donation

Donor Highlight: Michelle Dearing, Co-Founder, Midtown Associates at NWA Realty Group

Michelle’s Story:

I unexpectedly found myself in a position of being a single mother with two young children (ages 1 and 7, at the time). I had an education to help me provide for my family. I had friends and family who helped encourage and support me as I faced new challenges as a single, working mom. It was still hard for me, as it is for a lot of single, working mothers. I had to work hard and be strong to provide the best home for my children.

My heart goes out to those mothers who are living in abusive and unsafe homes and who are facing the decision to leave or to stay. Many may not have the resources or the education I had to fall back on to provide for their families. Their decisions to leave to find safety for themselves and their children require an extraordinary amount of strength and courage.

I want these mothers to know that mothers like me admire their courage. For three years now, I have supported the Northwest Arkansas Women’s Shelter each month because I want to help give mothers who make that decision to leave their abusers the best opportunity to survive and thrive. For almost 29 years, the Northwest Arkansas Women’s Shelter has provided emergency safe shelter for mothers who make the best, but very difficult, decision to leave abusive and violent homes, not knowing what their future holds. Their stay at the NWA Women’s Shelter may literally save their lives and their children’s lives, while also giving a new beginning to a life that restores hope and ends the cycle of abuse and violence.

Michelle Dearing served on the Board of Directors for the Northwest Arkansas Women’s Shelter from 2014 – 2015. Michelle was also the Treasurer during her time on the Board.

Thank you, Michelle, for your tireless efforts advocating for mothers in Northwest Arkansas who make the decision to live without the fear of violence in their lives!

You can join Michelle in supporting the mothers and children seeking refuge at NWAWS by making a one-time donation or signing up as a sustaining donor to make a recurring gift. Click below or call for more details.
Donate online or call Terri Post: (479) 246-0353 ext. 108

The Northwest Arkansas Women’s Shelter (NWAWS) is facing a serious and potentially devastating financial crisis. Over the last 14 months, a completely new leadership team has looked into all facets of the organization’s operations.

During this same time, new members of the Board began their own review. Despite many coming into the review with a pre-conceived idea that cutting expenses was the solution, both groups concluded that NWAWS is facing a revenue problem—one it has been facing for years. Simply put, our expenses—which increased to meet growing demand for services—outstripped our ability to generate revenue.

There are many reasons for this shortfall. Most are results of decisions and actions or inaction that cannot be changed. One could look at early decisions and say we should have never done x or y, but we did. Looking at the circumstances surrounding those decisions, one can only conclude that the decision makers acted in the best interest of the organization with the information available to them at the time.

Well-intentioned decisions do not always produce well-intentioned results.

The cumulative consequences of those decisions is that we are now strapped for cash, poor in assets, and yet continually receiving requests for service. The unfortunate reality is that the demand for our services has never been so great. However, neither have resources needed to support those services been in such short supply.

Frankly, this means without a significant cash infusion, shelter operations will cease in July 2016. For the first time in nearly thirty years, Benton County will be without an organization specifically designed to address the needs of victims of domestic abuse and their children. Hundreds of moms or dads and their children will not have access to safe shelter. Thousands of individuals will not receive help through our crisis hotline. Untold thousands will not be exposed to messages about safe dating, healthy relationships, and how to recognize the ‘red flags’ of abusive relationships.

This does not have to be our fate. Over the past year we have analyzed our challenges, developed a comprehensive three-year development plan, revitalized our advocacy program with an emphasis on providing services in the community, and identified two additional areas requiring further study: our facility needs and our brand. While changes in these two areas might be forthcoming, they will not occur quickly because our clients and the community can ill-afford for us to make more hasty decisions. Our clients rely on our services to reach their potential, and we cannot reach ours without the community’s support.

What can you do to help?

You can become a donor – a one-time or a sustaining donor (Builder of Hope) – by clicking here and making a contribution. You may also write a check and mail it to us at P.O. Box 1059, Rogers, AR 72757.

If you are interested in making a significant donation to the shelter and its future, we would be delighted to meet with you and whomever else you would like to include in those discussions.

You can become our ambassador by encouraging organizations to invite us to share about the dynamics and pervasiveness of domestic abuse/violence and how we can all make a difference in changing lives. You can introduce us to other individuals, organizations, businesses, and community or faith groups that might want to know about or get involved with us and learn how we provide services to victims, their children, and the community.

You can donate to and shop at the Northwest Arkansas Women’s Shelter Thrift Store located at 1622 S 8th St in Rogers (in the Southgate Shopping Center). Sales from the thrift store generate about 20% of the gross revenue needed to sustain organizational operations. Plus clients always get to shop for items they may need at no cost to their family.

You can follow us on social media, share our content, and encourage others in your network to do the same.

What we need is prompt action and then long-term sustaining support and involvement.

What will you do to take action and join us?

Thank you to everyone who joined us at the NWA Women’s Shelter State of the Agency forum last night! Members of the NWAWS Board of Directors and staff were humbled by the response from our community and look forward to being more engaged with everyone as we take this new step forward.

As we discussed, the NWA Women’s Shelter is in a moment of critical need from our community. Without your support we will not be able to keep our doors open much longer. However, we know that our community deserves the services we offer and we believe that our community truly does want to help if they understand .

If you missed the forum, you can read a summary of our presentation and situation in this flyer.

We invite anyone who is interested in learning more about our vision and how you can help us get there by contacting our Executive Director, John McGee, at 479-246-0353 X101 or jmcgee@nwaws.org.

You may also download a pledge card or donate now to help us reach our short-term and long-term goals, allowing us to continue providing necessary help to our neighbors in need.

We were stunned by our success with ArkansasGives! This was the first year we participated (the second year for the campaign), and you donated $14,321 to Northwest Arkansas Women’s Shelter in a 12 hour period! Wow! This also makes us eligible for additional bonus dollars through the Arkansas Community Foundation.

We try to say it often, but cannot say it enough: thank you for your on-going support of our organization. Without donors like you, our doors would not continue to stay open and individuals looking for safety would have nowhere to turn.

To see the full list of participating non-profits and the leader boards, visit the ArkansasGives website.

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_post_nav admin_label=”Post Navigation” in_same_term=”off” hide_prev=”off” hide_next=”off” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]

On April 7th from 8am-8pm, any donations you make to NWA Women’s Shelter through the ArkansasGives website will also qualify us for additional bonus dollars from the Arkansas Community Foundation. Will you consider joining Arkansans from across the state to make a donation to help grow our community?

There is strength and power in numbers. We hope you will join us as we work to stop violence one family at a time.

one-day-to-give-april-7

While nearly half of the people we shelter are children (more about kids we serve in a future post), a majority of the individuals who seek our services are adults. And while we do serve men who qualify for our services (read more about male victims here), the majority of our adult clients are women.

So it brings our staff and supporters great joy when we have groups of women band together in support of our clients. Don’t get us wrong—we love all of our supporters. The families, co-ed student groups, school-age children, and people of all genders, races, backgrounds, and ages who support us each deserve an award in our eyes. Still, there is something special that happens when strong, empowered women get together to help others who are in the middle of the battle.

Some of the ladies in these groups are survivors themselves. Some have a friend or family member who has been abused. Some are successful business women. Some are just starting to figure out their dreams and aspirations. But all see a need and opportunity when they think about the women who seek our services.

There have been so many different groups of women that came together in 2015 to help us. Space would not suffice to recognize everyone but we do want to take this moment to introduce you to a few of these groups and also give you some ideas in case you have a group of women (or men, or kids) who might like a creative way to get involved with us:

Junior League of Northwest Arkansas Junior League of NWA is a fantastic group of women who has been committed to serving victims of domestic abuse for years. Our local chapter considers abuse awareness and prevention to be their focus in the NWA community. They provide our shelter with woman-power throughout the year (deep cleans of the kitchens, anyone?) in addition to providing our moms with child care so they can enjoy special events we arrange, and so much more.

All Coiled Up NWA–International Natural Hair Meetup Day NWAWS was fortunate to be selected as the beneficiary at our local meetup for INHMD sponsored by All Coiled Up NWA. Staff had the opportunity to share what we do, network, and collect donations for clients from some of the fabulous ladies at the event. We had fun and appreciated the love from All Coiled Up and the ladies who attended the event.

Wine & Women This fall, some socially-conscious friends approached us with an idea: throw a party, invite everyone’s friends, bring wine and snacks to share, and encourage everyone to clean out their closets and collect some needed items to benefit NWAWS and another local women’s charity. Thus, Wine and Women was born, resulting in some great donations for both our Shelter and Thrift Store. The other charity they selected was Dress for Success NWA, which also serves our clients on a referral basis—a double win for the ladies who come to our door for services!

Mary Kay We are so thankful for our partnership with a local group of Mary Kay consultants this year as well. In lieu of having their normal Christmas Party, these ladies decided to move their party to the shelter this year and host Dinner and a Makeover for our clients. In addition, this group (and their customers) provide each of our new clients with a special gift when they arrive in shelter—“Gift’s of Confidence” bags—to help remind them someone cares and encourage them to believe in themselves.

Last year, the Mary Kay Foundation provided $3M in grants to domestic violence shelters in the United States. Our local group is committed to helping NWAWS receive some of that funding in 2016. We think they are more than kind of awesome. ♥

NWAWS received a lot of support from the NWA faith community in 2015.

In fact, we received over $22,000 in financial support and in-kind contributions from 36 different faith groups last year!

Faith-based organizations supported NWAWS in a variety of ways, including:

cash contributions promoting donation drives regular item giving (e.g. weekly purchases of cleaning supplies) special offerings bingo nights alternative gift markets shelter room renovations

The opportunities really are endless for our faith community to get involved with us. We are so grateful for all of the support that we received in 2015 and are looking forward to a new year and forming new partnerships in 2016.

Thank you to the faith-based organizations who generously supported us last year:

Bella Vista Assembly of God

Bella Vista Community Church

Bella Vista Lutheran Church

Brightwater Memorial United Methodist Church

Catalyst Church NWA

Christian Women’s Job Corps

Decatur United Methodist Church

First Assembly of God

First United Methodist Church, Bella Vista

First United Methodist Church-Good Shepherds

First United Methodist Church Mission Team

Highland Christian Church Disciples Women

Highland Christian Church Renaissance Class

Highlands United Methodist Men – “Hummers”

Highlands United Methodist Women

Keypointe Church

Landmark Baptist Church

Living Word Lutheran Church

Mosaic at Fellowship Bible Church

New Hope Assembly Church

Pleasant Grove Baptist Church Ladies Sunday School Class & Youth

Presbyterian Women of Bella Vista

Southside Church of Christ

St. Bernard Men’s Club & Knights of Columbus

St. Bernard Women’s Club

St. Joseph’s Catholic Church

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church

St. Theodore’s Episcopal Church

St. Vincent de Paul Catholic School

The Ridge Community Church

United Lutheran Church of Bella Vista

United Lutheran Church Men’s Club

United Lutheran Church Women

United Methodist Church Men

United Methodist Church Women

Women at Peace – Peace Lutheran Church

Are you interested in getting your faith community involved in serving NWAWS? Please send us an email: info@nwaws.org. We look forward to connecting with you!

Thank you, Wal-Mart Store Layout!

Representatives from the Wal-Mart Store Layout Division presented the Northwest Arkansas Women’s Shelter with a large donation at their quarterly meeting thanks to their E-VAP program. This group has volunteered countless hours with us over the past year, and they cashed in on their activities in order to provide a financial gift as well.

The gift covers the cost for a family unit consisting of one adult and two children (our average family size) to live in our facility for an entire month and also provides 10 days of safe shelter for another individual.

Gifts such as this allow us to house individuals at no charge and provide all of their needs–toiletries, clothing, room, and board–while they stay in our facility. If you would like to join our community of supporters by making a financial gift, you may click here to learn more about donation options or call 479-246-0353 for more information.

If you are a Wal-Mart associate interested in volunteering, please also consider using the VAP program for a financial match to your time contribution. For more information on how the VAP program works, click here. You may contact Sheri Hammond for more information about volunteering or to arrange a project for yourself or a group by emailing her at shammond@nwaws.org.

Thank you, Walmart Finance Division!

Representatives from the Walmart Finance Division designated the Northwest Arkansas Women’s Shelter to receive a community grant. This grant provides 16 days of safe shelter for one person (one woman or one child or one man) to reside in the Shelter–at no cost to that person–with access to advocacy, housing, food, clothing, and other basic necessities.

Collectively, our donors are empowering individuals and families break the cycle of abuse and live violence-free.