Knoxville Author Hosts Virtual Book Signing to Benefit Charity

A local author has found a unique way to help victims of sexual assault and domestic violence this holiday season.

A virtual book signing is now in progress. Author Gayle Crabtree is making signed copies of her books, Does God Still Love Me and Secondhand Hope available this holiday season. She is donating the profits to Hope for Healing.Org to help survivors of sexual and domestic violence.

Looking for the perfect gift this Christmas? Does God Still Love Me was written by Gayle Crabtree. Taken from the questions most often asked by survivors of sexual and domestic violence, Does God Still Love Me is chock full of information that survivors need to regain spiritual footing.

Secondhand Hope was taken from the lives of the clients served by Hope for Healing.Org when the ministry center was operational. Economics force the closure of the ministry center in the fall of 2009. It is hoped that the book proceeds will allow Hope for Healing.Org to once again offer local services.

A limited number of autographed copies are available for the holidays for $12.00 each (plus $3.00 for standard shipping). Of that amount $4 per book will go to benefit the general fund of Hope for Healing.Org.

Does God Still Love Me and Secondhand Hope make perfect gifts this holiday season. Order by Dec. 15 to ensure Christmas delivery. When ordering please specify which book title you wish to purchase. Email admin@hopeforhealing.org for more information. 

More information about the books can be found on this Amazon.com link. Order by December 15, 2009 to ensure Christmas delivery.

Does God Still Love Me or Secondhand Hope

Share

Nonprofit Director Speaks to Jefferson City Ministers Group

Hope for Healing.Org nonprofit director Gayle Crabtree spoke today at the Jefferson City Ministers Association. The topic was the ministry of Hope for Healing.Org as the organization serves victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.

Hope for Healing.Org is the only 501c3 nonprofit that serves all of Strawberry Plains. In addition to services to victims of sexual or domestic violence, they distribute Angel Food and provide free clothing, household and food pantry items to those in need.

A short clip of her talk is included below. We apologize for the darkness of the video. It was recorded live.

New Slideshow on Blog of Strawberry Plains Community.

Check it out. We've just updated the blog and website!

On the blog, Secondhand Hope, we now have a slideshow with photos of the local area we serve. Strawberry Plains is a poverty filled rural area. We have a lot of questions about what we do here from the folks who visit us online. Some of the slides are actually videos that we've taken of the local area. You'll see big difference between Knox County (which we border) and Jefferson County where we're located. Look for the tiny box in the lower left hand corner of the slide and click it. The video should open in a new window.

We believe the photos and videos tell the story of our area more than words ever could.

Online, Hope for Healing.Org has been redesigned. The look is smoother. You'll find new sections to help with the collection of recyclables. There are mini posters that you can download, free shipping labels to be printed, customizable email templates and bulletin inserts for churches.

More will be coming soon. Keep checking back!

Hope for Healing.Org Serves 81 Clients in Q1 2008!

First quarter 2008 has been a busy one at Hope for Healing.Org!
Eighty-seven clients have received the following assistance:

Clothing 7
Food Boxes 60
Household Items 13
Restorative Justice 2
Domestic Violence 2
Homeless 3

Hope for Healing.Org is the only 501c3 social service agency providing services for all of Strawberry Plains. In addition to these listed services we distribute Angel Food, give referrals, operate a thrift shop and maintain a top ranked website. Other client needs may be met on an individual case-by-case basis.

Donations are accepted at our new location in downtown Strawberry Plains.

Look for us at 3130 Old Andrew Johnson Hwy., Strawberry Plains, TN 37871. Hours are from 11:00 - 3:00 Thurs. - Saturday. Volunteers are always welcome. Even an hour or two a month sorting clothing, folding brochures, helping in the office or putting out fliers can make a big difference!
Please call us at 933.8769 for more information or visit us online at http://www.hopeforhealing.org.

Hope for Healing.Org Moves, Expands Services

You told us we needed more space. We listened. We’ve moved!

You’ll want to come see our newly expanded thrift shop, Secondhand Hope. The new address is 3130 W. Old Andrew Johnson Hwy., Strawberry Plains, TN 37871. We are diagonally across from the Parrot-Wood library in the heart of downtown Strawberry Plains. Shop hours for the Secondhand Hope Thrift Store are 11:00 am – 3:00 pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Donations are accepted during those hours and on Tuesdays from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm.

We have more space and parking now than ever before! This makes is easier for us to provide the Angel Food distribution, Hope Youth and Restorative Justice programs at the new thrift shop location.

Right next door to Secondhand Hope is the new office of Hope for Healing.Org. Services provided there include voucher assistance, domestic violence outreach and website maintenance. Other services may be provided on a case-by-case basis.

In the past, many of you may have visited us at the Strawberry Plains United Methodist Church for the Angel Food or Restorative Justice programs. We appreciate the helpfulness of the church during our time of growth and we thank them for the support they have provided since 2004.

The move allows for a new great service. Hope for Healing.Org is now the only WI-FI hotspot in Strawberry Plains. Our outdoor picnic tables are a great place to hang out with friends or to surf the internet. And don’t forget the Strawberry Plains Spring Festival on May 10, 2008. Our new location is right in the middle of all the festivities and excitement. Those same tables will be a great place to rest, relax and enjoy some entertainment.

Activities planned for summer include music, craft classes and more! See our blog at http://www.hopeforhealing.org/ to keep up with all the latest “hope happenings”.

Come visit us! We look forward to seeing you soon.

Hope for Healing.Org a WI-FI Hotspot!

You asked. We listened. Hope for Healing.Org is now a WI-FI Hotspot!

Bring your laptops and come on down! It's available after school until 5:00 pm and all day on Saturdays. Have a seat at one of our outdoor tables. Enjoy fresh air, sunshine and wireless.

If you get thirsty we have canned Cokes, Diet Cokes, Coke Zero and bottled water available for .60 each.

So why not come on in. Shop our thrift store for awhile. Sit awhile. Watch the traffic go by and surf the internet.

We'll see you soon!

Purses are in Stock! Made by Volunteers & Clients

Everyone's been asking when we'll have more purses. I'm happy to say that they are now back in stock!

These have been a hotter demand item than we anticipated. What started out as a "let's try it" project is quickly expanding. After Angel Food this past Saturday our Hope Youth & Restorative Justice kids several made under watchful eyes. Each bag is handsewn and inspected before being placed for sale.

Most of all, these bags are a second chance. Our clients who work on them learn new skills. You should see their self-esteem soar! Even the kid who said "I don't like to make things" ended up with a smile on his face. He came to put in community service hours. Despite his protests at learning the new skill guess what he told his mom? He said he'd rather do his community service here over anywhere else!

Cool huh?

The bags support the work we do. If you've haven't seen them yet be sure to check them out. They're made of recycled jeans by recycled lives. See them on the eBay link at http://www.hopeforhealing.org/

Carson Newman College Makes Hope Happen in Strawberry Plains

Thanks to the Carson Newman College Dance Team our thrift shop has never looked better! The young women did a terrific job, wore smiles and were enthusiastic all morning. This is the second year they've come here through Operation Inasmuch and we're very glad they came.

This means it will be easier for both shoppers and clients to find the items they need. More people can be served more effeciently. We also had three other volunteers here. Always upbeat they found the dance team's enthusiasm to be contagious - and this soon spread to our customers.

It was just a great day to be here and we're very glad they came!

Want to join us sometime? Give us a call or email gayle@hopeforhealing.org. We'd love to welcome you or your group as we serve others.

Antique Appraisal Fair Raises Funds!

Antique Appraisal Clinic

By John Coker, Ltd.

SUNDAY, OCT. 21, 2007

2:00 -4:00 PM

$10.00 first item $5.00 each additional item.

TICKETS ON SALE NOW

STRAWBERRY PLAINS UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

3173 W.OLD ANDREW JOHNSON HWY

Strawberry Plains, TN 37871

100% OF THE TICKET SALES GO TO HOPE FOR HEALING.ORG – the only 501c3 nonprofit serving all of Strawberry Plains. All proceeds help them help victims of domestic violence, work with juvenile offenders, distribute Angel Food Boxes & more.

Bring your antiques, artwork, furniture, silver or high quality photo of larger items for an appraisal. Now is the time to bring your treasures to find out what they are worth and help a good organization at the same time.

For tickets or more information please contact:
Hope for Healing. Org

2912 Hwy. 11E
Strawberry Plains, TN 37871

Phone: 933-8769

Quality handcreated items by Hope Youth and munchies will be available. Plan now to attend!

Can your church host a clothing drive for us?

Hope for Healing.Org - the only 501c3 nonprofit serving all of Strawberry Plains, TN needs churches willing to host a used clothing drive. Can you organize a drive in your church?

Helping is simple. Designate a Sunday in your church to "make hope happen". Ask members to bring in a bag of used clothing they no longer need. (Let us know what date you choose so we can be there with a truck!) As your members arrive they simply put the bags in the truck and we take care of the rest! Helpling load the truck is also a great project for youth group members!

Hope for Healing.Org works with victims of domestic violence, distributes Angel Food and works with juvenile offenders. We also meet other needs on a case-by-case basis and maintain a small thrift shop. Last fiscal year, our free community clothing closet was accessed over 1000 times!

Clothing not put to use in Strawberry Plains is sold to a recycler at a per pound rate. Then it is either recycled or sent to third world countries to make affordable clothing available there. (The last load went to Haiti!) Funds generated go into the general operating fund of Hope for Healing.Org which helps support all of our programs.

Can your group help? We hope so. If you can host a drive please let us know by emailling gayle@hopeforhealing.org or calling our office at 865.933.8769. We'll be glad to hear from you.

Thanks for helping us make hope happen for others!

Community turns out for Gospel Singing

Many thanks to David Asbury from W.K.X.V. AM 900 Gospel Radio, April Humphrey with Anchor-Holds, Touched by Grace, Rev. Danny Tipton, our volunteers and everyone who braved the heat! We had a great time sitting under the shade trees enjoying the fine entertainment. Rev. John Crabtree did a lively job as auctioneer (when he wasn't grilling up the best hamburgers in town!).

We appreciate everyone who came out! Thank you all so much!

Must we help the whole world? YES!

Many of you know that the clothes we collect that we cannot use are now sold at poundage and sent to third world countries around the globe. This includes clothing that is out of season, stained or overstock. I was telling a friend about this new part of our program, excited at the chance to generate some funding for us while helping others. She looked at me, tilted her head and asked me the following:

"Gayle, do you have to help the whole world?"

Without hesitating I answered "Yes." To which she replied "Good!", gave me a bear hug and then went home to clean out her closets.

I laughed but it got me to thinking... When I started to realize all the ways we help I was very humbled.

We have the online support groups for survivors, family and partners and spouses of survivors. Via the internet we reach globally. Survivors often turn to us because of a lack of local services. This seems to be just as true for the person in their living room in Australia or South Africa as it is for the person down the street from the office. As of this writing, there are over 3000 members in just one of our Yahoo Groups.

But we've also been written about in international publications. The latest has been The Flyer which is distributed globally by the United Methodist Church via the Commission on the Status and Role of Women (COSROW for short.) This offers hope to victims everywhere that it is possible to heal and to overcome. Mostly, if offers the reinforcement that no matter what is done to you God will not abandon you.

One of my books, Does God Still Love Me? is also available globally via Amazon.Com, Lulu.Com and other bookstores. It offers many of the most frequently asked questions by survivors.

And now, Hope for Healing.Org has the opportunity to reach worldwide through clothing efforts. We take the clothing that is donated to us and sort it. We keep all we can use. What we can't is sold for distribution as outlined above. Some of it goes to missions and some is eventually resold at a profit for the reseller. It all helps.

Thinking of this makes me wonder...

Years ago, before I even knew who he was I adopted a motto from John Wesley to "do all the good I can for all I can as I can".

It makes me wonder what we could all accomplish if we tried to live by that. I'd love to see us try!

Outreach: Khakis for Carter High Band

One way we made hope happen today:

Each year khaki pants are required for the kids in the band at the local high school. It can be a strain for a parent to provide these on top of flip folders, special shoes and all the other things band kids need. Yet band here is an important part of most kids lives. Several of our clients are students in the band. The camaderie makes them happy when their lives are the worst.

So today, a volunteer, youth coordinator and myself piled our inventory of khakis and took them to band camp. It was fun. We discounted them to $2.50 each. The parents appreciated our efforts and the kids seemed to have a good time picking and choosing.

One parent in particular was glad. Her family is in a really tough spot right now and she was worried about affording things for school. Being there gave us an opportunity to tell her about our other programs such and vouchers and Angel Food and invite her to visit the thrift shop. She seemed reassured to know help is available and said she'd come by.

We're just glad to be here.

Thanks for making it happen!

Singing and Auction To Help Raise Funds

Stop Domestic Violence
Free Gospel Singing & Auction
Saturday, August 4 10:00 am - 3:00 pm.

At the:
Hope for Healing.Org
Secondhand Hope Thrift Shop
2912 Hwy. 11E (Andrew Johnson Hwy.)
Strawberry Plains, TN 37871

Event MC - David Asbury from W.K.X.V. AM 900 Gospel Radio, Knoxville.

The auction begins at 12:00 noon.Perusal begins at 10:00 am.

Comehave some fun! There will be face painting and games for the kids, concessions and lots of fun for everyone!

Featured Singers:

• Anchor Holds
• Touched By Grace
• Danny Tipton
• And more!

To Benefit:
Hope for Healing.Org
2912 Hwy 11E (Andrew Johnson Hwy.)
Strawberry Plains, TN 37871
Phone: 865.933.8769

Hope for Healing.Org is the only 501c3 social service agency serving all of Strawberry Plains, TN. We help victims of domestic violence, distribute Angel Food boxes, train clergy, work with juvenile offenders, raise awareness and we provide clothing, household items and meet other needs on a case-by-case basis as items are available.

To volunteer or learn more about what we do please phone us at 865.933.8769 or view our blog at http://hopeforhealingorg.blogspot.com

We hope to see you at the singing!

Hope for Healing.Org Back Up and Running After Storm

We're back up and running! We appreciate everyone's support. From the workers at KUB and Bellsouth to our volunteers and tent companies we couldn't have done it without you!

Jimmy, with Uncle Easy fireworks, even gave freebies for us to pass along to our volunteers and helped haul off the trash. His tent was the big one that came straight down. The small tent owned by Liberty FIreworks was the one decorating the phone lines. I have to say Liberty had good communication throughout.

Rachel, Aaron, Charity and Sam tried to salvage what they could. Martha, John, Allie and Gwen pitched in with the clean up. We've still got final pick up work to do and more volunteers are coming next week but we're almost as good as new. What a real tribute to everyone who helped!
Thank you all!

Storm Takes Out Hope for Healing.Org Phone Lines

Bellsouth/AT&T is working on the lines as we speak. (These guys are heroes!)

The tent company that put the fireworks tent up should be here later today. We hope to be up and running soon! Thanks for your patience!

Hope for Healing.Org Closes Tomorrow 7/6 Because of Storm

We've had a little wind today and may not be able to open tomorrow. If you are scheduled or want to shop please give us a call first. Here are a few pictures of the fireworks tent that was in front of the building. Thankfully, no one was injured.

Angel Food Distribution Saturday

Don't forget to pick up your Angel Food box Saturday. We'll be distributing from the United Methodist church from 10:30 - 11:30.

The thrift shop will still be open. If we have enough volunteers on hand we'll be selling hot dogs. Don't let the fireworks tents scare you off. There's still plenty of parking and plenty of thrift shop bargains to be had.

We'll see you Saturday!

Hope for Healing.Org has an eBay to go!

We've got a new "eBay To Go"! This highlights all of our active listings one at a time.

These proceeds are an important part of keeping us active. It also provides job training skills and helps people get back on their feet. You'll find everything from new items to recreated ones.

The recreated ones are items that have been recreated by Hope Youth. These are juvenile offenders or regular volunteers. We want to take everything that is donated to us and make it saleable. The kids go a long way in helping us meet that goal. Be especially on the lookout for mirrors and etched glass pieces. The kids take special pride in those.

I hope you enjoy the widget. As always, let us know what you think.

Thanks!
Gayle

We Need Mentors for Restorative Justice At Risk Kids.

I and our youth coordinator arrived at work at 7:30 this Friday morning. Shortly afterward my assistant arrived with her daughter. Rachel is a rising high school senior and is a lead volunteer. She's great. Together, she and Allie (our summer youth coordinator) can handle just about anything.

By the time the next teen volunteer came in I was speaking with the mother of another juvenile offender. She's interested in having her son serve his hours with us but wanted to know more about our programs.

By 9:00 our first community service kid got here. (We'll call him "J".) He's basically a good kid but needs lots of supervision. At 10:00 our second teen juvenile offender came in. Sullen and withdrawn we did our best to make her feel at-ease. She relaxed some but not much. She required a lot of follow-up. Her attitude was as apparent as her hurting heart.

See, many of the kids who come to us have this huge "pseudo-egos". When you get past the tough exterior there is usually a hurting child lurking inside. I strongly suspect this is what is going on with "A". It wasn't long before we started hearing comments from well-meaning customers about her home life. Almost every one who saw her and knew her viewed her time here as possibly being a rare positive moment in her life.

We talked about plans for the future. "A" doesn't have any. She should be a rising junior yet she doesn't know where - or if- she's going to school next year. When I asked about college or tech school plans she shrugged. There aren't any plans.

By 1:00 another parent had called asking if her son could work his community service hours. She didn't say what he had done but she didn't seem too happy with him. There was mention of him "serving hours for the rest of his life". I'm pretty sure that didn't come from his probation officer.

What is even worse is knowing that until today all of the kids who served community service hours with us disclosed domestic violence or child abuse. It has been a factor in either their families or the dating relationships in which they have already been involved.

That breaks my heart.

We want to make a difference for these kids and sometimes we succeed. Another juvenile offender who came to us almost 2 years ago. He still volunteers every time the Angel Food truck comes in. If it hadn't rained today he would have mowed our yard.

And there have been others.

But to make a difference we need adults willing to put their heart on the line and volunteer to mentor. Even volunteering for only one day can make a kid feel cared about. A seed planted for the postive by a person who takes time to show they care may take years to root and blossom. A seed never planted will never bloom.

Do you have a Thursday, Friday or Saturday where you can come help?

Let us know. We'd love to have you.