Home for Christmas

Trevin told me he was bored and that it's time to get off my butt and write a blog post. Okay, he was not that rude about it, but I get the point. I still have a couple of stories from the cruise, but I had one other thing that I wanted to get on here, because it's something that is very near and dear to my heart.

I have been on the Board of Directors of Youth and Family Services for several years. Our agency provides counseling for children and families, parenting classes, anger management, to name a few. We also provide a shelter for children who literally have nowhere else to go. Our shelter is about 35 years old, so you can imagine it's not in the best shape. Several years ago, just before the holidays, the children were playing games in the living room, and the Christmas tree suddenly fell through the floor. Several areas of the kitchen are unusable because they violate one code or another.

We spent two years on a capital campaign, during which we raised 1.3 million dollars. Our ground breaking ceremony was way last fall, and then nothing happened for months. Finally, construction started, and we saw progress being made. The past few weeks have seen a new roof, brick exterior, and carpet, flooring and tile samples. Yesterday, after our Board meeting, several of us donned hard hats and toured the construction site.





It was so exciting to see our dream taking shape, to imagine a beautiful place that will shelter children and heal families. And the best part is that it will be done before Christmas. Right up there, in front of that window, we are going to put a Christmas tree. There will be another one in the living room, which will have a concrete floor, covered with carpeting, and will be surrounded by gifts and safe, warm children.