Abundance and inspiration!
 Meyer Memorial Trust grant funded in full!

Thanks to a generous grant of $100,000 from the Meyer Memorial Trust, and $10,000 from the Anne & Eli Shapira Charitable Foundation, the New Safety Planning Initiative will be going forward. Our innovative program provides one-on-one case management, 24-hour phone support and violence prevention education. It also provides special support to highest-need populations including immigrant communities, families in rural areas, and victims of sexual assault. These grants help us go to the root of the problem, assisting us in preventing domestic violence from escalating to the point where shelter becomes the only option.

Become a hero, join CWS and help women and children this holiday season! 

 Come with me
 to Bali!

Have the time of your life this February 24th at the CWS Night in Paradise gala and auction! Our Gala co-chair, Susan Bartz will bring her considerable talents and expertise to bear on this winter’s gala, which has a Balinese theme, to be held at the Abernethy Center in Oregon City. We have recently received confirmation from the generous Karin Storey that she will contribute not one but two weeks in her gorgeous house in Bali to be auctioned off! Tickets to the gala are $100.00, and seating is limited. To reserve your spot, please contact Mazarine at 503-722-2366.

Take an evening in royal splendor 

 True Story
 Of Hope and Healing

Dear CWS,

“I am writing as a mother on behalf of my daughter, Maria.* This spring, Maria and I met Nora, at your Victim’s Assistance Center. Nora greeted us in a very friendly, calm, and patient manner. She spent over one and a half hours helping Maria create a restraining order against her boyfriend. Her level of patience and sincere concern for Maria was very apparent, as she sat and listened to my traumatized daughter pour out her heart. Many questions were answered with much professionalism and sensitivity, helping Maria (and me) feel much calmer and safe.

This personal experience with my daughter has provided me a terrifying look at how much domestic violence has impacted our community, even my quiet community of West Linn. Please extend my heartfelt appreciation to Nora, for caring about my daughter and every other suffering woman who walks through her door for help. Thank you to Clackamas Women’s Services and the Victim’s Assistance Program for all you do to help women escape surroundings of domestic violence and lead self-sufficient lives.

Gratefully,

Ms. Hernandez*

*names have been changed to protect privacy

Find out more.... 

 Were you there?
 Harvest of Hope Luncheon



Our Harvest of Hope Luncheon in October was a complete success, with over 50 people in attendance, eager to learn more about Domestic Violence, and eager to help Clackamas Women’s Services. The presenting sponsor was Suburban Doors. Thanks to their support, the luncheon raised over $25,000 for Clackamas Women’s Services!

Giving to CWS is as easy as 1,2,3! 

 Creative Ways to Give!
 

This November, our office overflowed with Thanksgiving in-kind donations, and we can't thank you enough! Because of the generosity of the Clackamas community, we were able to ensure that all women and children in Haven house, Evergreen house and most of our transitional houses got a full thanksgiving dinner. Most notable was a creative donation of 30 bags of food from the Spring Creek Sproingers Llama 4-H Club and Joyce O’Halloran and Jeff Polk of the Joyful Llama Ranch. Kids and parents from the Spring Creek Sproingers used ingenuity and skill to guide llamas around on Halloween, loading cans onto the llama's backs at each house in their West Linn neighborhood. For more cute llama pictures, click here!

Did you know? An old Tri-Met Program allowed community members to get free bus passes for taking care of bus shelters. Jim Troisi had been cleaning a bus shelter for years, but never used the passes. This past year, Jim and his wife Brenda generously gave over 200 bus passes to women at the CWS shelters, enabling them to go to interviews, pick up groceries for their families, and more. Thank you Jim and Brenda for your creative donation!

Be creative! 

 Cellphones A Go-go
 

We’d like to thank all of the people who have been pouring in cellphone donations this fall and winter. A former client of CWS came back to give us a hot tip on Verizon’s Hopeline program. Thanks to her wisdom, women at our shelters now have 5 cellphones from Hopeline, a program that gives an anonymous cellphone and 3,000 free minutes to women in shelter, enabling them to safely begin their new lives. Our gracious client also mentioned that donated cellphones such as Verizon, Nokia, AT&T and Siemens with SIM cards are especially useful, as these phones can be converted into anonymous phones for our shelter clients.

Clean out your drawers, and help CWS! 

 Raise your hand
 

Thank you to two dedicated volunteers, Jodi Faulk and Sherrie Ford of Portland for putting together a beautiful, informative brochure for CWS, telling businesses what they can do to stop domestic violence in their communities. If you would like to hand out a brochure to a business in your area, or have a CWS representative come and speak to your business, please call our administrative office at 503-722-2366.

We at CWS could not move forward without our volunteers, and we want to take a moment to thank Judy, our tireless office volunteer who has been here longer than most of the staff! We deeply appreciate her meticulous record-keeping, and thanks to Judy, we are able to provide donors with timely responses. Not only that, but through sheer determination, initiative and patience, Judy has also been keeping track of each newspaper article written about CWS. Muchos gracias Judy, for helping us week after week, year after year, processing our donations and making us a more effective organization!

Volunteering makes me feel awesome! 

 Remember
 

Due to a generous IRA bequest from Kay Ross (nee Hilger), CWS now has $50,000 to put back into the community! Kay Ross was born in 1933 in Helena, Montana. She moved to the Milwaukie-Gladstone area in 1961 and worked for P & C Tool for 29 years. She is survived by her brother, Jerry Hilger, three grandchildren and two-great-grandchildren.

Robert Thompson was a bright, joyful spirit who told a joke in church every week. He prepared taxes for the handicapped, and supported CWS by giving a check for $200 every week to us through the King of Kings Lutheran Church. He leaves behind his longtime companion, Florence Abbott, and three daughters, Tracy, Tina, and Susan. Thanks to Robert, CWS has received nearly $200 in his memory. We appreciate all that he has given, and all that he continues to give.

If you would like to learn more about how to leave a bequest, please contact our Meldrum office at 503-722-2366.

Thank you 

 Spread the Love
 

This holiday season, when you’re thinking about giving to CWS, please consider this. When you give through the Circle of Hope, you help to insure that the women at CWS continue to receive counseling, housing, and all of the basic necessities of life.

We’d like to take a moment to appreciate some of our new Circle of Hope Donors:

• Bill McCracken
• Mary Ann Swinford
• John and Anne McCready
• John Dengel / Eve Edwards

And this past November, Wayne & Lynn Hamersly became Circle of Hope pace-setting members with a $5,000 donation to CWS.

If you would like to give in-kind donations, we are focusing on new items this season, to symbolize the fresh start that women get with Clackamas Women’s Services.

In-Kind Donations we need most: new women’s and children’s underwear and clothing, children’s area rugs, storybooks in Spanish, children’s backpacks, African American hair care products, and cash donations of any amount are most appreciated.

So whether you’re celebrating Kwanzaa, Hanukkah or Christmas, on behalf of all of the women and children we serve, thank you for your generosity this holiday season.

It's easy to give