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I would like to share a story with you that so epitomizes our mission at Mary's Shelter - to support women that find themselves in a place of brokenness and desperation and help them to see the hand of God in their lives.
"Monica" is a refugee from Africa who left the United States to join her husband in Canada. After the birth of their first child, they were astounded by the medical bills. Since they did not qualify for healthcare, you can imagine their despair when they discovered Monica was pregnant again. Desperate and anxious, Monica returned to the U.S. with her 2 yr. old son, and although she had healthcare, she did not have a safe place to live. She considered having an abortion, so great was her fear and anguish. Fortunately, she received counseling at a crisis pregnancy center, learned about Mary's Shelter and changed her mind. That is, until her next doctor's appointment when she discovered she was carrying twins!
She became so depressed by the news that she began to consider abortion again. After many conversations, pleadings and prayers, she relented and agreed to come to Mary's Shelter.
Since then, Monica has moved from strength to strength. She earns money babysitting, attends mass at her local parish, and has become a U.S. citizen.
However, she still has moments of doubt and anxiety. The thought of twins fast approaching is very daunting and there are times when Monica is not sure how she is going to make it.
Recently, we decided to transform a small room on the ground floor of her house into a special space for her twins so she will not have to go up and down the stairs with them. She watched as the bare, cold room morphed into a welcoming space for her babies complete with bassinets, changing table, rocking chair, rugs and beautiful wall hangings. When the room was done, Monica was overwhelmed with emotion and almost fell to her knees crying. She then expressed how terrible she feels about having considered an abortion, and how great God must be for blessing her with the gift of Mary's Shelter. We talked at length about God's love and forgiveness. I told her how much we all love and support her, how proud of her we are and how special these little twin girls must be.
It is moments like these that clarify the mission and solidify in our minds why we are doing this. Working at Mary's Shelter has its shares of heartbreak and sorrow, but one experience like this is worth a thousand sorrows.
God bless,
Kathleen Wilson, director
I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.
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Do not miss our Craft Bazaar - coming up in 2 weeks!
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NOW ACCEPTING CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS!
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Volunteer Interview - Rachel Chaves
 Rachel Chaves was born on the Caribbean island of Trinidad. She moved to Florida in 1995 to pursue her tertiary education and met her husband Juan 2 years later. They moved to Fredericksburg, Juan's home town in 2005 and now have 5 children. Rachel is a stay-at-home mom and apart from volunteering at Mary's Shelter, she is a certified Baby Signing Time Instructor for ages 0-3yrs.
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Q: What sort of volunteer work do you do for Mary's Shelter?
I am the volunteer coordinator.
Q: How did you first get involved with Mary's Shelter and begin volunteering?
I first heard about Mary's Shelter when the director Kathleen Wilson came to talk with the Mom's Group at St. Mary about it. I always wanted to be involved with pro-life work but at that time my first priority was with my family and I needed to keep my focus on them. I eventually got involved with the shelter in small ways like attending their Christmas Soirée one year and sang for it another year. I believe I also stuffed envelopes for the Soirée that same year. I did some more envelope stuffing for their Summer Soirée this year. During the summer I also taught the residents and their kids Baby Sign Language vocabulary classes. While chatting with a couple of staff members, I was told that their previous volunteer coordinator was unable to continue so I just said I would do it and here I am.
Q: How do you find time to volunteer?
Honestly, it's not always easy to find the time because I still have young kids and other family responsibilities that I need to focus on but I make the time to do what I can after my kids' bed time and on the weekend.
Q: What is the best part of volunteering at Mary's Shelter? What have you learned or gained from your volunteer experience?
I am part of an organization that gives hope to expecting mothers who feel desperate and don't have many choices. I have learned that there is a lot more involved in running an organization of this nature than I thought.
Q: What do you feel you have to offer to the residents at Mary's Shelter?
When I first started hands-on volunteering at the shelter, I was happy to share with the residents the benefits of signing with their children. I hope that they continue to do so. Now that I am focusing on volunteer coordinating I do what I can to connect the residents with the many amazing volunteers who want to share their time and talents. Hopefully, when our residents eventually leave the shelter they are able to live a better quality of life than before they came to us. Our volunteers play an important role in achieving this goal. I do my best to facilitate this.
Q: What would you recommend for others who want to get more involved in Mary's Shelter through volunteer work?
I would recommend that they check our website and see which line of volunteer work they feel most called to do and come join us! Not sure what you would like to do? Then come to one of our monthly brunches, talk with some of our staff and other volunteers, ask questions, get a tour of a couple of our homes, and get to know us better.
Q: What is the best thing about Mary's Shelter?
Mary's Shelter has a very small staff of amazing ladies who all put in a lot of time and energy into the daily running of the shelter. They also coordinate our yearly fundraisers. I enjoy working with them!
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| Mary's Shelter in the News! |
We have so many people to thank for the success of our Summer Soireé -
*Our speakers: Lisa Kratz Thomas, Students for Life director Kristan Hawkins, Fr. Don Rooney and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli
*Our Master of Ceremonies: 40 Days for Life Director David Bereit
*Our videographers: Mike Hichborn and Dwain Currier
*Our photographers: Mike O'Connor and Lori Fowlkes
*Our musicians: The Jazz Ensemble from Fredericksburg Area Young Musicians (FAYM)
*Our teen volunteers
*Our underwriters, table sponsors, and faithful donors
Thank you, thank you, thank you all!*We would like to thank 2 special young ladies, Rebecca Boelsche and Genevieve O'Connor, for selling their own hand-crafts and giving the money to Mary's Shelter. They have already given us $71.00 in gift cards. We are so touched. Thank you!
*Thank you to Debbie at Project Linus for all the beautiful blankets you donate to the children at Mary's Shelter.
*Thank you to the UMW Students for Life for taking on babysitting during our Monday night classes once again.
*Thank you to our fabulous and steadfast teen babysitters - Helen Rathgeb, Aisling Glocke, Elisa and Sarah Bostain, Mary Grace and Cecilia Tucker.
*Thank you to all our Monday Night Madness instructors for bearing with us as we tweak and tweak and tweak again!
*Thank you to Abbey Construction for putting together the shed that was donated by Lowe's on the suggestion of our storage room (aka Boutique) volunteers - Monika Felock and Rita Pinion.
*Thank you to our Saturday Night Speakers - Berkeley Whitley and Courtney Pellegrino.
*Thank you to our interns, Marian and Caroline, and our summer intern Holly O'Brien. We are so grateful for you!
*Thank you to Cindy Harris for the biweekly Walmart runs with our ladies.
*And thanks to all the mentors and volunteers who work so tirelessly for the benefit of our residents. |
| Save the Date for our Christmas Soirée |
Look for news about our upcoming Christmas Soirée -Sunday, December 16th - in our next newsletter!
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| Fulfill the Promise Campaign |
 Are you a part of the Mary's Shelter family? Our Fulfill the Promise campaign asks for just a small monthly donation. Could you commit to $20 a month to fund Mary's Shelter?
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God bless,Kathleen Wilson, directorI have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.
