Cassie cries during proposal

When Travis Chevalier decided to ask Cassandra Miller to marry him, he chose to do it in front of his family—his Sojourners family.  So, at the end of staff meeting this morning he got down on one knee, told her how much he loved her and asked her to share his life.  For the most part, we’re a sentimental bunch, so many happy tears were shed.

Cassandra is a participant in our Youthbuild program and Travis is a Transitional Living participant and a member of our Peer Outreach crew in our Street Outreach Program. The couple is expecting a baby in the early fall. Congratulations to them both!

The

Vinton County needs its donors to turn out for this drive. The winter season always proves to be a challenge for the Red Cross to recruit blood donors.

Wet weather conditions, cold and flu symptoms and even the winter blues can keep donors from making or keeping an appointment to donate. Yet the weather conditions can lead to more traumatic injuries on icy roads and can increase the need for blood. So many unpredictable factors can affect the blood supply during the winter — every single unit donated will be very important to our region’s blood supply.

People who register to donate will have two ways to win groceries. A ten dollar gift card from McArthur SuperValu will be drawn every hour, so six lucky donors will win. Also, all donors who register will be entered in a drawing to win free groceries from Kroger’s for a year.  If you donated on or before December 28, you may be eligible to donate.  Call 1-800-RED CROSS to schedule an appointment today. Be sure to tell them you are in the Central Ohio Blood Services Region when you call.

For more information contact Shelly Horvath at 740.591.6649 or shellyhorvath@yahoo.com.

]]> http://www.sojournerscare.net/2012/02/17/donate-blood-and-you-might-win-groceries/feed/ 0 http://www.sojournerscare.net/2012/02/13/foster-care-program-flourishes/ http://www.sojournerscare.net/2012/02/13/foster-care-program-flourishes/#comments Mon, 13 Feb 2012 21:04:54 +0000 admin http://www.sojournerscare.net/?p=1237  

Tammy Chapman, one of our foster parents, with children she and her husband Ron have adopted

The Foster Care program of our Family Development division has been growing in recent months. We now carry an average census of between 70 and 80 young people in care.  Youth are placed in one of our 35 foster care and adoption homes in Allen, Athens, Auglaize, Fayette, Gallia, Highland, Hocking, Jackson, Meigs, Morrow, Pickaway, Pike, Ross, Scioto, and Vinton counties.  And, several more homes are in the licensing process. We currently contract with 22 counties for placement of children.

Added to our daily census of foster care youth in our homes, we also usually have between two and 10 children in respite care in our network. These temporary placements usually last from one to three days.

Our Foster care staff are incredibly busy these days visiting our homes, working with our foster care youth, and completing all the paperwork that is necessary for each placement. Congratulations to our Family Development team for the success of the foster care program.

Young people play video games at the back of the Sojo Street Reach van during a stop in Jackson County

During the week of January 9^th, a film crew from Ohio University spent time at Sojourners doing a video about our Street Outreach Program. The crew members, Matt Fillman, Riley Gibson, Karen Kasmauski and Heather Rousseau, are graduate students in the Ohio University Schools of Visual Communications (VisCom) and Film.

The short film features Travis Chevalier and Steven “Vern” Vanover, both Sojourners Street Outreach Workers, and Matt Yates, Street Outreach Coordinator. The young men share their stories about what life was like before they became participants in the Sojourners Transitional Living Program, and why the work they do as Sojourners employees is so important to them. The film showcases the work the Street Outreach team does as it cruises through the streets and roads of southeast Ohio looking for homeless young people in need of assistance.

Thanks so much to this team of very talented men and women who so clearly captured the essence of the work of our Street Outreach Program and the young men who try to “Live it Right” every day.

Check out the video at:

http://vimeo.com/35551309

MLK Day Express Rolls In

“Everybody can be great… because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”  – Martin Luther King Jr.

At Sojourners we take our community service seriously. Service is at the heart of all we do. In the almost thirteen years since our organization began, staff and participants of Sojourners have donated over 128,260 hours of community service to the region.

Without a doubt, the service day we most enjoy is MLK Day. This year we took Dr. King’s message about love to Central and South elementary schools in Vinton County, performing for 735 children and several teachers (who seemed to enjoy the program as much as the children).

The MLK Day Express rolled into the gymnasiums to the tune “Where is the Love” by the Black Eyed Peas and the fun got started.

The program, which featured a large cast of characters, encouraged the children to think about what they can to do foster love in their communities, with each other, and in themselves.

At the end of one program a student was heard to say, “I know where the love is—it’s in me.”

Dr King would have been so proud.

The Cast and Crew of Sojourners

2011 MLK Day Express

Here at Sojourners, we are busy preparing for our 2012 Martin Luther King Day celebration. On Monday, January 16, the staff and participants of Sojourners will join hundreds of events held in states and cities nationwide to honor the legacy of Dr. King through community service.

We have taken part in the national MLK Day “day on, not a day off” community service celebrations for several years.  During those years we have held “Dream Camp” day camps for elementary school children, provided free lunches to the community, and completed several major service projects, including building a gazebo at the Vinton County Courthouse, replacing benches in the McArthur village park, repairing the entrance signs to McArthur, and creating new signage for the Vinton County Fairgrounds.

In 2011, after a year’s hiatus, Sojourners once again celebrated MLK Day in Vinton County, but in a new way designed to accommodate the fact that school was in session.  Our MLK Day 2011 School Assembly Program reached more students and provided school staff with an engaging and fun way to share the message of Dr. King.

The 30 minute assemblies were held in Central and South Elementary Schools on January 17. The assemblies featured the MLK Express, a train comprised of an engine, coal tender, and two passenger cars and powered by drummers highlighting Dr. King’s beliefs—Learn, Love, Dream and Celebrate. Passengers on the train helped to tell the story of Dr. King’s life and accomplishments.

The train was built by participants and staff of the Sojourners Youthbuild program and all of Sojourners’ staff and participants took part in the assemblies.

This year, the MLK Day Express will once again roll again into South and Central elementary schools, carrying the message of love for your community, love for each other, and love for yourself. The Sojourners family looks forward to a day of fun and service in Dr. King’s name.

Children sing during 2011 program

Vern at VCS High School Graduation

Congratulations to Steven “Vern” Vanover, of Sojourners’ Generation Now division, for holding the record for securing a new Safe Place site, and facilitating the training of
the site’s staff, in the shortest amount of time.

Vern was attending a funeral near Laurelville, Ohio, where he had grown up, when he
realized that the J & D Carryout on State Route 327 between Londonderry and
Laurelville, would make a perfect Safe Place site for Generation Now’s Safe
Place program.  He quickly contacted the owner who agreed to let the carryout become a site, and within a couple days Vern and Generation Now staff visited the carryout to train its employees.

Safe Place is a national youth outreach program that educates thousands of young people every year about the dangers of running away or trying to resolve difficult,
threatening situations on their own. This easily replicated community
initiative involves the whole community to provide safe havens and resources
for youth in crisis. Safe Place creates a network of “Safe Place
locations” – youth friendly businesses, schools, fire stations, libraries, YMCAs
and other appropriate public buildings that display the distinctive yellow and
black Safe Place sign. These Safe Place sites extend the doors of the youth emergency shelter or youth service agency throughout the community. Youth are easily able to access immediate help wherever they are. Sojourners has fifteen Safe Place sites in Athens, Jackson, Ross, and Vinton counties and is working to add more.

Vern, Travis Chevalier, and Michael Games, who are all participants of Generation Now’s
Transitional Living program were hired last fall as Street Outreach workers, assisting
in the Sojo Street Reach program. The trio has done a wonderful job reaching
out to homeless youth in the southeast Ohio region.

Ross County crew members line up for barbeque

Our National Emergency Grant (NEG) crews have been working hard work under wintery conditions clearing flood debris in Hocking, Ross, and Vinton counties.Their hard work is making the lives of the people who live along these streams and creeks safer. In order to show our appreciation, the Senior Management Team of Sojourners organized and delivered hot lunches to the crews in each county—something special for the employees who normally eat cold packed lunches in their vehicles or along the steams where they are working.

Indoor venues were found in each county so the crews could enjoy their meals in comfort. Each luncheon was decorated with red linen table clothes, candles and fresh greenery. The food was provided by Buelah Mae’s Real BBQ and Sojo staff helped provide cookies for dessert.

On December 13 the Ross County holiday luncheon was held in the Volunteer Fire Department’s meeting room in Frankfort. On December 14, the Hocking County party was held in the parish hall of the Church of God in Laurelville. The final luncheon, which was held for the Vinton County crew, took place in the Sojourners Training Center. The” holiday luncheons on the road” were enjoyed by everyone who took part; especially the NEG employees who really appreciated the opportunity to share a little warm Christmas spirit together.

Presents await eager children

Our 2011 Foster Care Christmas party was the largest in the history of our organization. 151 foster families members and staff attended the dinner, which took place in the McArthur Fireman’s Hall on Friday, December 9. The division of Family Development worked for months preparing for the event.

Funding for the seasonal celebration was provided by donations from the Rock for Tots concert in Chillicothe, the Kyger Creek Power Plant in Gallia County, and Gallia County Community Action. Proceeds from the golf scramble in July and Chinese auction in November were also used.  Over $2,000 was raised, which provided for the meal, decorations, and most importantly, gifts for our foster children. 

The family development staff spent all day decking the hall with festive decorations. Tom McManis was on hand to take family portraits of each foster family, which will be printed out and given to them to frame as they wish. This is the third year family portraits have been taken and they are treasured by everyone involved. A turkey dinner, with all the trimmings, was enjoyed by all. Cakes baked and decorated by Shelly Horvath rounded out the meal. After dinner, the children attending the party received their gifts and a happy, chaotic time ensued.  Sojourners owes a heartfelt thank you to everyone who helped provide this wonderful holiday event for our foster care families.

Sojourners Training Center

Sojourners has recently reorganized office space. The big move was initiated because of the addition of a new location. In order to provide more space for Youthbuild and our new National Emergency Grant Program (NEG), we have rented a large facility about two miles west of McArthur for our Sojourners Training Center. The building’s 25,000 square feet of space is divided between 20,000 designated for shop and training space and 5,000 for offices.

So, here is how to find us:

• Youthbuild and NEG are in the Sojourners Training Center—6 2969 US Highway 50, McArthur, Ohio
• Family Development (Foster Care and Adoption)—Sojourners Main Campus, 605 ½ West Main Street, McArthur, Ohio
• Reception, Administration, and Generation Now— Sojourners Main Campus, 605 West Main Street, McArthur, Ohio

As a result of our recent organizational move, staff and participants are now housed in more functional and attractive offices, and we now have more space available for programs for community youth.

Sojourners Main Campus