Dear Friends of Healing a Woman's Soul, Inc.,

With the winter weather here, and Christmas and New Year’s celebrations behind us, we are looking ahead to a new year of supporting women and children in shelters.
February 14 is a holiday that is celebrated in various ways among our friends and loved ones. For the women who are in domestic violence shelters, this can be a lonely and difficult time. We have partnered with some local schools and church groups to get gift bags and little remembrances to the women living in local shelters.
In addition to that, we have towels, bedding, hats, gloves, mittens and personal care items to supplement what the shelters have to give to their residents.
This is only possible through your donations. In-kind donations are gathered by our volunteers and then distributed to local shelters.

Monetary donations help defray the costs of storing & transporting these items, as well as allowing us to purchase additional much needed care package items.
If you would like to join the board, volunteer to gather and distribute material items, or have a skill to share with the women as they begin new lives, please contact us.
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Pictured at Right: Valentine's Day cards from Bishop Gibbons/Notre Dame

What has Healing a Woman’s Soul been up to? 
A New Day Grant: Offers grants of approximately $500 for furniture and household essentials to women moving out of a shelter. This program supports women in Columbia/Greene, Rensselaer, Saratoga & Washington Counties. We have had 5 requests in 2023.

Distributing to shelters: Donors have given extravagantly, filling cars with brand new items for shelters, sending brand-new hand-knitted hats for women and children, towels and bedding.  Board members have gathered half a dozen car-loads!
2023 Retreats: We are planning two retreats for 2023 for Women recovering from domestic violence. This is a vital ministry that means so much to the women who attend.
Please contact us, if you would like to be part of the planning. 

And You can donate online at any time.

​Dear Friends of Healing a Woman's Soul, Inc.,
We are coming to the end of the year.
Earlier last month we had our annual fundraiser and were able to see some of our supporters and friends of the ministry in person! What a joy it was to see them, and to share the work we have offered to women and children in shelters—made possible through the donations of people just like you. One of the silent auction items was actually a new wheeled-luggage filled with items from our donation wish list. This item had a matching gift so, two were prepared to give directly to a women coming into a shelter with nothing, or in need of many of the things we take for granted.

The suitcase shown below included 1 bath towel, 2 hand towels, 4 wash clothes, 1 twin bed set of sheets, socks, slippers, underwear, brush, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo/body wash, hand/body lotion, makeup remover pads—all inside a brand-new luggage.

Below is a list of donations we have been able to deliver this month.
On November 27, 2022, Gretchen traveled to the Church of the Resurrection in Halfmoon to gather many donated items which included a huge bag of toys and games given by Saratoga County Sheriff Zurlo.  I took the toys, personal care items and towels to Equinox Shelter on November 28, 2022.
On December 14, 2022, Gretchen and  Jan L. attended a healing service at St. George's Church in Clifton Park, and gathered 25 blessed bags of personal care items for women and 25 bags of items for children including a toy in each one.  Jan and Gretchen drove to the Unity House Shelter in Troy.  Assistant Director Marie assisted in unloading the 50 bright red bags at their location.  Marie was so happy with this donation and said, "many, many thanks to the wonderful people of St. George's Episcopal Church for this generous gift to people in need". 
On December 13,2022, Gretchen met Janet at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Albany to gather left over items from Christ Church, Hudson which included a large bag of crayons and school supplies, a bag of toys, a bag of personal care items and other items for women at a shelter. It filled my entire trunk I called Next Step Rehab in Albany and dropped those things off at their location on Friday, December 16.  It look me 3 trips to my car to gather those items! They were so happy to get them and let me know that they would share with the Men's Rehab in Albany for Father's to have something for their children, in spite of their need to be at a rehab.
Gretchen’s neighbor, Catherine S. donated 24 Holiday bags with socks, candy and a toy in each bag for children in shelters.  Also donated were two large bags of toys for children in shelters.  Finally, another donor called asking what was needed for shelters., and Gretchen let her know that Equinox requested gloves and mittens for women and children.
Christ Church, Hudson  donated 15 adult gift bags and enough children's items to make up 12 bags plus a lot of extra school supply items mentioned above.  I'm also going to have extra stuffed animals.
There are so m any photos of these wonderful items, we didn’t have room in this message. Go to our website to see more. And You can donate online at any time.

Keep in mind: 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have experienced some form of physical violence by an intimate partner. This includes a range of behaviors (e.g. slapping, shoving, pushing) and in some cases might not be considered "domestic violence." 

Give us a call, send us an email and connect with us on Facebook or on the Web. Faithfully yours,
Maggie Hasslacher, Executive Director On behalf of the Board of Healing a Woman’s Soul
 

Dear Friends of Healing a Woman's Soul, Inc.,
We are coming to the end of October, Domestic Violence Awareness Month. We are also
looking forward to seeing you at our annual fundraiser on November 5th, held this year after a 2-year hiatus.
We appreciate the opportunity to meet in person, tell the stories of survivors, and share anecdotes from 
our visits to shelters and other nonprofits that help educate, support, raise awareness, and offer resource information to groups and individuals.
And there will be chocolate.
It is thanks to your prayers & donations that we can minister in Jesus’ name to women and children suffering from domestic violence abuses. Below, see some of the things we were able to do through your support and donations from like-minded people. ~Maggie Hasslacher, Executive Director
 

When?                              November 5, 2022
What time?                      2-5 pm
Where?                             St. Stephen's Church, 5 Elsemere Ave. Delmar, NY 12054
What's happening?       Journey of Hope fundraising event; Silent Auction, Chocolate Desserts,
                                         Light Refreshments, Speaker & Awards  
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$10 donation at the door.

Resources and information
A guide about the connection between the trucking industry and human trafficking. We have included information about why human trafficking is prevalent in trucking, how people are victimized, and the signs all of us can look out for. Check it out by clicking here.

Dear Friends:
 
It has been my pleasure to be a member of Healing A Woman's Soul, Inc .for 11 years.  We are a group of volunteers who really care about domestic violence victims and their children. Currently, I am the Chair Person for the Board of Trustees and I have traveled more than 4500 miles this year on behalf of shelter residents and women starting their lives once again.
 
Founded in 2008 by Mother Anne Curtin, we continue to work diligently in spite of the scourge of COVID 19.  When domestic victims shelter residents could not come out of the shelter for Retreats, we came to them with supplies, necessities and hope.
In fact, we have completed the following projects:
 
- Delivered 4 Chrome Books for shelters to enable children and adults to continue their schooling
- We gathered and delivered new and used clothing, bedding, personal care products, toys and household items
- We have remembered shelter residents at Christmas, Easter and Mother's Day with thoughtful bags of everyday survival tools.
- We have reminded the public of the difficulties experienced by survivors and provided important telephone numbers to assist them
- We have provided children in Shelters with school supplies and biographical books and creative posters to encourage them to think positively.
 
We look forward to the time when COVID 19 is a distant memory and we can hold public Retreats and Fundraisers to support our efforts.  Please consider a donation to assist us as we continue to make a difference.
 
Gretchen Coyner,
​ Board Chair Person

​We answered a call for help from Riverside Recovery in Catskill for 12 new dressers.  The dressers that their residents were using were in pretty bad condition and falling apart.  With the help of donations from our supporters, Tip Top Furniture, Freehold NY and the ReStore we provided 12 new or nearly new dressers to Riverside Recovery in Catskill at a cost of just over $3200.  We are blessed that we could provide support and perhaps dignity to those that have had to give up so much.  They should not have to use broken down things

We successfully re-launched our New Day Grant program in 2021, (after having it tabled during the COVID shutdown), and provided over $2500 in grants for furniture and household goods to domestic violence survivors. The grant, developed in partnership with the Columbia County Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Hudson NY provides funding of up to $500 for home furnishings to recovering domestic violence victims in Columbia/Greene County to help survivors settle in their new homes. The recipients come from shelters, halfway houses or rehabilitation programs and are moving back into the community.  

​The ReStore has a great variety of furniture and household goods at reasonable prices and the staff helps our grantees stretch their grants to get the best values. 

The Healing a Woman’s Soul Fall Retreat
welcomes women to discover and build spiritual
wellness and resilience in our turbulent world.


Our 2021 theme, Recharge, will offer us respite
from the challenges of life as we learn from the
experiences of our retreat directors and from one
another.

Retreat Leaders:
The Rev’d Dr. Anne Curtin, an Episcopal Priest, Chaplain
and former Executive Director of Healing a Woman’s
Soul, Inc., an attorney, and teacher.

The Rev’d Dr. Karen Clancy, an Associate Minister at
Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church in Albany, and
a certified substance abuse/grief counselor.

The Rev’d Sally Heiligman, an Episcopal priest, retired,
supplying at St. James, Lake George, and a retired
licensed chemical dependency counselor.

Minister Grace Smythe-Young, long-time friend of
Healing a Woman’s Soul, is active in To God Be the
Glory Ministries.

Mrs. Chepren Carter, author of God, I am So Angry at
You, and a working mother of eight. She credits those
children – and her desire to protect them – with giving
her a reason to live after the trauma she faced.