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Safe Home Harvest Food and Supply Drive underway
Safe Home staff members display some of the non-perishable items needed during the Harvest Food and Supply Drive. The donation drive he...
Tag Archives: safe home
Annual event supports Safe Home
The recent May Day Celebration at Sacred Sparks in East Jordan generated a substantial donation of non-perishable goods for the Women’s...
Handbags bring hope to survivors
Hand bags of Hope co-founder, Jackie Bobcean (fourth from left), has been committed to supporting domestic abuse survivors for more tha...
December donation drive at Buffalo Wild Wings
Buffalo Wild Wings in Petoskey will hold a nonperishable donation drive for the Safe Home during December. Those who bring a contributi...
Harvest Food and Supply Drive benefits local abuse survivors
Safe Home staff members display some of the non-perishable items needed during the Harvest Food and Supply Drive. The donation drive he...
Girl power is alive and well in Northern Michigan
Petoskey Middle School friends who attended Meg Wilson’s birthday party brought donations for the Women’s Resource Center of Northern Michigan (WRCNM) Safe Home, instead of traditional birthday gifts and plan to continue their efforts to help women and girls. Pictured presenting the donation is (L to R) Brianna Kimbler, Kennedy Buck, Kendra Shaw, Jenny Tompkins, Meg Wilson, and Natalie Koeller with Chris Krajewski, WRCNM Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault Program Director. Missing from photo are Jessica Edwards and Shannon Cartwright.
If you think teen girls only talk about clothes, shopping and boys; these local girls will change your mind. The close-knit friends who attend Petoskey Middle School discuss everything from books to the Holocaust to women's rights. Recently they gathered at the Safe Home operated by the Women’s Resource Center of Northern Michigan (WRCNM) to donate cash and personal care items for survivors of domestic abuse.
The donation is the result of a no-gift birthday party for one of the friends in the group, Meg Wilson. The girls had all decided it would be a great idea to forego traditional birthday gifts for something more meaningful. The idea got these energetic and articulate young women thinking about how they could make a further difference; one that might help women and girls dealing with gender inequality, sexism, and even domestic abuse, sexual assault and dating violence.
So what's a girl to do? They plan to move forward with an organization called, "The Women of the Future, Helping the Women of Today." One of their goals is to build awareness of the group
Women’s Center recipient of Handbags of Hope donation
Women’s Resource Center of Northern Michigan (WRCNM) received dozens of fully stocked purses from Handbags of Hope, a project created in Southeast Michigan. The donation coincided with Mother’s Day and will benefit survivors of domestic abuse and sexual assault at the WRCNM’s Safe Home and in the counseling program. Handbags of Hope organizers make purse deliveries twice a year to domestic abuse programs and women’s shelters throughout Michigan. The WRCNM has been a regular stop on the bi-annual donation circuit.
Accepting the donation are WRCNM staff Danielle Ross, Leslie Turovaara, Lisa Devergilio and Jackie Bobcean of Handbags of Hope, Sue Bissell and Gail Kloss.
Kiwanis essay contest entry earns WRCNM $50
We thank Julie Mercer for choosing to write about the Women’s Resource Center of Northern Michigan for her entry in the Harbor Springs Kiwanis Club Essay Contest. Her essay earned the Women's Resource Center a $50 contribution from the Harbor Springs Kiwanis Club. Her essay is printed, below.
The Women’s Resource Center is committed to equality, justice, and the well-being of women. To that end they will engage and encourage our community to work with them toward these goals. If I received $50 to give to a charitable organization I would chose the Northern Michigan Women’s Resource Center (WRC). I would choose this charity because I think it is important to our community to have a place for women and children to go for help. I also have had personal experience with WRC. I hope you would have a heart for this amazing charity and donate $50 to them.
The Women’s Resource Center has been part of our community for a long time supporting women and children. This charity was founded in 1977 by a group of eight women. In February the organization will have been open to the public for 35 years. WRC will hopefully be open for many years to come.
Many people have benefited the Women’s Resource Center over the past 35 years. $50 could benefit this organization by providing contribution to all the services of the agency. This money could also help run the shelter,
WRC’s 2nd annual 100 Men Campaign underway
Last year, the Women’s Resource Center of Northern Michigan (WRC) launched a campaign to engage a vital sector of the community in the movement to end violence against women and girls. Although the nonprofit agency calls it the 100 Men Campaign, that did not stop them from gaining the support of 125 local men during the first year. The men who contributed helped fund a variety of awareness, education and prevention initiatives for local boys and men. Every donor also agreed to take a public stand against sexual violence by having their names published in local newspapers.
According to Jan Mancinelli, WRC Executive Director, the campaign’s first year was a success. “This was a first time effort, and although we were hopeful, we had no idea what kind of support we would receive from men in our local communities,” said Mancinelli. “The fact that 125 men agree these crimes are a problem and are taking steps to do something about it is very encouraging. It’s fantastic!”
Cheboygan Kiwanis Donation Drive Successful
Women’s Resource Center of Northern Michigan (WRC) Counselor/Advocate Brenda Smielewski is pictured with a large donation generated from a month-long donation drive spearheaded by the Kiwanis Club of Cheboygan. Smielewski, who works at the non-profit agency’s Cheboygan office and Safe Home, was overwhelmed by the generosity of those who donated personal care items, household cleaning supplies, toys, non-perishable foods and other items using boxes Kiwanis Club members had placed at the Cheboygan Glen’s Market, K-mart and Citizen’s National Bank. Last year the Safe Home provided a total of 3,041 nights of safe shelter to 135 survivors of domestic abuse and their children and had food and supply costs exceeding $25,000. The WRC’s domestic abuse program also provides counseling, support groups, advocacy and a 24-hour crisis line for those in Antrim, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Emmet and Otsego counties. Last year, the WRC’s domestic abuse program served 131 individuals and 38 victims of sexual assault from Cheboygan County. For more information about the WRC’s domestic abuse program and Safe Home, call (231) 347-1572 or toll free at (800) 275-1995.