2010 Year In Review

[As the year comes to a close, we take a look back at what we've accomplished]


Cats love bread and chocolate!

Celebrate Love – A New Beginnings Fundraiser at the Theo Chocolate Factory
On February 10th, New Beginnings donors and supporters converged upon the Theo Chocolate Factory in Fremont to celebrate loving relationships with stories, wine and of course, chocolate! Just as we work so diligently as a community to end domestic violence, it is also important to recognize healthy and positive relationships.

New Beginnings' Board Member Nancy Slater and Program Assistant Kat Wong stop for a picture.

King County Lobby Day
On February 4th, eight New Beginnings staff, five board members and two courageous program participants devoted their day to advocating on behalf of victims of domestic violence.

Gift Wrapping Like Crazy

[Dress Barn!]

Probably the biggest gift of the night to wrap: laptop station

A big shout-out to everyone who stopped by our table at the West Seattle B&N to get their gifts wrapped. Yes, even the folks who came with gifts from neighboring businesses! We raised close to $180 in one day and we couldn't have done it without our volunteers Ally and Andrew as well as our NB staff Leeza, Richard and Sara P.

November Volunteer of the Month - Shelley McIntyre!

[I'm pretty sure Dr. Pepper was a dentist]

We're very proud to announce the November Volunteer of the Month - Shelley McIntyre! Shelley has been with New Beginnings since January of 2010 and here's what our staff had to say about her:

"I can count on Shelley to do everything from answer the crisis line, take residents to the pantry or clothing room, organize and restock our linens and toiletries, and work with residents as a second advocate. She doesn't shy away from anything...Shelley brings a freshness with her, and always has myself and the residents smiling. She has been such an asset to our shelter program, and I am so grateful to have her! I can't think of a better volunteer for the month!"

We had a chance to chat with Shelley after presenting her with the award:

Q: Who are you and what do you do (outside of New Beginnings)?
A: I'm a daughter/sister/auntie/friend who has lived in Seattle for 15 years. By day I'm a project manager for a mobile ad agency, and I also do some voice acting. I like seeing music and theater shows, spending time with friends, traveling, and writing.

Q: Is there a memorable experience you can share from your time volunteering at shelter?
A: Most of the memorable experiences at the shelter come when I wrangle multiple toddlers at once--those are workout nights for sure. Also memorable was the night that I primed the shelter office by myself. I couldn't lift my arms the next day.

Cascadia Social Justice Fair

[Extra extra]

A big, big thank you to students Alexis, Ashleigh, Bobbie, Mallory and Rania (not in order) from Cascadia Community College who partnered with us and presented on domestic violence as part of their class Social Justice Project. Not only did they collect food, clothing and school donations to give to our families, they also educated their fellow classmates and community at large. They did a wonderful job and we're always happy to team up with individuals, groups and agencies to end domestic violence.

Live (tomorrow) from Cascadia Community College!

[Depends what you use the brick for]



Hey folks, we'll be at Cascadia Community College tomorrow as part of their 1st annual Social Justice Fair from 9-11am. We were contacted by a group of students as their chosen topic was domestic violence so we'll have our posters, brochures and flyers in tow to talk to the people!

Spotted In The Wild! - Barnes & Noble

[Leave your Kindles at home]

New Beginnings Children's Advocate/volunteer blog correspondent  Emily H. spotted this at the West Seattle B&N where we'll be at on the 16th from 2-10pm wrapping gifts. Nice of them to also do a book drive for us!

See anything New Beginnings related when you're on the street? Email me and i'll post it up!

Volunteer Training - Active Listening/Effective Listening

[Boom]

Hey volunteers, we have a training coming up on Tuesday December 14th, 2010 from 9am-11:15pm about Active Listening/Effective Listening by Dana Lockhart from the Seattle Victim Support Team!

The second Tuesday of every month, we hold an all-staff meeting and the first part of that is devoted to offering trainings to staff and volunteers to expand our knowledge as advocates. Whether you volunteer on the Help Line, at our Shelter or work with our children's groups, the extra training really adds to the service you're able to provide in any setting. A light breakfast will be available!

Please let me know in the comments or via email if you'd like to come to this training!