Dove, Inc.

When people become involved in their communities they take ownership of the problems facing all residents.   Community engagement is about people working and learning together, gaining strength from each other and sharing visions and actions that lead to a common goal.   Volunteering is a great way to begin your community journey, but did you know there are already many dedicated volunteers serving in our community? There are opportunities for volunteers of all ages to get involved and make great things happen. We have national, state, and community-based organizations that help mobilize all of those cherished volunteers, but did you know the need for volunteers never decreases? There is always an opportunity to get involved with something you care deeply about. Do you want to help build homes, help keep our environment clean, teach someone to read, delivery a nutritious meal to a shut in, rock and read to babies, or respond when disaster strikes? All of these volunteer op...

The Dove Children’s Clothing Room is a place where families may select free, good quality clothing for infants and children. The Clothing Room is located at Prairie Avenue Christian Church, 2201 E. Prairie Avenue in Decatur. It is open Monday through Thursday 1:00 to 3:30 p.m.. Families can "shop" for their children once every 30 days and are allowed 3 outfits per child, as well as 2 new pairs of new underwear and socks if available. The Clothing Room serves children and young adults from infants to age 18. We do not require referrals, but we do ask for each child’s age and gender for our records. We count on the help from the community and always welcome donations of gently used items, including clothes for infants, school aged children, and teenagers, and baby items. We are always in need of new socks and underwear and will gladly accept monetary donations to purchase these items. There is a locked, blue drop box in the church parking lot where donations can...

After spending several months on the back half of 2016 talking about abusive behaviors, we decided to take a different spin going into 2017.   You see we spent a long time slowly working through and examining different forms and subtypes of abuse including the many forms of emotional abuse.   This gave a very realistic look at some of the more “incognito” forms of violence that abusers get away with such as blaming, confusing behavior, corruption, destructive criticism, intimidation, isolation, manipulation, and even obsessive behavior.   What we realized in closing out the year was that we had developed a very strong sense of what kind of traits and behaviors that we don’t want in our lives.   On the flip side, we hadn’t really answered the question of what we do want in our lives. It was a striking realization that while some victims of abuse started with a very pleasant life full of positive relationships, others have not been so fortunate.   For those...