2011: The Year in Review

2011 was a big year for Calvary Women’s Services. We celebrated many successes and have much more to look forward to. Before we move too far into the new year, we wanted to share a few memorable highlights from 2011:

• Every five days a woman moved from Calvary into her own home.
• Women at Calvary achieved educational goals like GED’s, started treatment for mental illnesses, got sober, learned new skills like cooking and financial management, and much more.
• The Life Skills educational program at Calvary continued to grow. Classes this year included health education, yoga, financial literacy, self-esteem, stress management, as well as creative classes like art and poetry.
• Our successful volunteer program continued to grow.  Volunteers led classes, served meals, supervised programs overnight, helped with special projects, held fundraising events and much more.
• We premiered a new video, where you can hear from women in our programs about how Calvary changed their lives.
• Calvary held our 10^th annual Hope Awards Dinner. This year, we honored Mayor Vincent C. Gray and raised $150,000 for Calvary’s programs through the event.
• The Holiday Give Back returned this winter, raising over $12,000 to support Calvary’s Good Hope Kitchen project. Two members of Congress spoke at this year’s Holiday Give Back, and we were also joined by five NFL Alumni! (photos here)
• We had another record-breaking Help the Homeless Walkathon in November, with over 630 Calvary walkers. Our team of Calvary family and friends raised over $50,000 through the Walkathon this year!
• Our work was covered in local publications including Street Sense.
• We kicked off our Good Hope Kitchen campaign with Chef Geoff as our spokesperson. The diverse range of events held by our supporters included an Iron Chef Calvary cook-off, a fashion show, and a poker tournament. This year, you can get involved too!
• Calvary began construction on our new home on Good Hope Road. We are grateful to have received over $300,000 in pro bono support from the local development community to make this project possible. You see the progress at the new building here!

We are grateful to everyone who made this fantastic year possible, especially our volunteers and supporters. As we move in to 2012, the year promises even more excitement as we move to our new home and expand our programs to serve more women.  Keep a close eye on the blog this year to find out the latest news and learn how you can get involved!