December 2022 - year end

​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