Meet Kateri
a letter to you from one of our residents
I would like to say thank you from all of my heart for supporting me and my family during our time of need. I have a four year old, Aunna Mareigh, and a one year old, Madellyn Skye. I am due around Christmas and will be having a boy. I haven't quite settled on a name yet for him. I am so grateful that I am able to stay at Mary's Shelter. I am able to stay in a big, beautiful house with my own room and bathroom for me and my girls. We're able to cook our own meals in the kitchen. Since day one, the girls run around and love this house as if it is their own. It's nice that I am able to stay here until I'm able to provide better for them. I have been working for Automatic Rolls of Virginia in Spotsylvania for the past three years. They are expecting to move to North Carolina by May. They are opening a new plant which will save them millions of dollars. They are giving all of the employees an opportunity to move with them. They will pay for the move, a few months rent, and offer the same rate of pay, insurance, and seniority. I am going to move with the company. I think it will be a great new beginning for my family. By that time, I will have money saved up and will be ready to maintain a household. An unfortunate situation has left me alone to provide for my family. My boyfriend of almost three years broke up with me and kicked me out. He is the father of Madellyn and our unborn son. This was unexpected, mind-blowing, and quite emotional for me. I am trying to tell myself there is a bigger plan and to move forward. I am glad I have the support of Mary's Shelter. I really need this right now in my life. Thank you for everything, from me and my girls. We are blessed. |
Please visit Fiberfads! for beautiful hand-knit and felted items. All proceeds are donated to Mary's Shelter! | For unique, hand-crafted rosaries, please visit:Beads for Mary 40-50% of your purchase will benefit Mary's Shelter  | Want more information about Mary's Shelter? Please visit our website:
| | | | Mary's Shelter November Newsletter
Vol. 2, No. 9
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| Greetings!
This Thanksgiving, we are so grateful to the generous donors who are making Mary's Shelter a reality for many homeless, pregnant women and their children. Because of your generosity, our residents are safe and warm, and will have a delicious Thanksgiving meal on the table. We want you to know how blessed they feel by this outpouring of love and support. Please read Kateri's letter to you, and you'll hear firsthand how you have made a difference in her life and the lives of her children. Mary's Shelter always receives a higher volume of calls in the winter from women in crisis looking for homes. Although we cannot provide homes for all these women, we try to meet at least some of their needs. We are very fortunate to have such a generous community who not only maintain our shelters, but who are also willing to provide other assistance for pregnant women and children in need. Have a wonderful, blessed Thanksgiving. God bless you!
Kathleen Wilson, Director - Mother Teresa |
The Fredericksburg Soirée Singers Present
The 3rd Annual Mary's Shelter Christmas Soirée Come enjoy an evening of scintillating musical entertainment, traditional Christmas carols, a delectable three-course dinner, and a silent auction! Sunday, December 19th, 2010
6-9 pmSuggested Donation of $60/couple or $35/person For more information or to RSVP, please write to Eve at info@marysshelterva.org |
Welcome Meghan!
Mary's Shelter is pleased to welcome Meghan Rubin, our new intern. Meghan will be interning with us as she prepares for missionary work in Africa. We are very grateful to have her as a part of the Mary's Shelter team over the next several months. Welcome, Meghan, and thank you!
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Resident Profiles
The following are profiles of some of our current residents. All names are fictitious.
ANNE: Anne is a very special case. She is new to our shelter, 19 years old, and 8 months pregnant with her first child. Anne also has a whole host of psychological problems that we were not told about by her social worker prior to her arrival. Had we known in advance about her mental instability, we probably would not have accepted her into our program, and would have sought other accommodations for her. But from almost the first moment, she proved herself to be so refreshingly sweet and honest, with an almost child-like innocence, that we decided she should stay. She has a heart-breaking story as well. When she was 2 weeks old, she was removed from her mentally ill, biological parents. Her father had put crystal meth in her baby bottle, which, as she puts it, "is why her brain is so messed up". She lived in foster care until she was adopted at age 11. She had a rough adolescence, frequently locked in her room for her own safety, and spending time at a juvenile detention center. At age 18, she was cut loose from her family, and has since then roamed from shelter to shelter. Her boyfriend also suffers from mental illness and has been living in a mental institution for quite some time. She has not finished school and has no work experience. She is planning to take GED preparation classes. At this point, we do not know what the future holds for Anne. We pray that her doctors and social workers would help her to make the best decisions for herself and her child. Please keep her in your prayers!
CATHERINE: We are proud to announce that Catherine is moving into a place of her own. She will be leaving in a few days after having lived at Mary's Shelter for over a year. She will soon be taking the final exam for her CNA license, and will be seeking employment in that area of expertise. She has worked hard, holding down two jobs and going to school full-time, as well as being a great mom to her kids. We wish her the best of luck in the future!
In addition to the moms you have read about, Mary's Shelter provides homes to other mothers and children. Please keep them ALL in your prayers.
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Thanksgiving Blessings*Thank you to the Ancient Order of Hibernians for their very wonderful donation of $1000! It was an honor to be invited to speak at one of their meetings, and a true blessing to be the recipients of such a generous donation. To see some pictures from this great event, please click here. *Thank you to Mary Walsh for a lesson in how to prepare a Thanksgiving meal at our monthly cooking class! *Thank you to our volunteer doula, Amanda Winn, for helping "Bianca" through her difficult labor. She was so appreciative that Amanda stayed and supported her the entire time. Thanks for giving so much of your time to our ladies, Amanda! *A big, heartfelt thanks to all the girls from the Fredericksburg Christian School Art Club. These young ladies have been volunteering their Monday evenings to babysit and do crafts with the children at our shelter. In addition, they organized an amazing Thanksgiving food drive for our ladies, and raised money for turkeys and fresh ingredients. These girls are truly amazing. We are so blessed to have them as our volunteers!  *Thank you to St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church for the generous Thanksgiving food basket and gift card! Our ladies have been truly blessed this year, and will likely have enough food leftover for a Christmas dinner as well! Thank you for supporting them. *Thank you to the students from the Catholic Student Center at the University of Mary Washington for donating computers and printers for our office, and for organizing yet another hugely successful diaper drive! We would never have such a well-stocked storage room if it weren't for you!  *We had two awesome confirmation teams, from St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, do yard work and organize our storage rooms. Thank you for doing such a beautiful job! Many of these same teens have been hitting the streets of downtown Fredericksburg soliciting donations for the silent auction at our Christmas Soiree. Thank you for all your hard work!   *Thank you to the wonderful volunteers from John Paul the Great High School. They planted a beautiful garden in the back of one of our shelters. We are so pleased with it, we are hoping they will come back and do the same at our other 2 houses! Thank you for adding a touch of beauty and spirituality to our humble backyard.  
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| | A Final Thank You
We are very grateful to the wonderful volunteers, prayer warriors, and donors who are crucial to the survival of Mary's Shelter. Through your ongoing support, we pray that this ministry will continue to foster a culture of life in our community for many years to come.We hope you will continuing praying for the success of our 2010 "Fulfill the Promise" Campaign. With your help, we have really come a long way this year, but we still have many obstacles ahead of us. Please help us by spreading the word! For more information about our ongoing "Fulfill the Promise" Campaign, please visit our website at www.marysshelterva.org.
Thank you and may God Bless you!Sincerely,
The Directors and Staff of Mary's Shelter
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