per year.  Translate these statistics to the life of a homeless mother with three children who is willing to work hard to provide a home for her family. She would need to secure a full-time minimum-wage job and another half-time minimum-wage job for a two-bedroom apartment.  For three-bedrooms, increase her weekly employment to 71 hours.

The complexities domino when the absence of employment benefits for most minimum-wage jobs is factored in.  Can this working mother arrange or afford child care for her family while she works? What happens if the mother gets sick or her children are sick?

Here is another scenario. A person on monthly Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments receives $579 per month in Illinois.  If SSI represents the sole source of income, $174 in monthly rent is affordable while the fair market rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Union County is $410.
A full quarter of our county’s 7,290 households are renters.  Studies by the Illinois Housing Development Authority indicate that the demand for affordable housing outpaces the supply and that many housing units currently available are not affordable to low-income families.

Along with all the hard issues raised by needs for housing and employment, we have much to be grateful for here in Union County. We are thankful for the 394 public housing units and 162 units of subsidized housing that serve low-income families.  We appreciate local businesses who provide work opportunities for homeless and entry-level workers.  We salute dedicated childcare workers and after-school care programs. And, we express gratitude to everyone who helps support the work of Bethany Village.  In Union County we still click our heels together and believe there is no place like home . . . for everyone.

4/6/06 News: Gloom, Despair, Agony, Hope

2006-03-30T11:51:00.000-08:00

Across nearly three decades, Hee Haw’s Gloom, Despair and Agony skit had viewers wailing along with a tune that concluded, “If it weren(t for bad luck, I(d have no luck at all.”  That song popped up fresh for me as I read this month’s National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) newsletter. Gloomy headlines read, “Widespread Epidemic of Hate Crimes and Violence Against Homeless People” and “Worst Case Housing Needs Increase.”

The March issue featured the 2006 Illinois Poverty Report that shows our state leading the Midwest in poverty rate. Illinois lags the region on 15 key poverty indicators. According to the study we’re at the area’s lowest for deep poverty rate, child poverty rate, rate of uninsured people, home ownership rate, and reading and math achievement gap between poor and non-poor fourth and eighth graders (worst in nation).  For details, the statewide report can be viewed online at www.heartlandalliance.org.

The statistics forcefully reminded me of how lucky the homeless in Union County are.  Not lucky to be homeless, of course, but lucky that caring Southern Illinois people give enormous amounts of money, time and attention to helping them. Lucky that we offer a clean, safe facility and a staff dedicated to providing them the chance to work toward better lives.

According to a U.S. Dept. Of Housing and Urban Development count last year, 40 percent of the nation(s homeless were living on the streets or otherwise unsheltered.  On the streets the homeless face not only harsh elements but also an increasing pattern of violence.  Recently three homeless men in Florida were brutally beaten with baseball bats. One died. A video surveillance camera captured footage of what was called “inhumane pummeling” and a “hate crime”committed by teenagers.

Contrast that scene with our local facility where round-the-clock security is provided to homeless women and children. Where our residents are welcomed by local churches and find jobs in area businesses. Where the children go to local schools, compete on sports teams and play at the city park.

A U.S. Conference of Mayors report in December revealed a six percent increase in requests for emergency shelter, with 32 percent of shelter requests by homeless families unmet.

Here, the Transitions facility is an appropriate size to meet area needs; the 20 apartments accommodate up to 50 women and children. As some residents succeed in finding jobs and permanent housing, others arrive to fill their vacated apartments. This week three new homeless families found shelter and support here.

Without doubt, homelessness is characterized by gloom, despair and agony.  But in Union County we add another element: hope.  Thanks to all of you who support Bethany Village, there is more hope for the homeless in this southern county than in much of our struggling state.

3/27/06 News

2006-03-24T14:09:00.000-08:00

In Memory of Shirley Cunningham
The Bethany Village staff and Transitions Apartment residents extend sincere sympathy at the death of Shirley M. Cunningham, wife of William R. Cunningham and president of Cunningham Electronics Corporation. The Cunningham family was pivotal in the formation of Bethany Village, generously dedicating the 20-apartment facility for homeless women and children, as well as our office building, to serve Union County families. We remember with gratitude their support and kindness in helping the needy through Bethany Village.

HUD Grant Funds Arrive
We are glad to report that funds have been released for our first-ever federal grant.  On Sept. 1, 2005, Congressman Costello notified us of the $100,000 Rural Housing and Economic Development grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  The long, quiet spell that followed was finally broken last week with the announcement of grant details. Funds will be available to us across a three-year period to assist in paying salaries and wages for specific Bethany Village staff members. Thanks, America, for including Union County in your goal to end homelessness!

Board Actions
At the March 20 meeting of our board of directors, Bethany Village hired a new part-time Transitions monitor, Teresa Ramage of Jonesboro.  Teresa previously served Bethany Village as a volunteer cashier at our Thrift Shop, where her bright smile will be missed by both customers and staff.

The board also agreed to purchase used recycling equipment for our aluminum can fund-raiser project.  After some renovation, a trailer will be available at the Bethany Village parking lot for donations of aluminum cans.  While we won(t be paying for can collections by the pound like local recycler Bob West previously did, we will make it possible for area residents to do a good turn for the environment while supporting programs that help the needy in Union County.

Easter Project
We congratulate the two families who won drawings for the Bethany Village St. Patrick(s Day food and hygiene baskets. Our next holiday project is underway with the assistance of AmeriCorps volunteer Judy McCann of the Land of Lincoln/Southern Seven AmeriCorps Service in partnership with The Haven House Christian Family Crisis Center.  Judy is collecting items for Easter baskets for resident children at our Transitions Apartments.

Her first donation was spring baskets provided by Ruth Ford of Anna. (Thanks, Ruth!) Readers who would like to support Judy(s project may drop off items like wrapped candy, basket grass or small toys at The Haven House, Suite M at Bunny Bread, or at the Bethany Village office.

Daylight Savings Time for Illinois
The folks under the bright green roof on East Davie in Anna remind our Illinois friends to set your clocks forward Saturday night to make way for Daylight Savings Time.  What a great way to finish off April Fools Day!

Children Donate 11 Pounds of Pennies

2006-03-24T13:08:00.000-08:00

Coins for Kids
Nathan Telfair, age eight, and his sister Kaylyn, seven, are serious about helping needy children. In the past year these youngsters from Florissant, MO, saved more than 11 pounds of pennies to donate to  Bethany Village, where their grandmother works.

Nathan says they watch for pennies everywhere.  But his advice to coin hunters is, “Look under the couch. That’s the best place to find them.”

During a spring break visit with their grandparents, Gordon and Linda Hopp of Anna, the children delivered their prized savings, dropping each penny into a Coins for Kids bank at Bethany Village. Nathan estimated that they brought “about a billion” pennies. “We(ve been saving them for homeless kids,” he says. “It’s to buy things like clothes and school supplies.”

Children’s Project Fund
Their gift kicks off an April penny drive sponsored by Bethany Village in conjunction with the celebration of Month of the Young Child. According to Executive Director Bonnie Barnhart, all proceeds will go to the Children’s Project Fund which helps provide clothing and supplies for homeless children in Union County.

“Last year a grant funded our children’s project budget,” Barnhart says. “We’re hoping that gifts like this one from Nathan and Kaylyn will help us meet this year’s needs. We really appreciate families and educators who help children understand that they can make a difference, no matter what their age. Their gifts may be small, but they are learning an important lesson about caring for other people.”

Honoring Teachers and Care Givers
In addition to the penny drive, Bethany Village will honor the teachers and care givers in Union County who are serving homeless children. Gifts created by volunteers and residents at Bethany Village will be delivered during the Month of the Young Child recognition of early childhood professionals.

Remembering Dorothy

2006-03-24T12:15:00.000-08:00

Honoring the Good Life of a Dedicated Volunteer
When Dwayne Fehrenbacher’s Shawnee Community Collage PS013 computer class met January 9, the seat of one new student was sadly empty. Dorothy Budell, at the age of 91 years and 10 months, died at her home Jan. 3, a week before her first college course began.

Our dear friend Dorothy, the supervisor of the Bethany Village food pantry, was an extraordinary, inspiriting human being whose years were measured in quality as well as quantity.  Her long life was filled with unique achievements not the least of which was her capacity for joy.

Breaking the Glass Ceiling
Employed by Prudential Life Insurance in Chicago for 41 years, Dorothy rose from her entry job as a window clerk to become the Midwest director of personnel.  This remarkable achievement was a first for a woman in Prudential; Dorothy broke through the company’s glass ceiling.

Dorothy’s Wish List
Though she had been a successful professional and a world traveler, there were a few experiences still on her wish list.  Attending college.  Skydiving.  Kite flying.  Riding a motorcycle.  Careening down a carnival super slide.  Owning a Thunderbird convertible.  She accomplished the last three wishes since moving to Anna in 2002.

Another item on the to-do list that Dorothy accomplished with typical zest and excellence was what she called “pay back.”   For all the blessings of her long, happy life, she felt compelled to give back blessings to the world.  While generosity and caring were always bright threads in her fabric, during her last decade ‘pay back’ took the shape of serving as a volunteer at charitable organizations.

An Honored Volunteer
In Wisconsin she was a beloved volunteer at Peter’s Pantry.  In Anna she served for a time at the Union County Hospital gift shop, then became the full-time food pantry supervisor and friend-at-large for Bethany Village.

Her devoted volunteerism brought to Dorothy unexpected attention in Southern Illinois.  In May 2004 she received her first-ever Retired and Senior Volunteer Program Seasoned Volunteer of the Year award. Qualifications for the new RSVP honor included being 90 or older and having actively volunteered during each month of the previous year.  More than 800 hours logged at Bethany Village well qualified her.

At a gala event at Southern Illinois University in October 2004, Dorothy received another premier honor.  She was named one of four recipients of the first Inspiring Women of Achievement award. The event, held annually, honors remarkable women “who have made significant, unique, and lasting contributions in their community or workplace, and have served as role models of achievement for others.”

Southern Illinois University Carbondale Chancellor Walter Wendler wrote to Dorothy, “Your commitment to pursuing your dreams and of service to others in our communities has, and will continue, to serve as a powerful statement to others who may doubt their abilities to persist because of perceived obstacles in their way.”

Through all the honors and publicity, Dorothy remained patiently nonplused.  She simply did not see herself as we all saw her: amazing and inspiring.

A Farewell
When our pantry supervisor was not the first to log in at Bethany Village on the first work day of the new year, we went straight to her home.  There was our friend, peaceful in her last sleep, with a bright quilt tucked lightly around her little frame. Reminiscing through the happy memorabilia that dotted her home, I noticed a plaque above her kitchen sink.  It read, ‘You do not stop playing because you grow old.  You grow old because you stop playing.’  That was the friend I knew:  a happy, playful kid with a well-worn body.

The memories of her hard and excellent work,usually accompanied by singing, her deep-seated appreciation for life, and that engaging smile will continue to inspire all who knew her.

Dear friend, your ‘pay back’ bill is paid in full.  Memorials honoring the good life of Dorothy Minnie Agusta Budell can be made to the Bethany Village food pantry.

3/9/06 News: People Who Say Thanks

2006-03-17T11:30:00.000-08:00

In St. Luke(s account of the ten healed lepers, nine went on their way rejoicing, while one returned to give thanks to Jesus. Bethany Village is always glad when we can help people in crisis go on their way rejoicing, but it(s really a perk when one does return to say thanks. Here are a few (thanks( stories from this week.
Our vocational specialist, Wally King, heard from a  job seeker who recently used our SUCCESS (that stands for Serving Union County with Career and Employment Services and Skills) program. She said that her new resume helped her land a good job.  Wally welcomes Union County job hunters to check out our  job-search assistance by appointment any Wednesday.
Another thanks came to us from a former resident of the Transitions Apartments. She let us know that she has worked with the same employer for nine months, had her own apartment, paid off back debts and bought a car.  Another resident was grateful that she had found a home and three part-time jobs, all this week! And a homeless family who was living in a vehicle also stopped by to give thanks for our crisis assistance. They have now moved into an apartment, secured furniture and straightened out delays in their Social Security income. We are always glad to hear the good stories of our friends.
Bethany Village welcomes our newest addition, baby Caleb, born March 2. He weighed six pounds, one ounce.  Baby and family are doing well and are ready to move into their new home.
Our bookkeeper and several other staff members have been busy this week preparing for our annual financial audit. One last task is to complete the inventory and valuation of donated Thrift Shop fixtures and equipment.  We were grateful for the help of a hard-working Easter Seals appointee, Dorothy Treece, who spent a day kneeling on the Bunny Bread brick floor to sort hundreds of little extra display brackets and pieces.
We were all happily surprised when the conglomeration of excess parts stored in a back room transformed into dozens of valuable racks and display units.  The donation of the entire lot of equipment and furnishings as well as the ongoing daily donations of clothing and household items made it possible for our little shop to clear more than $33,000 in its first six months.

Other staff members are working on state grant reports due at the close of the month. Instead of hours on the brick floor, this job takes hours at a computer screen.  In the end, it(s all just counting . . . and being accountable to those who trust Bethany Village to use their gifts wisely.
Our thrift shop(s last-of-the-winter sale is now in progress and we(re in need of spring clothing. We welcome you to give us those clothes that you can(t wear or don(t wear and in return we(ll give you a valuable tax-deduction receipt!  Our Donation Station, at the second door on the right of the Bunny Bread hallway, is open 10 a..m. to 5:00 p.m.  Remember, it(s good deals for a good cause.  Every cent of profit goes directly toward our programs to serve homeless women and children.
In honor of the it(s-time-to-change-your wardrobe-to-spring season, this week(s question from the BV Happy Survey is, (What kind of clothing makes you feel most happy?(  Answers on the office appreciation board include: Bright colors.  Things that make me look good. Comfortable (this one was often repeated). T-shirts. Something light and airy.  Broken in.  Soft fabrics.
Whatever you are wearing today, we hope you are wearing a smile with it.

3/23/06 News: April Is Month of the Young Child

2006-03-17T11:26:00.000-08:00

The windows of heaven opened wide over the bright green roof on East Davie Street in Anna this week and out poured a deluge of  kindness.  It rained tin cans and cartons here, flooding a Bethany Village receiving room with much-needed food for needy Union County families.
Our gratitude goes to those shapely ladies at Curves in Anna and owner Linda Ober whose successful annual food drive provided a hefty donation of 1,350 pounds of food for our pantry.  On the same delivery day our friend Carl George brought a truckload of groceries collected by the generous (and much appreciated) congregation at Wetaug Church of Christ. We thank all the donors and also our volunteer sorters, Steve and Terri, who waded through the knee-deep donations.
A further outpouring of good arrived as financial support for the pantry.  This week a bonus grant from our friends at Anna WalMart provided a generous check for $500, which we earmarked for food. Gifts remembering Dorothy Budell(s birthday (she would have been 92 on March 11) brought the Budell Memorial Fund to $2,055.  Gifts will be used to purchase staple foods from local grocers as well as 18-cents-per-pound bargain items through Tri-State Food Bank.
In April Bethany Village will join the celebration of Month of the Young Child (MOYC). The first week, April 1-8,  is set aside to recognize early-childhood professionals. We honor their contribution to the life-long benefits of a quality early childhood experience.  In appreciation for service to their children, Transitions Residency Program moms who have youngsters up to age eight will be sending gifts created at Bethany Village to their teachers and care providers.
MOYC(s second week, a celebration of community partnerships, encourages communities to work on a fund raiser or support local groups that serve children.  In conjunction we are sponsoring a Coins for Kids penny drive during April.  All proceeds will go to the Bethany Village Children(s Project Fund which provides clothing, school supplies and other needs for homeless children in Union County.  We(ve invited area preschools and elementary schools to collect coins for the project.  We invite you to join us, too.

Other MOYC emphases include promoting healthy children and families and advocating on behalf of children and families. These are routine goals for Bethany Village. In its first year and a half, the Transitions Apartments have been home to 44 children, including six newborns.  We work with dozens of area agencies to help these homeless youngsters have the opportunity for quality childhood experiences while they are displaced from permanent housing.


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3/16/06 News: February Review

2006-03-17T11:24:00.000-08:00

Top o( the mornin( to you from the folks under the bright green roof on East Davie in Anna. We(re flaunting our favorite color and celebrating St. Patrick(s Day with a drawing for a basket of green goodies and a give-away of decorated bars of Irish Spring soap.
In honor of this legal national day (in Ireland) and of the saint who introduced Christianity to their land in the fifth century,  we(ve also written on our appreciation board a bit of Irish blessing: (May the road rise to meet you, May the wind be always at your back, May the warm rays of sun fall upon your home, And may the hand of a friend always be near.(   (For some whose road has taken a detour, we hope Bethany Village can serve as that near and friendly hand.)
Another note on our appreciation board is a happy-birthday wish for our executive director, Bonnie Barnhart.  She celebrates her birthday as well as St. Pat(s Day on Friday.
Our monthly service summaries reached my desk this week. Though I(ve edited dozens of these reports, the pages of familiar stats still make me smile.  In February Bethany Village volunteers, including all the women who live in our Transitions Apartments, provided 1,012 hours of free labor.  Even calculated at minimum wage, their donated work saved us $6,578 for the month. Last year reported volunteer labor was valued at more than $100,000!
In February our thrift shop receipts were $5,880. After paying out our shoe-string-budget expenses, $3,555 went directly to support our services to the homeless. We also provided $295 in free clothing vouchers to needy families.
Our residency program provided rent-free housing and supportive services to13 women and 15 children in the Transitions Apartments during February.  Twenty families have been in the program so far this year.
Our food pantry served 413 Union County residents. The hygiene closet provided items to an additional 45 persons. And our homeless prevention program served 46 families who were facing crises like eviction and utility disconnections.

Meanwhile our director attended nine meetings and filed a $21,335 grant request with the Illinois Department of Human Services. Our bookkeeper filed a half dozen state and federal reports and prepared for our upcoming annual audit. And I polished off the fixed assets inventory, including $7,729 worth of racks, display units, and little chrome pieces now owned by our thrift shop.
While February at Bethany Village wasn(t extraordinary in any way, it was, as always very good.  Good people. Good work. Good deals. Good cause.  We invite you to support us by bringing your excess clothing and household items to the thrift shop, by donating canned goods to the food pantry, and by being kind to those who are working their way through a crisis.

3/02/06 News: New Board Member

2006-03-17T11:22:00.000-08:00

At last week(s board meeting, Bethany Village welcomed a new board member, Judi Ray of Anna. Judi, an SIU School of Law graduate who recently opened a law office in Carbondale, comes to us with 20-years experience in non-profit projects.
A former director of the Minnesota Health Care Coalition on Violence and a Day One project manager, Judi has extensive professional experience in working with women(s shelter systems. Her familiarity with organizations that meet housing needs, her public relations and fund-raising experience and her legal expertise will be assets to Bethany Village.
Judi joins a diversely gifted nine-member board that also includes Al Kamp, Bill Lewis, Meg Simonds, Cathy Reed, Sharon Resch, Monsignor Dennis Schaefer, Alice Edelman and Kim Guetersloh. We are grateful for their generous volunteer service and leadership.
At February(s monthly meeting the board discussed our zero-tolerance drug policies, paid holidays, labor laws, staffing, potential life-skills classes for our residents, progress on the recycling project, and future fund-raising events. They voted to give our full-time, hourly-wage employees six paid holidays. The recent addition of vacation, sick days and holidays are ways for Bethany Village to show appreciation to a dedicated, hard-working staff that doesn(t receive insurance or retirement benefits.
The board also discussed our food pantry, whose $8,000 grant has expired. Director Kim Guetersloh added to our report of the county-wide collection of food through the Super Bowl of Caring campaign that we may also be upcoming recipients of food collected through the Angel Food network. This non-profit, non-denominational organization just celebrated its eleventh anniversary of providing grocery relief to communities throughout the United States.
In February of 1994 Angel Food Ministries fed 34 families in Monroe, Georgia. This February more than 340,000 families were fed in 32 states. Angel Food works through churches and community organizations. Their groceries are sold in a quantity that can fit into a medium-sized box at $25 per unit. Each month's menu is different than the previous month and includes both fresh and frozen items with an average retail value of approximately $50. Food sales and distribution are handled by church host sites. For more information, check their website at angelfoodministries.org.
In other pantry good news, the Dorothy Budell memorial fund has reached nearly $2,000. We(re grateful to all who have honored the memory of our dear friend and coworker with their gifts to the food pantry.

We close with this week(s BV Appreciation Board survey question, (When you are feeling (down,( what can you think about to make you feel better?( Answers from our clients and staff included improvements in personal life, the beach, people who love me, vacation, inspiring people like Dorothy Budell, the fact that God loves us all, friends, how much easier my life is than other people in the world, and making progress toward a goal.
The folks under the bright green roof on East Davie in Anna wish you many happy thoughts this week. We hope one of those thoughts is Bethany Village.

2/13/06 News: Expect Success

2006-02-13T08:32:00.000-08:00

       February is International Expect Success Month. Sponsors of the event, Life Power Dynamics of Lilburn, Ga., say that if you want good things to happen to you in the new year, you must “Expect Success. . .then work like there is no other option.”
     That message comes across loud and clear in this week’s life-skills class for the homeless women in our Transitions program.  One of the discussion materials our facilitator distributed is Jeff Keller’s “15 Signposts on the Path to Success,” an article that appeared in the latest issue of AdvantEdge Magazine.
     Keller suggests that readers measure their current situation against these signposts to personal and professional growth and success: (1) Don’t fix blame or make excuses. (2) Don’t look back. (3) Guard the sanctity of your thoughts. (4) Have a sense of gratitude every day. (5) Laugh a lot more–especially at yourself. (6) Get excited about something. (7) Take some risks. (8) Be less concerned with what other people think.  (9) Place more emphasis on honesty and integrity. (10) Stop trying to fix others. (11) Take the opportunity to lift someone else. (12) See things in perspective.  (13) Listen more. . .and ask questions. (14) Discover that discipline is fun. (15) Set high standards for yourself and others.
     Keller’s signposts are great goals for any traveler who wants to avoid life’s pesky potholes and have a pleasant, successful journey.  Helping clients recognize and set healthy goals is the starting gate for most of Bethany Village’s programs.  It is easy for our clients to know where they are–homeless, about to be evicted, unemployed, in debt. Their challenge comes in determining where they really want to go and what they are willing to do to get there. Setting goals for success helps all of us trade in our wish lists for practical work lists.
     Earl Nightingale, author of The Psychology of Winning, says, “Americans can have anything they want. The trouble is they don’t know what they want.” He continues, “Goals are the very basis of any success. It is in fact the definition of success.”
     That is an interesting observation. The very act of knowing exactly what you want and the steps leading there is its own success! Perhaps that is why it has been said, “Be choosy, therefore, of what you set your heart upon. For if you want it strongly enough, you’ll get it.”
     At Bethany Village we celebrate incremental achievements as well as the end goal. We’re happy when a homeless woman makes a commitment to improve her education, when she enrolls in classes, when she passes a big test, when she completes a course. Each step toward the goal is a success of its own.
     Goal setting and success aren’t limited to our clients, of course.  All these principles also apply to the staff and the work of Bethany Village.  When the $5,000 grant that bolstered our food pantry recently ran out, we set new goals for supporting the pantry budget.  One idea was to encourage area churches to participate in the international Souper Bowl of Caring campaign.  Area churches and friends collected hundreds of dollars and thousands of pounds of food for the Bethany Village Food Pantry. Because of the good response, we will make this an annual event.
     One church, Anna Heights Baptist, made their collection of food part of a super, fun-filled event.  Sunday School classes brought their collections of canned goods to an official weigh-in competition at an afternoon Super Bowl party attended by nearly 300 people.  The truckload of food that now fills our shelves weighed a whopping 1,562 pounds!  We salute Sunday school director Doug Hileman and the AHBC congregation for having a good time for a good cause. And we thank all the individuals and congregations who supported our ministry to needy families through the Souper Bowl of Caring campaign.
     Goals are at the heart of question #2 in our new BV Happy Survey.  I wrote on the appreciation board for this week, “What personal goal makes you happy when you think about it?”  Here are some Bethany Village answers: Finishing my degree. Getting a good job. My own home. Perfect health. Improved relationships. Finding my true love. Improved communication skills. Bigger social network.
     The folks under the bright green roof on East Davie Street in Anna hope your goals set you on a happy, successful path, too. Thanks for your support.

1/13/06 News: 2005 Highlights

2006-01-13T14:41:00.000-08:00

What we did in 2005

The Transitions Residency Program (TRP), in its first full year, provided safe housing and supportive services to 46 homeless women and their 42 children.

Crisis services aided 816 families, an increase of 61% over last year.

The food pantry distributed 2,592 food bags with an estimated value of $77,760.

Our Homeless Prevention Program provided $26,284 in rent and utility assistance and other services for families in crisis.

As an official DHS service site, Bethany Village distributed donations of food, clothing, and hygiene items to displaced victims of Hurricane Katrina. We also assisted with permanent relocations.

The services of our vocational specialist expanded to become the SUCCESS (Serving Union County with Career and Educational Services and Skills) job-assist program.

We distributed Christmas gifts with an estimated value of $6,705 to the children of our clients and residents of our Transitions Apartments.

How we did it

Volunteers logged 15,716 hours of service, more than double last year’s record.

The estimated value of donated food, clothing, and household items distributed through Bethany Village was $277,889. A gift of thousands of dollars worth of equipment, furnishings, fixtures and supplies was also donated to set up the Bethany Village Thrift Shop.

In less than six months, donations of clothing and household items to the new, not-for-profit Bethany Village Thrift Shop brought in $36,543. Every cent of revenue supports TRP.

Food drives by schools, churches, scouts, postal workers and organizations, along with private cash donations and a one-time grant, provided food to an average of 216 families each month.

At the Fabulous Fifties gala sponsored by an exceptional community volunteer group, auction items and support donated by area businesses and friends netted nearly $15,000 for operations.

Area churches and organizations provided $18,376 in cash support. Another $9,245 in cash donations came from individuals.

Eight private and state grants, along with our fund-raisers and revenues, provided the remainder of our budget.

11/05 News: Getting Ready for Christmas

2005-11-04T13:32:00.000-08:00

Join us in sharing the joy of Christmas with three holiday projects planned to assist needy families in Union County. Our annual holiday food distribution, an on-site visit from Santa, and a new kids’ holiday shopping project are all scheduled for the week before Christmas.

Holiday meal-maker bags will be distributed to the first 150 qualifying families who have pre-registered December 1-9. Food pantry volunteers plan to pack holiday bags with ham, instant mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, green beans, cranberry sauce and dessert mix. Clients may choose either the holiday bag or a regular food bag in December; Christmas bags will be distributed only on December 19-20.

Santa is planning a stop here. All Bethany Village clients are invited to bring their children (to age 12) for the third annual visit from Santa.  Between 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 21, Santa will give treats and winter hats and gloves to each child.

The (One-Day One-Room Christmas Shop( is a new project created for homeless children who live in the Transitions Apartments.  Inexpensive gifts for men, women and children of all ages will be stocked at the holiday store, located at the Bethany Village office. On Thursday, Dec. 22, volunteers will help children from the apartments shop with (Christmas bucks( for gifts to give their families and best friends.  A gift-wrap station and an area where the mothers can shop for a gift for each child will also be provided.

You can help! Donations of holiday food items or gifts to purchase food are needed by December 14.  Collections of hats, gloves and scarves and inexpensive gift items for the shop should be delivered by December 16.  For more information about the holiday projects, contact executive director Bonnie Barnhart at 833-1777.