Dedication of Mary’s Shelter (lehigh)
Cay Galgon CenterBlessing by The Most Reverend Bishop Barres
Date: Sunday, April 22, 2012
Time: 1pm
Place: 714 West Broad Street, Bethlehem PA 18018
RSVP 610-867-9546 or chris@marysshelter.org
1 Million Friends
Can 1 person – and $1 – change 1 life?Yes
You can help Mary’s Shelter reach 1 million friends by simply spreading the word. Send the following (or similar) email to all of your friends and post this on your Facebook.How would you like to change a life forever and spend only $1.44? Here’s how. Put a $1 bill in an envelope, place a 44 cent stamp on the envelope, and then mail it! How simple is that?
Many of you have heard of Mary’s Shelter in Reading, PA which helps pregnant young women build a brighter future. They provide temporary housing while assisting the women with coordinating counseling, education and prenatal care. Mary’s Shelter is hoping to relocate to a new site on Kenhorst Blvd, Reading and expand by opening a third site in the Lehigh Valley - they need our help. They would like to see Mary’s Shelter grow, $1 at a time, with the goal of enlisting the support of one million friends.
Think it can’t be done? Think again! After putting your own $1 bill in the envelope, forward this e-mail to everyone in your address book, asking them to forward it to their contacts. If they’re on Facebook, ask them to post it on their page. If we all pull together, MANY LIVES CAN BE CHANGED. Wouldn’t it be nice to see Mary’s Shelter reach its goal and know that you helped? All it will take is mailing your own $1 and networking. WE CAN DO THIS!!!
Mary’s Shelter/Mary’s Home
736 Upland Avenue Reading, PA 19607
Thank you for anything you can do to help this wonderful cause.
(Your Name Here)
Resident Story
My name is Yolanda and I came to Mary’s Shelter in August of 2008. I was renting a room from a family who asked me to leave with very little notice. I was four months pregnant at the time. I didn’t know what I was going to do. I was so scared. The father of the baby was not involved at all and my mother was living in an assisted living center. I had no one to go to for help. Being alone and four months pregnant was already scary but not having a place to live was overwhelming and really scary. There were moments I just didn’t want to exist anymore.
A friend of my mothers had said something about a good shelter that could help me, but I didn’t pay attention – I was too depressed. I just put the information in my purse and forgot about it. One day, desperate for help and a place to live, I found the piece of paper that was in my purse and low and behold it was the number of Mary’s Shelter.
I was scared to call at first, but I finally got up the courage and right away on the phone I felt encouraged. I scheduled a face to face interview with Dani. I didn’t know what to expect but once I got there, I was shocked to see how homey everything was – it didn’t look like "the shelters you picture in your mind." I didn’t have any prenatal care and I wasn’t working or going to school. I wasn’t doing anything, so I wasn’t sure they were going to like me. But Dani made me feel like I was important and like I could do anything if I just believed in myself and worked for it.
After I moved in, the staff at Mary’s Shelter forced me to open my eyes and start being independent. I focused on making a better future for me and my son. Of course there were times when things got tough and I felt overwhelmed by it all: the appointments, the chores, the classes and the different personalities. But I had to think about my son and so I did what I needed to do. I started going to Berks Technical Institute for the Medical Assistant training and started counseling and medication for my depression. Stacey even worked with me on budgeting and I’m almost done paying off some of my back bills. I had not been around a lot of babies, so the parenting classes were wonderful. My son Julius was born on January 17th.
So have I met my goals? ...school, paying off bills, getting over being afraid to cook and change diapers, becoming more independent – check, check, check and check! I’m so proud of myself and I am definitely more confident. I cannot thank Mary’s Shelter enough for helping me and my son. I love you all!