Rowan House - Volunteers Count

(Grassroots Page 11)

Submitted by the Friends of Rowan House

Thank you to all of the volunteers who helped out during the Christmas Campaign and all of the other events and fundraisers that were held during 2010. Without you, these things would not be possible! We look forward to what's to come in 2011. Our most recent fundraisers were: The Cowboy Christmas Dance on December 11th which raised $1588.87, Hockey Day in High River raised $5,600, The Foothills Training Centre Call to Arms Seminar raised $5000, The Charity Checkstop in Okotoks raised a total of just under $10,000 which was split with the Salvation Army, with Rowan House receiving $4700! Also a big thank you to everyone who helped out and donated during the Christmas Campaign! Almost $4000 in gift cards were donated for client use this year.
Thank you to those who have come on board to fill a number of needed positions. We now have Newsletter Publishers, a Social Networking volunteer, Child Care Attendants for the Healthy Relationships Group, a Donations Coordinator, a Storage Facility Organizer, and our 2011 Gala Committee! We are still in need of drivers for pick-up and drop off of donations and/or to take donations to Outreach Clients. If you know of any gentlemen that are willing to volunteer their time for Rowan House, please have them contact Gisele. We will try not to over use their generosity, but sometimes we need to move heavier donations to and from different locations.
Something else to think about: The Soup Sisters organization and the Diamond Willow Artisans Retreat are partnering with Rowan House! Here's what they're looking for: The Soup Sisters support women's shelters across the country with the very simple and heartfelt gesture of providing homemade soup. They were founded in March 2009 by Calgarian, Sharon Hapton and their local launch is February 28th. We will need a maximum of 4 volunteers for these bimonthly soup making events. We would really like to get at least 8 volunteers so that they would only have to work every second event, although if you wish to be at every event that is okay too. The events will be held on a Sunday but the exact time is still to be determined. We will be used for meet and greet, registration, and of course clean up. The participants in this event will be paying a fee to make the soup (this is how the ingredients for the soups are purchased). The participants will make 4 different kinds of soup at this event and all of the soup will be donated to Rowan House for its women and outreach clients. After the soup is made and packaged it will be dropped off at the shelter. If you are interested please let Gisele know ASAP so she can set up a meeting with Pat Lothrop at the Diamond Valley Artisan Retreat about 4.5 km west of Turner Valley and clarify the rest of the details. Visit:
www.soupsisters.org for more information.
If you would like to volunteer or you're looking for more information, please contact Gisele at volunteer@rowanhouseonline.org or at the office at 403-938-6785. The next volunteer meeting will be held on February 7th at the Elizabeth Street Office at 1:00pm. For those that cannot do daytime meetings we are working on a time that is best for those who wish to meet in the evening.