Whew – we have been busy!! October has been a busy, busy month for YWCA Northeast Indiana. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, which has included our annual Flowers on the River event, Chalk it Up, and our upcoming Circle event. We have also been busy partnering with our region’s mayoral leaders who have signed proclamations making October Domestic Violence Awareness Month for their communities.

We have also been busy making some internal changes within our domestic violence programs to better serve our clients.  Read more about these changes in this month’s issue.

But, as busy as we are, we want to take a moment to recognize three outstanding local leaders. Dottie Davis and Anna Belote are co-chairs of this year’s 24th Circle event. They have been relentless in leading our Circle Committee through the COVID-19 pandemic, guiding us down a new path into the virtual arena. Circle’s theme this year is There is no place like a SAFE home, raising money for our domestic violence programs. A registration link is included below, but act soon because registration ends Tuesday!

We also recognize Kim Carpenter who is this month’s empowering leader in our Empowering Leaders video series. She shares why its important for leaders to empower others. Click the short video below to hear more from Kim. She is amazing!

Since October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we have been encouraging people to wear purple on Fridays. It is a simple, yet impactful, way to bring awareness. Please send your photos (of you wearing purple) to marketing@ywcaerew.org and we will recognize you on our social media!

Purple is this month’s color! To stay in that spirit, we are offering a purple back pack in a special raffle to raise funds for our domestic violence programs. Raffle tickets are only $10, and since the backpack was donated to us by The Allstate Foundation, your raffle ticket would be a 100% gift!  Enter as many times as you like, but do so by the end of the month. One lucky person will win the backpack. This would be a great gift for yourself, or for someone else. Keep in mind the holidays are quickly approaching!! Shopping while you give – what a wonderful combination!

Thank you for all your support.

Success Services

What’s the latest news at YWCA Northeast Indiana? Hang on to your hats folks because we are making some fabulous changes to better serve our clients! YWCA Northeast Indiana is undergoing an exciting transition within our domestic violence programs. This month, we will be fully transitioned to a new model called Success Services. Success Services will combine Community Programs, Steps to Success, and shelter case management into one case management service. Instead of some case managers focusing on shelter clients, some focusing on community-based clients through Community Programs, and some focusing on Steps to Success clients, domestic violence case managers will have a mixed case load. Furthermore, case managers will now be called Advocates, a name that reflects YWCA’s commitment to trauma-informed care.

One of the most important benefits in the Success Services model is our clients will receive consistent support from the same Advocate throughout their entire connection to YWCA services. Consistency allows a client’s journey to be more streamlined instead of switching between case managers and having to rebuild a case manager relationship. Now, a client is able to receive consistent support from the same Advocate that has seen them grow throughout their entire journey. Kudos to our domestic violence team of top-notch folks!

Dottie Davis & Anna Belote

Circle Event Co-Chairs

We cannot help bragging because we have the best volunteers! Dottie Davis and Anna Belote have served on our Circle Committee for years and also took on the role of co-chairs for this year’s 24th annual Circle event. At the time they eagerly agreed, they didn’t know that this year’s event would be met with the challenges introduced by the COVID-19 pandemic. But, this didn’t distract these remarkable women from making this year’s event one of most lively Circle productions in our history.

Why do they volunteer for YWCA Northeast Indiana?

“I choose to be involved with YWCA Northeast Indiana as a board member because I believe in the mission of the organization to eliminate racism, empower women, and promote peace, justice and dignity for all,” Dottie shared. “I also believe that it is important for me to be involved in my community, a city that has given so much to me.”

Dottie also went on to talk about Circle. “This year I volunteered to co-chair the committee, which included having responsibility for planning the annual Circle event, because the dollars raised specifically serve those impacted by domestic violence. After a lived experience with intimate partner violence and getting my power restored, I vowed to pay it forward and help others in similar situations. The YWCA offers many programs to assist not only the victim of domestic violence, but also their children who have witnessed the destruction in their homes.”

“I volunteered to be a co-chair for the YWCA Circle Committee because I believe in the mission of YWCA,” Anna shared. “As a survivor of domestic abuse, I am passionate about helping to elevate awareness and knowledge about domestic violence and helping connect resources to the cause.”

Anna also talked about Circle. “The Circle event is so important because it places a greater emphasis on programs that help support women, men, and children in their search for a safe place to call home.”

YWCA Northeast Indiana is so thankful to Dottie Davis and Anna Belote for their leadership! Not only did they help lead the Circle event, but they also participated, playing the roles of Dorothy (Dottie Davis) and the good witch Glinda (Anna Belote) in our Circle production: There is no place like a SAFE home. Now, that is devotion!!

24th Annual Circle Luncheon – An Online Spectacular

YWCA Northeast Indiana’s Circle event is our signature fundraising event, with a fundraising goal of $120,000 for our domestic violence programs. Circle is more than a fundraising event, however. Circle is also educational. Our keynote speaker, Casey Gwinn, will educate our guests on the power of HOPE. “There is nothing more predictive of wellness than hope,” Casey shares in his keynote speech.

Casey, president of the Alliance for HOPE International, grew up in a home of multi-generational violence and abuse. He shares with us that hope can be measured. Did you know that hope can also be cultivated and taught? He calls this the “science of hope.”

I hope you will join us this year by registering for Circle. Click  HERE  to register. Our registration will end on Tuesday. Yes – TUESDAY. For those registered, we will be sending you a special link to view this event, which will debut on October 22nd. If you cannot watch it on the 22nd – no worries – this link will be active for a week.

We want to thank our Circle corporate sponsors and our Circle Committee members. And, to all of our supporters, we quite literally could not provide our life-changing services without you!

In last month’s issue, we shared with you the back view of our Circle cast. Did you guess who we were?!?

L to R: Anna Belote (Glinda), Paula Hughes-Schuh (Cowardly Lion), Dottie Davis (Dorothy), Kristina Johnson (Tin Man), and Danielle Burns (Scarecrow).

Kim Carpenter

Featured in this month’s Empowering Leaders Video Series is Kim Carpenter, Client Experience Advocate at Ash Brokerage.

Learn more about Kim here.

Thank you to Kim Carpenter for being our featured empowering leader!  We are also thankful for our corporate partner, Fort Wayne Metals, for sponsoring this initiative.

Purple Purse Raffle

In honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month we are offering raffle tickets for this limited-edition backpack, valued at $350! Now through October 31st, raffle tickets will be available for ONLY $10! The more tickets you purchase, the more chances you have to win! Enter to win by end of October because when the first of November rolls around, one lucky winner will be chosen! Will this person be you?!? All proceeds from ticket sales go directly to YWCA Northeast Indiana’s domestic violence services. Enter to win this fabulous purse HERE!