Too Long

It has been a while since I have posted. Shame on me! So much has been going on that I will give you a quick recap.
The house has been consistently full.
We have had fundraisers and are trying to work to get reoccuring donations to support the house. As little as $10 can be done online and helps so much, we need to raise at least $1,500 a month to keep the house operational. If you think you can help check out this website. https://www.justgive.org/basket?acton=donate&ein=20-1788353
Christmas went really well. In addition to helping all of the women and children in the house, we were also able to distribute toys and gifts to other families which included over 180 children.
Stay tuned, I will be posting much more often!

Volunteers Needed!

It has been crazy at Butterfly House, 2 of the women are having very difficult court items coming up that we are helping them prep for.

That being said, we are looking for some volunteers. We have posted all of the different areas on VolunteerMatch.org and we have gotten 2 responses. It is early so here is to getting an inbox full of matches this afternoon!

Here is what we have out there in case you or someone you know would be a good fit.

- Jeans Against Domestic Violence Week: Asking local offices with a dress code that does not allow Jeans to see a week of jeans for $5 or $10 to employees with profits coming to SWAN

- Drive coordinators: looking for people / companies willing to hold drives for items that are needed at the house: food, toiletries, small gift cards for undergarments, and cleaners.

- House Volunteers: We need people who are willing to spend quality time with the house guests, teach life lessons, listening, being a friend or mentor.

- Bunco / Poker Players: Host a Bunco or Poker Night at your home. Charge a buy in of money, food, cleaners or something else for the house.

Again, keep your fingers crossed that all the needs of Butterfly House and the ladies are taken care of.

Thanks Schuster Company!!!!!

A very special thanks to Paul at Schuster Company in Tempe. He came to our May Garage Sale, took some info and spoke to the owners of Schuster. They are donating some printing needs to SWAN! We appriciate it.

If you have any printing needs, please check out this local company that supports their community!!!

www.schustercompany.com

Fundraiser Today!

Garage Sale starting at 7 AM today. Follow the signs from Happy Valley Rd and 67th Ave.

Also, we are trying to plan a fundraising Expo for October, we have volunteers, vendors and whole lot of what we need, but the location did not work out. Please let us know if you know a large indoor space that would be good in this time frame in the Valley.

Thanks!

Now a Cause of FaceBook

Join our cause and tell all your friends!

http://www.causes.com/causes/492428?m=dce293d1

An Easy Way to Donate

Check out https://www.justgive.org/basket?acton=donate&ein=20-1788353 this is an easy way to make a tax deductible one time donation to SWAN. It is an even better way to make a re-occurring donation. Just sign up and once a month the amount you chose will be automatically donated from you to SWAN. You get emailed a receipt and at the end of the year, everything you need for your taxes is right in your email.

It cost $22.50 per night to provide our services to the women.

The great thing is every penny you donate goes right to helping the women and children. No one gets paid to run SWAN it is 100% volunteers.

Is It Time to Clean Our Your Closets?

SWAN is holding another yard sale. If  you have been putting off cleaning out your closet, garage or storage areas, now is the time to do it.

Please donate any items that you are no longer using. They will be sold to help support the butterfly house. Call 602-299-5261 to coordinate drop off/pick up of donations.

Do You Want To Volunteer?

SWAN and Butterfly House can always use more volunteers and the process is pretty easy.


Just let us know if you might be interested. We will meet with you to provide more information and find out where you may be the best fit.

Some ways our volunteers help

• Mixers – go to mixers in your neighborhood to talk about SWAN. This helps get awareness out
• Tabling – set up a table outside a local store, hand out information and accept donations.  Donation Recruitment – talk to local business owners to give info on SWAN and see if they would be interested in donation anything
• Fundraisers – ideas need! Also, help needed on upcoming events.
• Rummage sale holders – hold rummage sale for donations to SWAN. Pool your items with those of friends, family and other volunteers
• Play games – poker, bunco – hold a game night for a buy in and have people bring donations (cash, TP, etc)
• Sales Party – have a independent consultant donate a portion of sales from getting your friends together. Corporate reach out – contact large companies to see if they would support swan with a drive or fundraiser.
• Volunteer at the house – work with the women of Butterfly House. Any activity in the house is good as long as it has a positive message and will help the women in the search for self esteem and goal achievement.

Email us for more info! Worth.Accepting@gmail.com

House & Volunteers

The house is still moving along. The garage sale last week got us about 1/2 of the funds needed for June so we are still working on fundraising ideas. Please, emails us if you have any suggestions!
Last night we had a volunteer meeting to make sure everyone is on the same page when working with the residents of the house and to come up with fundraising ideas.

Looks like June will have a great event that is in conjunction with a Karate School. The school seems to be run by people with really great hearts. They currently offer free classes to any child in foster care and they want to come to the house and do a self defense class.

We have a meeting next week with CCV and hopefully they will let us use space and we can have the date for our October Expo and we can move forward with that. We have already had a few people who want to be vendors!

Volunteer Meeting Tonight

There will be a volunteer meeting tonight at 7pm near 32nd and Bell.


Call Amilia if you are interested in attending! 602-299-5261

Success!

Thank you to everyone who donated items for the garage sale this weekend. The event took a lot of hard work and heavy lifting, but it was worth it. Almost everything was sold and we were able to raise over $700 to help pay for the Butterfly House expenses for this month. Additionally, we made some great people and handed out some materials on SWAN and Butterfly House.

There was a great 21 year old guy who is moving in a couple of weeks but wanted to do something to volunteer, since no guys are allowed in the house, he took some materials and are going to give them to some of his female friends that he things would be interested in volunteering. He was really sweet and it was nice to talk to him and his mother.

We also met Pablo who works at a printing company and may be able to assist with our printing needs.

There were a few women who took info and hopefully be contacting Amilia to see how they can be involved.

We still have a great Chaise Lounge and a TON of books if you know anyone.

Have a great week!

Full House!

As mentioned before, the Butterfly House is now full with 4 great girls and their children.
Ashly has a 4 month old son and was the first person in the house. Katie joined, she has 3 daughters that are 1,3, and 5. She also has a boy on the way. Joslyn is a 17 year old who doesn't have any children and jsut last night a new girl joined the house with her 10 month old son.
As you can imagine there are a host of needs: diapers, baby clothes, and food being top priorities. 2 of the ladies left with only what they were wearing!

In addition to the immediate needs, there are ongoing needs...just to sustain the house we need $1,584 a month. Please consider a reoccuring donation $5, $10, $15 or more each month. You can sign up at https://www.justgive.org/basket?acton=donate&ein=20-1788353 and the payment will be automatic. All donations should be tax deductable.

The garage sale is tomorrow & Saturday and hopefully we will have a great turn out and raise a lot of money to get these ladies some of the things they need. Basic things that you and I take for granted beacuse we have them.....but imagine having to live with only 1 shirt.

Please come consider a donation and coming to the garage sale. Please spread the word about the garage sale, we have a ton of great stuff for sale and will also have information about SWAN and Butterfly House!

Garage Sale!

The fundraiser is being held at 664 W. Grove Cir Mesa AZ Friday and Saturday from 7am-3pm (or later if there are still shoppers).

I have been spending large amount of time working to make sure that everything is organized. I have cleaned out closets and bookshelves and still have a ways to go in the house. Right now we have TON of books, DVD’s & CD’s along with great items like: a desk, a chaise lounge, an entertainment center, a small TV, an iPod, a Nintendo DS w/ games and lots of house hold goods. Yesterday a great co-worker of mine donated 4 large bags of dress clothes, baby clothes and shoes, some of these items may be used for the women but the rest will be in for the sale. Today I have had 4 more co-workers say they have items to donate and they are dropping them buy my house Thursday night…so Friday will be an early morning, getting signs out on the road and items organized for sale.

I am planning a table that will have info about SWAN and Butterfly House, along with pledge forms, mailing list sign up and more. Hopefully, we won’t just raise money, but we will also be able to raise awareness and support for SWAN.

Please tell your friends, your family, and your neighbors (maybe even a stranger) to stop on by.

Full House

The house is full and we have a lot of babies with the ladies. Babies bring a whole new set of needs.

Current Needs:
Diapers size 3 and 4
Booster seat for kitchen table
Baby Boy Clothes size 6-9 months
Food
Laundry Soap.

Busy Week

This has been a busy week, so this will be a quick post to give an status and I promise, more info this weekend!

Butterfly House officially opened on May 1st. The house is now full. 1 of the house members brought her 4 month old son with her and 1 is pregnant!

Volunteers to spend time in the house are needed. Call Amilia (602) 299-5261 if you are interested in helping out.

Oh No!

SWAN has a van that we use to transport women to places like, group meetings, doctors, the store, to get orders of protection, etc. Unfortunately, the van has broken down a wee bit - there is no AC! As you can imagine we can't go all summer with women and babies in the van without AC.

Anyone know of someone who would be billing to donate time & parts to fix it? If so, email Amilia at worth_accepting@yahoo.com .

Tomorrow:
We will show you exactly what cash donations go to support.

Executive Director of SWAN

Typically this blog is written from the we standpoint, because we have to work together to get everything done for SWAN, but today on a personal note.....

Executive Director Amilia has been super busy working on legislative issues and perpetrator accountability. She has had several speaking engagements recently and been touring prisons. Busy lady, but in her free time, she is providing direct services to women, making sure Butterfly House is ready for the May 1st opening and oh yeah...moving someone into Butterfly House because they needed to get out of their situation with a 4 month old baby!

Amilia is an inspiration to me, a survivor herself she is working to help so many more people in the world, supports other non-profits, and is being a mom to a household of 7 kids (there's a dog too!) It take a lot of hours and I am not really sure when she sleeps. When I answered a Volunteer Match ad I never thought I would be as involved as I am, but Amilia drove 50 miles to meet with me personally and there was a light and positive energy that I just had to be involved and every time I see her, she is positive and has a smile and a hug for everyone. 

Oh yeah, and like everyone at SWAN - She volunteers!

Keep up the good work Amilia, I am proud to be part of the team!

Good News / Bad News

The bad news:
We have been trying to get grant money to sustain the house. Grants are an interesting process, and thus far there only have been a few that we are eligible for. Last night we received a response from the first foundation and we were not chosen to receive a grant. It would have been great to receive grant money so we were able to focus just on helping the women without the worry of paying the house bills but alas it wasn't meant to be with this one.

The GOOD news: Oh boy, there is a bunch of good news.

• We have followers on the blog!
• We have also had blog readers from as far away as Vermont!
• It is great to know that what we are putting out here is being viewed. Now, help us spread the word and tell your friends! We are still working on the layout so the blog will be prettier soon.
• We have garage sale day coming up on the 14th but we have already had $32 is sales just from talking about what we had there were a couple of small items picked snatched up by someone who just couldn't wait. It's small but it's a start!
• We have also had interest from two independent business owners for the October Expo. There is still a lot to do with that, but it is a great start.

It all just came from talking about what we are trying to do. It's great, it shows that although sometimes we receive disappointment (no grant) there are good things abound as well.

We posted many ways that you can assist yesterday but if you just don't have time for those, what about a monthly sponsorship? You can do any size donation that will be automatically withdrawn each month in any size you want. If 100 individuals donated $15 each month, Butterfly House would be taken care of. All donations are tax deductible and you will receive a monthly newsletter that tells the stories of the women and gives you updates on their progress.

Ways to Help

We can always use assistance in a number of areas. If you would like to be involved in creating a safe haven, take a look below for some examples of ways you can be involved.


Email: worth_accepting@yahoo.com for the following:
Mentor - work with the women of the house to build confidence, marketable skills, or just be a friend.
Service Groups - man a table outside of a local store to handout materials and get donations.


Email: worth.accepting@gmail.com for the following:
Bands - we need bands for the August event. If you are a band or know a band (or single performer) that would be willing to donate time and a free performance let us know.
Independent Contractors - do you sell Mary Kay, Avon, Cookie Lee, your own crafts, Photos, Sketches etc? If you do please contact us about our October Expo. Details on participation will be provided so you can make a call as to if it is something you are interested it, but it is a great inexpensive way to get your name and product out there. Raffle/Silent Action items also needed!
Small Business Owners - October Expo will need sponsors and your small pool, landscaping, cleaning service could find a great market. email for more details. Raffle/Silent Action items also needed!
Food and Beverage Vendors - contact us for opportunities at the October Expo. Raffle/Silent Action items also needed!
Donation Procurement - have a way with words and like talking to people? Find out about opportunities in your area to meet with businesses to discuss possible donations for raffles and silent auctions.
Host a FUNdraising party - Poker, Bunco, etc. at your location, with your friends, for a great cause.
GoodSearch.com - works just look Google, but you pick a charity that you are searching for and boom! your charity gets money. Go to GoodSearch.com and choose Someone Worth Accepting Now - SWAN.

Hello Readers!

We are pretty excited to be doing this first post. This blog is for Someone Worth Accepting Now which is a non-profit 501c3 organization in Phoenix that is 100% volunteer which provides services, mentoring, shelter and much, much more to victims and survivors of domestic violence. 100% volunteer run means that SWAN is pretty small, no one gets paid and every penny we raise goes straight to helping women in need.

This year has been exciting and challenging as on May 1, 2010 we are opening Butterfly House. This is a one of a kind shelter in the valley. This is actually a home which will house up to 6 women at a time, this safe house allows us to focus on a younger group of women and empower them to a successful future.  

The first challenges for Butterfly House have been tackled and conquered. The house is funished, decorated and the first lady has actually moved in early due to an overwhelming need. There are welcome baskets ready with basic tioletries ready for the women and the yard has been lanscapted thanks to the men of Mosaic.

Now comes our biggest challenge: Funding the house! To keep the house open we need to raise money for the basics - motgage, utilities, insurance, etc. Just for those items we need about $1,500 a month! Since we are such a small group this $18,000 a year is going to be a challenge for us to fund raise. The good news is that we have a dedicated group that is up for the challenge.

We are always open to new volunteers, fundraising ideas, donations, comments and support. We have a couple of great fundraisers brewing for later in the year. There is still a lot of work to do to get these off the group, such as, finding a venue to hold the event, participats, attendees, donations, etc. If you think you could help in any of these areas, please please please, email us!

• August: Battle of the Bands
• October: EXPO this will be a great event for independant consultants (Mary Kay, Pampered Chef, Gold for Cash, etc) and small buisness owners that will have samples, give aways, raffles, etc.
• May 14 & 15 - Garage Sale - Mesa.

We are looking forward to developing this blog more and using it as a kick off for our events. Please follow us, tell your friends about us, and give us suggestions!

Thank You!
Someone Worth Accepting Now (SWAN)