Runway to Freedom Recap

[Fashion show playlist: Bad Romance, Poker Face, Empire State of Mind...]

Last Thursday we had the pleasure of being the recipient of the Runway to Freedom benefit fashion show! A big, big shout out to Lauryn Grinnell,  Intermezzo Salon, Zebra Club, The Powder Room, designers Lina Cho, Justin Zachary Bartle, and Olesya Grabovskaya for their support.

New Beginnings' very own Board President Nancy Slater was on hand to thank the crowd and also said a few words about the prevalance of domestic violence and how people as individuals and community members could help.

August Volunteer of the Month - Sonni Rierson

[Blizzard!]

Hey folks, we're very proud to announce the August Volunteer of the Month - Sonni Rierson! Sonni has been a dedicated Childcare Volunteer at our Community Advocacy Program and here's what New Beginnings staff had to say about her:

"Sonni has been volunteering in Childcare every week for over a year.  Sonni is very dedicated to the children we serve and works hard to be a positive, consistent, and caring adult in their lives.  The children respond very well to Sonni’s leadership style, and she works well with all staff.  She is a joy to have, and is consistently going above and beyond in every way. Her consistently positive and upbeat attitude and commitment to New Beginnings is truly inspiring."

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Q: Who are you and what do you do?
A: I am Sonni Rierson. I am 28 years old and just recently got married. I enjoy cooking and working out. I am currently a pharmaceutical sales representative and just started a masters program for Health care Administration.

Q: Why do you volunteer for New Beginnings?
A: I moved to Seattle about two years ago and was looking to find a way to get involved in the community. I didn't know many people when I moved here, so I was also interested in making new friends.

Q: What’s your favorite thing about volunteering with kids?
A: I can completely forgot about my life and get wrapped up in their world. I enjoy spending time talking and playing with them. No matter how terrible my day is, I always feel good when I leave my time with the kids.

Q: One restaurant everyone in Seattle should try is…?
A: I really like Volterra in Ballard. I went there a year or so ago for my birthday and was really impressed. However, we love to go get pizza at Piazzo's on Eastlake on a regular basis. The pizza is awesome and the atmosphere is relaxed!

Q: What’s your favorite guilty-pleasure (TV show, drink, candy, etc)?
A: I love watching reality TV. Top Chef, Rachel Zoe Project, Real World, etc. make me laugh. I enjoy the "people" side of these types of shows and always have plenty recorded on my DVR. As for food, I love Blizzards from Dairy Queen. My all time favorite is a chocolate blizzard with Reese's peanut butter cups. YUMMY!

Q: One thing most people don’t know about you is…?
A: I spent two summers in Alaska during college. I went to work at a fishing lodge in Illiamna, which is very small and only had one paved road. I worked in the lodge and helped make and serve the food. It was a great experience!

Q: Anything else you’d like to share with the millions watching at home?
A: Thank you so much for giving me this award!! It is really cool...

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Thank you Sonni! Your certificate and prize from This Charming Candy are coming your way!

Steps Against Domestic Violence is almost here!

The 3rd Annual Steps Against Domestic Violence walk around Greenlake is coming up very soon!
Sunday, October 3rd at 10 a.m.
The walk is to raise funds and awareness for New Beginnings’ Children’s Services. We are going to meet at the Greenlake Park Aqua Theatre then walk around the 3 mile lake path. It has been proclaimed Steps Against Domestic Violence Day in the State of Washington by Governor Chris Gregoire. There is no charge to register, but donations are greatly appreciated. Click here to download the registration form. You can bring the form to the event or mail it in to 11205 Greenwood Ave N, Seattle, WA 98133.

If you are unable to participate in the walk, but would still like to help support New Beginnings services and programs, you can make a direct contribution through PayPal. Remember you can always find out more about Steps Against Domestic Violence on their facebook page or through New Beginnings’ News & Events web page.
Be sure to catch Arthur Peach and Kiana Swearingen on Margaret Larson’s New Day NW TV show on Monday, September 27th at 11 am.

Also, the Steps Against Domestic Violence purple hooded sweatshirt is now available for presale for $25. You will find a picture of last year’s sweatshirt attached. The main difference is that this year’s sweatshirt does not have the year. If you are interested, please contact Arthur Peach at 206-412-3198 / sadvarthurseattle@comcast.net.

Fashion show, Mother-Daughter luncheon and a sermon all rolled into one!

["We should've gotten YouTube to come out and film this."]

This past weekend we were invited to Freedom Church's Mother Daughter Luncheon and Fashion Show benefitting New Beginnings! We were there on hand to talk about New Beginnings and we met some great folks who were all passionate about ending domestic violence.

First we got a chance to meet Miss Plus America Latasha Haskins who kindly posed for a picture with us.

Runway To Freedom

[Lauren has worked with a singer you might've heard of. First name: Lady. Last name: Gaga. FTW.]

New Beginnings will be at Runway To Freedom on September 23rd at 8pm! Check out their Facebook page here.

This is a really wonderful, creative and fun event that we're proud to be a part of.

We'll report back with pictures from the event!

Volunteering for New Beginnings is like the Ronco Food Dehydrator

[Makes a great gift!]

If you remember the Ronco Food Dehydrator infomercial, you'll recall that according to Ron, a reason for its great success was simple Word of Mouth.

Well, volunteering with New Beginnings is kind of like how the food dehydrator became such a smash. Billy Bob gets a food dehydrator and tells his friend who gets one also and then raves about it! Everyone wins!

All this is to say that with our volunteer training coming up, if you refer a friend/coworker to take our volunteer training and become a full-fledge volunteer, you'll be entered into an drawing to win a $50 Gift Card to McCormick & Schmick's! After looking at our volunteer applications, I'm pretty sure Word Of Mouth is how we get about 80% of our volunteers anyways so this just adds a nice Steak Dinner ribbon on top of an existing phenomenon. Now you just need to step up and take the credit.

Make sure your friend gives you the hat-tip and says that they were referred by you on the application or we have no way of knowing. The drawing will be held on October 6th after the first day of volunteer training.

[UPDATE: Volunteer link is here!]

[UPDATE #2: Drawing will be held on September 6th]